Salta al menu principale di navigazione Salta al contenuto principale Salta al piè di pagina del sito

Articles

N. 2 (2025)

Smart Agribusiness: Governance Change, Hybridisation, and New Entrepreneurship

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/cgrds2-2025oa20604
Inviata
10 luglio 2025
Pubblicato
19-12-2025

Abstract

In recent years, innovation has increasingly influenced productivity, sustainability, and governance in agriculture. While many studies have addressed the effects of specific technologies and methods in agribusiness, the broader impact of the smart industry remains underexplored. This exploratory study employs a qualitative analysis approach to examine how Industry 4.0 technologies, skills, and competencies originating from different sectors influence the emergence of new entrepreneurial ventures and the reshaping of value chains, business models, and governance structures of existing companies.

Riferimenti bibliografici

  1. Abbasi R., Martinez P., Ahmad R. (2022). The digitization of agricultural industry – a systematic literature review on agriculture 4.0. Smart Agricultural Technology, 2, 100042. DOI: 10.1016/j.atech.2022.100042.
  2. Alekseeva S., Volkova G., Sukhanova O., Fudina E. (2021). Digital transformation of agricultural industrial complex in the implementation of its development strategy. Scientific Papers Series “Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development”, 21(2): 19-25.
  3. Ali J., Affandi H., Rehmani A.A. (2025). Fostering Agripreneurship: Exploring the Role of Startup Ecosystems in Transforming Agricultural Innovation and Sustainability. Dialogue Social Science Review (DSSR), 3(2): 294-318.
  4. Bertini S. (2017), Il posizionamento tecnologico delle supply chain toscane sul tema fabbrica 4.0, Irpet, Firenze.
  5. Bigliardi B., Filippelli S. (2022). A review of the literature on innovation in the agro-food industry: sustainability, smartness and health. European Journal of Innovation Management, 25(6): 589-611. DOI: 10.1108/EJIM-05-2021-0258.
  6. Braun A.T., Colangelo E., Steckel T. (2018). Farming in the Era of Industrie 4.0. Procedia Cirp, 72: 979-984. DOI: 10.1016/j.procir.2018.03.176.
  7. Bronson K. (2022). The immaculate conception of data: Agribusiness, activists, and their shared politics of the future. McGill-Queen’s Press-MQUP.
  8. CERVED (2019). Toscana 4.0 Le performance delle imprese toscane innovative. Direzione Attività Produttive, Regione Toscana.
  9. Derakhti A., Santibanez Gonzalez E.D., Mardani A. (2023). Industry 4.0 and beyond: A review of the literature on the challenges and barriers facing the agri-food supply chain. Sustainability, 15(6): 5078. DOI: 10.3390/su15065078.
  10. Eisenhardt K.M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4): 532-550. DOI: 10.5465/amr.1989.4308385.
  11. Eisenhardt K.M., Graebner M.E. (2007). Theory building from cases: opportuni-ties and challenges. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1): 25-32. DOI: 10.5465/amj.2007.24160888.
  12. Ewert F., Baatz R., Finger R. (2023). Agroecology for a sustainable agriculture and food system: from local solutions to large-scale adoption. Annual Review of Resource Economics, 15(1): 351-381. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-resource-102422-090105.
  13. Fasciolo B., Panza L., Lombardi F. (2024). Exploring the integration of industry 4.0 technologies in agriculture: a comprehensive bibliometric review. Sustainability, 16(20), 8948. DOI: 10.3390/su16208948.
  14. Finger R. (2023). Digital innovations for sustainable and resilient agricultural systems. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 50(4): 1277-1309. DOI: 10.1093/erae/jbad021.
  15. Gibbert M., Ruigrok W., Wicki B. (2008). What passes as a rigorous case study? Strategic management journal, 29(13): 1465-1474. DOI: 10.1002/smj.722.
