Strategic Planning - Niche Marketing in the Agriculture Industry

The purpose of the research is to improve our understanding of the adaptation process in agriculture at the farm level and the influence through the value chain. The research identified critical managerial decision areas in the strategic planning process of blackcurrant growers in Alberta and the South Island of New Zealand. The work was a comparative study of growers that attempted to determine the correspondence between the results of case study observations and a set of theoretical propositions that were developed from a review of the relevant literature. Results indicate that growers understand their own firm’s core competencies, plan strategically and contingently to maintain flexibility and retain niche advantages. Data gathered on the blackcurrant sectors in Canada and New Zealand provided the contextual basis for the selection and analysis of the grower case studies. The sector analysis reached across the value chain. Among the findings reported was the interesting observation that although niche marketing is an accepted strategy in the marketing literature as a means to adaptive change, and although the flexibility inherent in this approach is critical to the success of traditionally resource-starved small firms, it is not clear that the firms reported on in this study engaged in niche marketing as a planned strategy but rather came upon the opportunity through serendipity. In terms of country comparison, results indicate that there may be some specific factors that contribute to the success of the blackcurrant industry in New Zealand. Closer examination of these factors may be beneficial to assisting the Canadian sector. Keywords: Niche marketing, strategic planning, adaptation flexibility JEL Codes: D81, L1, M31, O13, Q1