A spatial exploration of factors affecting digitalization of farmers' associations in Taiwan

Abstract

Purpose -This study aimed to examine organizational digitalization of farmers' associations (FAs) by conducting internal and external analyses of the contextual and geo-spatial attributes of the organizations, and further explored the role such associations play as key change agents in activating agricultural innovations and development in Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach -Unlike previous digitalization studies, which employed user data such as attitudes and behaviors as the major determinants, the present study focused on the spatial and organizational characteristics of FAs. An exploratory spatial analysis was conducted using a geographic information system to discover whether the organizational characteristics, local agriculture development, and neighboring FAs affect the organizational decision and adaption on information services. Research data from three national surveys were analyzed with a spatial regression model. Findings -Results showed that geographical neighborhood, in association with organizational characteristics, significantly affects the decision and level of organizational digitalization, while the development and characteristics of regional agriculture exert no significant influence. Practical implications -In the development of information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion policies for promoting organizational digitalization, it is important to highlight regional initiatives and complementary public efforts to guarantee an equitable access to ICT in areas with variances in economic development. In neighborhood FAs, greater development of economic and labor scales and ICT human capital also contribute to higher levels of organizational digitalization. Originality/value -Based on the study results, suggestions are provided for future research considering spatial forces in agricultural information studies and practical applications.

Female leadership, internet use, and performance of agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam

“…These results align with the findings from Yueh et al. (2013) on the size of farmers’ associations. The variables representing productive characteristics, geographical location, and productive assets do not show a significant correlation with internet use in agricultural cooperatives (except for the number of water pumps).…”

“…Regarding the factors affecting internet use, empirical evidence is available with household data (for example, Chang & Just, 2009;Mishra & Park, 2005;Nguyen & Do, 2022;Yang et al, 2021), but only a few with cooperative data (Cristobal-Fransi et al, 2020;Dholakia & Kshetri, 2004). These studies showed that fixed assets, the number of laborers (size), and the fields of business were key variables affecting cooperatives' digitalization, while external factors such as regional indicators did not have a significant correlation with the digitalization (Hejkrlik et al, 2021;Yueh et al, 2013). Khanal et al (2015) found that the operator's age had a negative correlation, while the operator's education was positively correlated with internet adoption.…”

“…We include important physical assets for production, such as the number of boats, electric generators, water pumps, seed-sowing machines, tractors, combine harvesters, vehicles, and other equipment and machines. The choice of these assets is based on previous studies (Cristobal-Fransi et al, 2020;Dholakia & Kshetri, 2004;Khanal et al, 2015;Seewald et al, 2023;Yueh et al, 2013). Furthermore, we examine the combined effect of gender and education of the president by including an interaction term between these two variables as follows:…”

Digitalization in Indonesian Cooperatives: Is It Necessary?

“…In particular, the impact of digitalization on cooperatives was raised by Yueh, Chen, & Chen (2013). This study explored farmers' associations in Taiwan using spatial analysis.…”