  16. Hassoun A., Aït-Kaddour A., Abu-Mahfouz A.M., Rathod N.B., Bader F., Barba F.J., Biancolillo A., Cropotova J., Galanakis C.M., Režek Jambrak A., Lorenzo J.M., Måge I., Ozogul F., Regenstein J. (2023). The fourth industrial revolution in the food industry-Part I: Industry 4.0 technologies. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 63(23): 6547-6563. DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2022.2034735.
  17. Kamilaris A., Kartakoullis A., Prenafeta-Boldú F.X. (2017). A review on the practice of big data analysis in agriculture. Computers and electronics in agriculture, 143: 23-37. DOI: 10.1016/j.compag.2017.09.037.
  18. Karunathilake E.M.B.M., Le A.T., Heo S., Chung Y.S., Mansoor S. (2023). The path to smart farming: Innovations and opportunities in precision agriculture. Agriculture, 13(8), 1593. DOI: 10.3390/agriculture13081593.
  19. Khaspuria G., Khandelwal A., Agarwal M., Bafna M., Yadav R., Yadav A. (2024). Adoption of precision agriculture technologies among farmers: A comprehensive review. Journal of Scientific Research and Reports, 30(7): 671-686. DOI: 10.9734/jsrr/2024/v30i72180.
  20. Klerkx L., Jakku E., Labarthe P. (2019). A review of social science on digital agriculture, smart farming and agriculture 4.0: New contributions and a future research agenda. NJAS-Wageningen journal of life sciences, 90, 100315. DOI: 10.1016/j.njas.2019.100315.
  21. Lajoie-O’Malley A., Bronson K., van der Burg S., & Klerkx L. (2020). The future (s) of digital agriculture and sustainable food systems: An analysis of high-level policy documents. Ecosystem Services, 45, 101183. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101183.
  22. Liu Y., Ma X., Shu L., Hancke G.P., Abu-Mahfouz A.M. (2021) From Industry 4.0 to Agriculture 4.0: Current Status, Enabling Technologies, and Research Challenges. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics. 17(6): 4322-4334. DOI: 10.1109/TII.2020.3003910.
  23. Maffezzoli F., Ardolino M., Bacchetti A., Perona M., Renga F. (2022). Agriculture 4.0: A systematic literature review on the paradigm, technologies and benefits. Futures, 142, 102998. DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2022.102998.
  24. Oltra‐Mestre M.J., Hargaden V., Coughlan P., Segura‐García del Río B. (2021). Innovation in the Agri‐Food sector: Exploiting opportunities for Industry 4.0. Creativity and Innovation Management, 30(1): 198-210. DOI: 10.1111/caim.12418.
  25. Osservatorio Smart AgriFood (2019). Smart Agrifood: boom dell’Agricoltura 4.0.
  26. Riccaboni A., Neri E., Trovarelli F., Pulselli R.M. (2021). Sustainability-oriented research and innovation in ‘farm to fork’ value chains. Current Opinion in Food Science, 42: 102-112. DOI: 10.1016/j.cofs.2021.04.006.
  27. Senturk S., Senturk F., Karaca H. (2023). Industry 4.0 technologies in agri-food sector and their integration in the global value chain: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 408, 137096. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137096.
  28. Trabelsi M., Casprini E., Fiorini N., Zanni L. (2023). Unleashing the value of artificial intelligence in the agri-food sector: where are we? British Food Journal, 125(13): 482-515. DOI: 10.1108/BFJ-11-2022-1014.
  29. Trivelli L., Apicella A., Chiarello F., Rana R., Fantoni G., Tarabella A. (2019). From precision agriculture to Industry 4.0: Unveiling technological connections in the agrifood sector. British food journal, 121(8): 1730-1743. DOI: 10.1108/BFJ-11-2018-0747.
  30. Yadav V.S., Singh A.R., Raut R.D., Mangla S.K., Luthra S., Kumar A. (2022). Exploring the application of Industry 4.0 technologies in the agricultural food supply chain: A systematic literature review. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 169, 108304. DOI: 10.1016/j.cie.2022.108304.
  31. Yap C.K., Al-Mutairi K.A. (2024). A conceptual model relationship between Industry 4.0 - Food-agriculture nexus and agroecosystem: A literature review and knowledge gaps. Foods, 13(1): 150. DOI: 10.1016/j.cie.2022.108304.
  32. Yin R.K. (2003). Case study research design and methods third edition. Applied social research methods series, Vol. 5, Sage Edition.