title: Exporting as a dynamic process: a study of New Zealand specialist food exporters

authors: Ronayne, Edmond Gregers

abstract: The object of this study was to understand the export process by conducting case study research among New Zealand specialist food exporters. Past export research has used quantitative approaches to determine the influence of firm and environmental variables on quantitative measures of superior export performance. This approach has suggested that export processes are static and unidirectional; conceptualisations which contrast with the dynamic change that is apparent in firm export activities seen through export experience or even casual observation. It was in an effort to understand this changing export process that this study was undertaken. 

Among the firm factors identified as influencing superior export performance are the perceptions of firm management. These perceptions change over time and those of export performance are specifically noted as influencing management perceptions. This study draws on these concepts of management perceptions and the role of strategy in the export process to ask “in which ways does export performance influence the export strategy process?” As a basis to frame and advance the study, the findings of past export research and its allusion to the role of performance perceptions were used to develop a research model.

The research question suggested an approach that would allow the researcher to get close to the research context; this was achieved using a methodology of phenomenology. To implement this research approach, case study, in a multiple case design, was used to gain insight into the perceptions of informants. The study was further facilitated by using the dynamic context provided by New Zealand specialist food exporters, from which eight case firms were selected using export and business criteria.

Interviews with management were the principal source of evidence. Evidence gathering was carried out concurrently with the analysis of evidence. This allowed earlier informant evidence to inform subsequent evidence gathering. Analysis used a variety of instruments to increase focus in case data, providing a basis for the development of the study’s findings. Consistency across cases in field work and analysis was underwritten by the use of a case study protocol and specialised computer software to maintain a case study data base.

Informant evidence indicated that export practitioners in case firms had a wider perception of export performance than past export research had suggested. These perceptions derive from streams of indicators of performance and contextual situations arising from export activities. The management perceptions that these indicators engender are applied in firm export strategy processes.

While the focus on export activity indicators varies according to firm organisational structure, the use of a range of indicators was a feature of all firms in the study.

These flows of indicator information and the perceptions and changes that they generated were part of a dynamic cycle of export activities. This process saw firm export strategy continuously reviewed, reformulated and implemented as it was adapted to address perceived changes in firm performance and context. These findings lead to the development of a conceptual model of a dynamic export process across case firms.

The dynamic export process identified in this study is a significant extension of past static cross-sectional conceptualisations of the export process. It suggests that export practitioners draw upon a wide range of export activity indicators to build perceptions of export outcomes and their export context. These perceptions inform and influence future export strategy and in turn, future export outcomes. This contribution to export research provides an understanding of the dynamic export process that is close to the reality of export practitioners. This understanding allows researchers, exporting firms and policy makers to conceptualise the export process in terms that are close to actual export practice. In addition, these exploratory findings of a dynamic export process provide a platform for further research to consider the application of this conceptualisation across exporting firms as a whole.

text: Exporting as a dynamic process: a study of New Zealand specialist food exporters The object of this study was to understand the export process by conducting case study research among New Zealand specialist food exporters. Past export research has used quantitative approaches to determine the influence of firm and environmental variables on quantitative measures of superior export performance. This approach has suggested that export processes are static and unidirectional; conceptualisations which contrast with the dynamic change that is apparent in firm export activities seen through export experience or even casual observation. It was in an effort to understand this changing export process that this study was undertaken. 

Among the firm factors identified as influencing superior export performance are the perceptions of firm management. These perceptions change over time and those of export performance are specifically noted as influencing management perceptions. This study draws on these concepts of management perceptions and the role of strategy in the export process to ask “in which ways does export performance influence the export strategy process?” As a basis to frame and advance the study, the findings of past export research and its allusion to the role of performance perceptions were used to develop a research model.

The research question suggested an approach that would allow the researcher to get close to the research context; this was achieved using a methodology of phenomenology. To implement this research approach, case study, in a multiple case design, was used to gain insight into the perceptions of informants. The study was further facilitated by using the dynamic context provided by New Zealand specialist food exporters, from which eight case firms were selected using export and business criteria.

Interviews with management were the principal source of evidence. Evidence gathering was carried out concurrently with the analysis of evidence. This allowed earlier informant evidence to inform subsequent evidence gathering. Analysis used a variety of instruments to increase focus in case data, providing a basis for the development of the study’s findings. Consistency across cases in field work and analysis was underwritten by the use of a case study protocol and specialised computer software to maintain a case study data base.

