摘要：Beef supply chains around the world are experiencing unprecedented changes, particularlyin regard to an increased emphasis on closer coordination mechanisms (e.g., strategicalliances and traceability programs) and on quality assurance (QA) schemes (at all levels ofthe supply chain). In some countries, such as the UK, these changes have largely been adirect result of consumer concerns about food safety. The existence of highly-publicizedfood poisoning outbreaks have been a very strong driver for change. However, in othercountries, such as Canada there have been no such major food poisoning outbreaks. In suchcountries, the main driver for improvement is a desire for international competitiveness. Apriori, it might be expected these different drivers might lead to different attitudes andpriorities among the supply chain participants. For example, beef producers in the UK maysee a greater sense of urgency to "get their act together" –to be more receptive to initiativesthat enhance horizontal and vertical coordination and to be more receptive to the imperativeto join a quality assurance scheme. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether thereare differences in the attitudes of beef producers in Canada and the UK to issues of(horizontal and vertical) coordination and quality assurance. . 2001 Elsevier Science Inc.All rights reserved.
