Can strategic alliances in food processing increase the technical efficiency of housewives groups in Thailand?

An assessment is made of the effects of strategic alliances, among other factors, on the performance of community-based food processing enterprises in the northern province of Thailand. Using survey data, we estimate a stochastic frontier production function and examine a number of factors affecting technical inefficiency of housewives groups focusing on the nature of strategic alliances. Our results show that vertical strategic alliances in marketing at the regional and provincial levels provide a means for housewives groups to increase productivity by attaining higher levels of technical efficiency through membership.