Farm supply and grain elevator businesses in a changing business environment: A mixed methods investigation of past and future strategies
Laurin Spahn and
Julia Höhler
No 317047, 61st Annual Conference, Berlin, Germany, September 22-24, 2021 from German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA)
Abstract:
Structural change in agriculture and competitive pressure transform the business environment of farm supply and grain elevator businesses. Strategies are an important tool for gaining or maintaining competitive advantages in this situation. Possible strategies include increasing diversification or the realization of economies of scale through growth. However, the analysis of strategies poses challenges as they often develop over time and contain both deliberate and non-deliberate elements. In a mixed methods approach, we combine a media analysis with a manager survey (n=62) to investigate past and future strategies of agricultural traders in Germany. We show that cooperation, diversification and autonomous growth were among the most popular strategic actions in the past 10 years and, according to the surveyed managers, will be in the future. The majority expect to offer more digital and consulting services in the future. This study provides new insights into agricultural traders’ realized and intended strategies.
Keywords: Agribusiness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-11-18
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:gewi21:317047
DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.317047
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