Browsing by Subject "FMIS"

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Akzeptanz, Status quo und Entwicklung der Digitalisierung entlang der genossenschaftlichen agro-food Wertschöpfungskette
(2022) Munz, Jana; Doluschitz, Reiner
Within the first subject area (I. Status quo and development of digitalization in German agriculture) in one publication presented in this dissertation, the model of Porter and Heppelmann (2014) was taken up and further developed to empirically capture the status quo of digitization in German agriculture. Using a cluster analysis, the farmers participating in the survey could be assigned to two specific development stages. 58.2 % of the respondents were assigned to the second development stage of "users of smart products". 41.8 % of the respondents could be classified as "users of smart, connected products", among whom the use of complex systems that connect individual mechanical and electrical components are particularly widespread. Thus, it could be determined that German farms have not yet reached the level of "smart farming" and also not the level of "product systems". The nature of the use of FMIS in terms of widespread use of web-based applications, automatic digital data entry and, above all, the use of universal data standards were identified within the study as the greatest obstacles on the way to achieving "smart farming". Digitzation is also presented as a prerequisite for future economic performance and survival for cooperatives, with rural cooperatives in particular facing increasing competitive pressure due to structural change processes, ongoing transformation processes through digitization and the emergence of new competitors. According to the current state of knowledge, the topic of digitization in rural cooperatives has not been examined yet and is now, for the first time, the focus of scientific studies within the second subject area of this dissertation (II. Acceptance, status quo and development of rural cooperatives in the context of digitization). Two publications first shed light on the determinants of acceptance factors for the use of digital technologies among rural cooperatives. The first study presented here is based on the identification and analysis of acceptance factors regarding the use of internet-based information systems (IS) along the cooperative value chain of the red meat industry from the perspective of farmers or members/customers of a livestock marketing cooperative. Three benefit-generating factors regarding the expected use of internet-based IS could be identified as valid acceptance factors: the support in documentation and an obligatory exchange of data towards administrative bodies (B2A); the inter-farm data exchange between farmer and livestock marketing company/slaughterhouse (B2B); the function of integrating external data into the IS. Another study focuses on the intermediary level of German agricultural trade and commodity cooperatives from the perspective of the managing directors, with the three acceptance factors relating to the expected use of digital technologies in the business areas of procurement and logistics, customer/member management, and marketing being identified as having a beneficial effect. Personnel and financial factors as well as strategic and operational factors were identified as the greatest challenge on the way to implementing digital technologies. Opportunities arising from membership of the cooperative network therefore need to be exploited in a targeted manner to address challenges and jointly mitigate risks. Overall, it was possible to demonstrate that there is an "attitudinal acceptance" of the introduction of digital technologies at the level of primary production and the intermediate level of agricultural trade and commodity cooperatives. In the course of the analyses, the determinant of the size of the cooperative or farm could be attributed as a positive influence on the acceptance of digital technologies. The final paper presented as part of this dissertation makes a contribution with regard to identifying the status quo of digital technology adoption in agricultural trade and commodity cooperatives and derives opportunities for a digital differentiation for these cooperatives. Based on a cluster analysis, the cooperatives could be assigned to the cluster of "Basic Adopters" (n=48) and "Advanced service-oriented Adopters" (n=18). Against the backdrop of ongoing cut-throat competition and the findings obtained in the present studies, it is recommended that agricultural trade cooperatives consider an individually tailored differentiation strategy and, to this end, build up concrete digital competencies with an increased service orientation in order to adapt their business model or business processes to current industry developments.