The dislocation of agriculture and food: a network analysis of interlocking directorates in New Zealand's corporate economy

Abstract

As a political project, ‘agri-food’ calls for improved communication between New Zealand's land-based industries and the business of food. Such communication may be enhanced by the sharing of company directors, a social practice whose interlocks create information flows across the economy. These flows can overcome market fragmentation and help establish a common sense of purpose. However, a social network analysis of interlocks between New Zealand's largest businesses shows few signs of the communication structures that agri-food requires. Food is the most isolated sector, primary production the most connected. Brokerage and clique analysis shows that primary production's major partners are the consumer and finance sectors. These two sectors have very different profiles and their differences drive primary production networks in two opposed directions. Primary production is not only dislocated from food, it is also deeply divided between relatively small locally-owned consumer companies and large overseas-owned banks.