Informant evidence indicated that export practitioners in case firms had a wider perception of export performance than past export research had suggested. These perceptions derive from streams of indicators of performance and contextual situations arising from export activities. The management perceptions that these indicators engender are applied in firm export strategy processes.

While the focus on export activity indicators varies according to firm organisational structure, the use of a range of indicators was a feature of all firms in the study.

These flows of indicator information and the perceptions and changes that they generated were part of a dynamic cycle of export activities. This process saw firm export strategy continuously reviewed, reformulated and implemented as it was adapted to address perceived changes in firm performance and context. These findings lead to the development of a conceptual model of a dynamic export process across case firms.

The dynamic export process identified in this study is a significant extension of past static cross-sectional conceptualisations of the export process. It suggests that export practitioners draw upon a wide range of export activity indicators to build perceptions of export outcomes and their export context. These perceptions inform and influence future export strategy and in turn, future export outcomes. This contribution to export research provides an understanding of the dynamic export process that is close to the reality of export practitioners. This understanding allows researchers, exporting firms and policy makers to conceptualise the export process in terms that are close to actual export practice. In addition, these exploratory findings of a dynamic export process provide a platform for further research to consider the application of this conceptualisation across exporting firms as a whole.

year: 2003

title: Stromatolite records of environmental change in perennially ice-covered Lake Joyce, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

authors: Mackey, T.J.

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Calcite-rich columnar stromatolites grew in perennially ice-covered Lake Joyce in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, during a period of environmental change associated with rising lake level. Stromatolite calcite contains carbon and oxygen isotope records of changes to microbial activity in response to variable light environments and water chemistry through time. The stromatolites grew synchronously with correlative calcite zones. The innermost (oldest) calcite zone has a wide range of δ¹³Ccalcite values consistent with variable photosynthetic effects on local DIC ¹³C/¹²C. Subsequent calcite zones preserve a progressive enrichment in δ¹³Ccalcite values of approximately + 2.6‰ through time, with δ¹³Ccalcite values becoming less variable. This enrichment likely records the removal of ¹²C by photosynthesis from the DIC reservoir over decades, with photosynthetic effects decreasing as light levels became lower and more consistent through time. Mean δ¹⁸Ocalcite values of the innermost calcified zone were at least 1‰ lower than those of the other calcified zones (t test p-level < 0.001). The significant difference in δ¹⁸Ocalcite values between the innermost and other calcified zones could be a product of mixing source waters with different isotopic values associated with the initiation of lake stratification associated with rising lake level. Overall, Lake Joyce stromatolites record significant lateral variability in relative photosynthetic rate and long-lived lake water stratification with microbial modification of the DIC pool. Such processes provide criteria for interpreting microbial activity within polar paleolake deposits and may shed light on variability in lake environments associated with changing climate in the McMurdo Dry Valleys.

text: Stromatolite records of environmental change in perennially ice-covered Lake Joyce, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica Calcite-rich columnar stromatolites grew in perennially ice-covered Lake Joyce in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, during a period of environmental change associated with rising lake level. Stromatolite calcite contains carbon and oxygen isotope records of changes to microbial activity in response to variable light environments and water chemistry through time. The stromatolites grew synchronously with correlative calcite zones. The innermost (oldest) calcite zone has a wide range of δ¹³Ccalcite values consistent with variable photosynthetic effects on local DIC ¹³C/¹²C. Subsequent calcite zones preserve a progressive enrichment in δ¹³Ccalcite values of approximately + 2.6‰ through time, with δ¹³Ccalcite values becoming less variable. This enrichment likely records the removal of ¹²C by photosynthesis from the DIC reservoir over decades, with photosynthetic effects decreasing as light levels became lower and more consistent through time. Mean δ¹⁸Ocalcite values of the innermost calcified zone were at least 1‰ lower than those of the other calcified zones (t test p-level < 0.001). The significant difference in δ¹⁸Ocalcite values between the innermost and other calcified zones could be a product of mixing source waters with different isotopic values associated with the initiation of lake stratification associated with rising lake level. Overall, Lake Joyce stromatolites record significant lateral variability in relative photosynthetic rate and long-lived lake water stratification with microbial modification of the DIC pool. Such processes provide criteria for interpreting microbial activity within polar paleolake deposits and may shed light on variability in lake environments associated with changing climate in the McMurdo Dry Valleys.

