An Innovative Network Marketing System

For over a hundred years, the agricultural base in Hawaii has been sugar cane. In recent years,all plantations on the major islands of Oahu and Hawaii have closed, and many are jobless. Onealternative to work opportunities is specialty crop production, but changes in global trade haveeroded Hawaii's market share through increased competition in U.S. and foreign markets.Problems faced by the industry are (a) independent growers unsuccessful in cooperativemarketing efforts, (b) small volume of a wide variety of product, (c) accelerated developments inglobal trade, and (d) distance from marketsThe objective of this proposal is to determine the feasibility of an innovative network marketingsystem for Hawaii agricultural products. Jo Ann Johnston & Co. will be the facilitating entity ofthe network marketing system. Research will identify or characterize the following: (1)developmental factors in the formation of a collaborative marketing system, (2) source data anddesign of information systems in a collaborative marketing system for agriculture, and (3)mechanisms for financing a network marketing firm. A potentially powerful marketing tool forsmall farms in Hawaii will result, and benefits accrue to the total industry and state.