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E-commerce in agriculture: The case of crop protection product purchases in a discrete choice experiment

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  • Fecke, Wilm
  • Danne, Michael
  • Mußhoff, Oliver

Abstract

The internet is playing an increasing role in the development of rural areas. For farmers in particular, reliable internet access creates opportunities concerning farm management decisions. Hence, the goal of this study was to investigate German farmers' willingness to buy inputs online. Primary data was collected by conducting a discrete choice experiment about the purchase of crop protection products. Selection decisions of 165 arable farmers were analyzed by a generalized multinomial logit model (GMNL) resulting in willingness to accept (WTA) space estimation. WTA estimates show that farmers are willing to switch to an online merchant if they are offered a significantly lower price. However, word-of-mouth-reputation and consultation offered via traditional media do not influence farmers' WTA for an online merchant. In contrast, delivery time significantly affects farmers' WTA for inputs purchased online. We also show that farmers' risk attitudes, prior online shopping experiences, and education are influential factors for the WTA for an online merchant. Surprisingly, age and farm size do not impact farmers' WTA. Since e-commerce has not been widely established in agriculture yet, these results are of great practical importance. The findings of this study give online merchants of agricultural inputs a first orientation for choosing appropriate marketing measures. Moreover, results are interesting for education policy.

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  • Fecke, Wilm & Danne, Michael & Mußhoff, Oliver, 2018. "E-commerce in agriculture: The case of crop protection product purchases in a discrete choice experiment," DARE Discussion Papers 1803, Georg-August University of Göttingen, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (DARE).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:daredp:1803
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    3. Spahn, Laurin & Höhler, Julia, 2021. "Farm supply and grain elevator businesses in a changing business environment: A mixed methods investigation of past and future strategies," 61st Annual Conference, Berlin, Germany, September 22-24, 2021 317047, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    4. Alba Vázquez-López & Martín Barrasa-Rioja & Manuel Marey-Perez, 2021. "ICT in Rural Areas from the Perspective of Dairy Farming: A Systematic Review," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, April.
    5. Lydia Chikumbi & Milan Scasny, "undated". "Does ‘price framing’ influence empirical estimates in Discrete Choice Experiments: The case study for the South African wine industry," Working Papers 878, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    6. Ana Ramalho Ribeiro & Billy Goodburn & Luis Mayor & Line F. Lindner & Christoph F. Knöbl & Jacques Trienekens & Daniel Rossi & Francesca Sanna & Remigio Berruto & Patrizia Busato, 2023. "Skill Needs for Sustainable Agri-Food and Forestry Sectors (II): Insights of a European Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-22, February.
    7. Xiaojing Li & Apurbo Sarkar & Xianli Xia & Waqar Hussain Memon, 2021. "Village Environment, Capital Endowment, and Farmers’ Participation in E-Commerce Sales Behavior: A Demand Observable Bivariate Probit Model Approach," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-20, September.
    8. Shupeng Huang & Hong Cheng & Manyi Tan & Zhiqing Tang & Chuyi Teng, 2024. "Evaluating Regional Potentials of Agricultural E-Commerce Development Using a Novel MEREC Heronian-CoCoSo Approach," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-16, August.
    9. Neeraj Singh & Kushankur Dey, 2023. "A typology of agricultural market information systems and its dimensions: Case studies of digital platforms," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-22, December.

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    Internet use; E-commerce; Input purchasing; Online merchants; German farmers;
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