year: 2018

title: Kaumatua Mana Motuhake Poi: a study protocol for enhancing wellbeing, socia connectedness and cultural identity for Maori elders

authors: Hokowhitu, Brendan

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Background: The Aotearoa New Zealand population is ageing, accompanied by health and social challenges, including significant inequities that exist between Māori and non-Māori around poor ageing and health. Although historically, kaumātua (elder Māori) faced a dominant society that failed to realize their full potential as they age, Māori culture has remained steadfast in upholding elders as cultural/community anchors. Yet, many of today’s kaumātua have experienced ‘cultural dissonance’ as the result of a hegemonic dominant culture subjugating an Indigenous culture, leading to generations of Indigenous peoples compelled or forced to dissociate with their culture. The present research project, Kaumātua Mana Motuhake Pōī (KMMP), comprises two interrelated projects that foreground dimensions of wellbeing within a holistic Te Ao Māori (Māori epistemology) view of wellbeing. Project 1 involves a tuakana-teina/peer educator model approach focused on increasing service access and utilization to support kaumātua with the greatest health and social needs. Project 2 focuses on physical activity and cultural knowledge exchange (including te reo Māori—Māori language) through intergenerational models of learning.

Methods: Both projects have a consistent research design and common set of methods that coalesce around the emphasis on kaupapa kaumātua; research projects led by kaumātua and kaumātua providers that advance better life outcomes for kaumātua and their communities. The research design for each project is a mixed-methods, pretest and two post-test, staggered design with 2–3 providers receiving the approach first and then 2–3 receiving it on a delayed basis. A pre-test (baseline) of all participants will be completed. The approach will then be implemented with the first providers. There will then be a follow-up data collection for all participants (post-test 1). The second providers will then implement the approach, which will be followed by a final data collection for all participants (post-test 2).

Discussion: Two specific outcomes are anticipated from this research; firstly, it is hoped that the research methodology provides a framework for how government agencies, researchers, and relevant sector stakeholders can work with Māori communities. Secondly, the two individual projects will each produce a tangible approach that, it is anticipated, will be cost-effective in enhancing kaumātua hauora and mana motuhake.

text: Kaumatua Mana Motuhake Poi: a study protocol for enhancing wellbeing, socia connectedness and cultural identity for Maori elders Background: The Aotearoa New Zealand population is ageing, accompanied by health and social challenges, including significant inequities that exist between Māori and non-Māori around poor ageing and health. Although historically, kaumātua (elder Māori) faced a dominant society that failed to realize their full potential as they age, Māori culture has remained steadfast in upholding elders as cultural/community anchors. Yet, many of today’s kaumātua have experienced ‘cultural dissonance’ as the result of a hegemonic dominant culture subjugating an Indigenous culture, leading to generations of Indigenous peoples compelled or forced to dissociate with their culture. The present research project, Kaumātua Mana Motuhake Pōī (KMMP), comprises two interrelated projects that foreground dimensions of wellbeing within a holistic Te Ao Māori (Māori epistemology) view of wellbeing. Project 1 involves a tuakana-teina/peer educator model approach focused on increasing service access and utilization to support kaumātua with the greatest health and social needs. Project 2 focuses on physical activity and cultural knowledge exchange (including te reo Māori—Māori language) through intergenerational models of learning.

Methods: Both projects have a consistent research design and common set of methods that coalesce around the emphasis on kaupapa kaumātua; research projects led by kaumātua and kaumātua providers that advance better life outcomes for kaumātua and their communities. The research design for each project is a mixed-methods, pretest and two post-test, staggered design with 2–3 providers receiving the approach first and then 2–3 receiving it on a delayed basis. A pre-test (baseline) of all participants will be completed. The approach will then be implemented with the first providers. There will then be a follow-up data collection for all participants (post-test 1). The second providers will then implement the approach, which will be followed by a final data collection for all participants (post-test 2).

Discussion: Two specific outcomes are anticipated from this research; firstly, it is hoped that the research methodology provides a framework for how government agencies, researchers, and relevant sector stakeholders can work with Māori communities. Secondly, the two individual projects will each produce a tangible approach that, it is anticipated, will be cost-effective in enhancing kaumātua hauora and mana motuhake.

year: 2020-10-02