This report summarises the findings from case studies of four significant New Zealand industries: Dairy (both farming and processing), Health technology (HealthTech), Horticulture (with a focus on kiwifruit and wine) and Software products and services (Software). The four case studies have identified various opportunities for improving productivity, some industry-specific and some generic.

This paper presents the findings from in-depth interviews with 22 executive and non-executive/ independent directors of New Zealand firms. The discussions focused on how boards make decisions that would foster growth, scale-up, innovation and internationalisation – all of which associated with higher productivity and are characteristics of frontier firms.