The determinants of electronic traceability adoption: a firm-level analysis of French agribusiness

Danielle Galliano (1) , Luis Orozco (2)

1 AGIR - AGroécologie, Innovations, teRritoires
2 LEREPS - Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux

This paper aims to understand what factors influence firms to adopt electronic traceability systems (ETS) and notably the respective effects of the firm's internal characteristics, its vertical relations and its external environment. Traceability systems based on information and communication technologies (ICT) allow firms to collect, track, stock and transfer information on a range of product attributes. This study contributes to further understand traceability adoption by applying ICT adoption models to the case of ETS, and by using an original dataset, the 2002 ICT Survey, representative of all French agribusiness. The results suggest that a firm's degree of complexity (growing size, belonging to a group) and the development of its information system play a significant role in its adoption behavior. Moreover, they show that ETS adoption is more driven by a firm's narrow relations with specialized suppliers and downstream processors than by retailers.

Mots clés: Traceability; ICT adoption; Agribusiness; Firm Characteristics

Domaines: Economies et finances

Danielle Galliano, Luis Orozco. The determinants of electronic traceability adoption: a firm-level analysis of French agribusiness. Agribusiness, 2011, 27 (3), pp.379-397. ⟨10.1002/agr.20272⟩. ⟨halshs-01228086⟩