Intra-functional coordination: the case of purchasing during innovation in the agri-food sector

Overview & Synopsis

As the pace of change has accelerated rapidly in the agri-food sector, coupled with an everincreasing level of competitiveness, firms are seeking processes which are likely to strengthen their capacity for innovation. In this context, this paper explores factors that foster the intra-organisational coordination between purchasing, marketing and, R&D/innovation. In addition, we shed light on the involvement of Purchasing early in the innovation process. Five in-depth case studies were selected based on significant innovations on agri-food industry and the involvement of the purchasing department. The results suggest that intra-functional coordination plays an important role in innovation process and confirm the relevance of some known factors, such as Early Purchasing Involvement (EPI), the quality of intra-organisational relations and intra-organisational alignment. On the other side, intra-functional factors emerged from our case studies, such as "purch ' l c ," a willingness attitude and managing anticipation of demand. The results provide empirical evidence on intra-organisational drivers and underline the core role of EPI in agri-food firms, thus complement earlier studies from other industries.