FIRMS’ REALIZATION ON THE INTENDED BENEFITS OF ADOPTION OF FOOD QUALITY METASYSTEMS: CASE OF ADOPTION OF HACCP IN THE AGRI-FOOD PROCESSING SECTOR IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

This study investigates extent to which the HACCP certified agri-food processing firms in Sri Lanka have “realized” (i.e. post-adoption experience) those “intended” (i.e. pre-adoption expectations) benefits upon having a food safety and quality metasystem in place. First, a series of in-depth interviews were undertaken with Quality Assurance/General Managers (n=15) of HACCP certified firms, University Academics specialized on this discipline (n=12) and Quality Management System Auditors/Executives (n=5) from the SLSI. The interviews were voice-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed though N-Vivo (version 7.0) qualitative data analysis software, which led to the categorization of firm’s level of expectation (E) and subsequent realization (R) with regard to 14 different incentives that can be attributed to four major types of economic incentives that motivate a firm to act on food quality management, including: (1) External market-based, (2) Internal market-based; (3) Increased efficiency, and (4) Regulatory. Next, these 14 incentives were incorporated into a structured questionnaire in the form of attitudinal statements on which the respondents (n=57) were asked to score on a two-way, four-point likert-scale to elicit their expectations and realizations. The Expectation – Realization diagram generated could differentiate those incentives on three criteria, i.e. R>E, R=E and R<E. The results show that the most realized incentives (i.e. R≥E) include external market-based incentives such as reduced customer complaints followed by improved internal efficiency. Further, it highlights that dairy, meat and fish processing firms realized more of those benefits than fruit/vegetable firms. The outcome of analysis provides insights for policy makers to recognize the importance of market-based incentives and the close interplay and interactions of which with regulatory incentives so as to develop a properly functioning incentive-based institutional set up for food safety