  As an industry of primarily small and mid-size businesses, it is becoming
increasingly more difficult for British Columbia (BC)'s tree fruit growers to
compete with large, often vertically integrated producers from other regions.
New ways of managing information and resources collaboratively are needed to
develop competitive strengths. This case study seeks to understand the
information and knowledge management capabilities of the BC tree fruit cluster
across the value chain for six different data domains. A qualitative
methodology design of 21 in-depth interviews with cluster stakeholders provides
insights into the data quality, completeness and integration points, and then
applies CMMI level criteria to assess the information management capabilities
of the industry. Significant data and process gaps are identified. This paper
explores how the BC tree fruit industry can move forward from this position
using technology solutions to support the development of information and
knowledge, and collective decision-making.
