Factors influencing adoption of digital technologies in agrifood sector. A literature review and research agenda

Framing of the research: The research focuses on the factors influencing the adoption of enabling technologies in the agri-food sector. Through a systematic literature review, in which 58 papers were analyzed, the study proposes a classification of factors by investigating their impact on adoption intent. Furthermore, by emphasizing the framework of technology adoption, the study considers institutional support, managerial skills, financial resources, and regulatory frameworks as key elements shaping decision-making in agribusiness. Purpose of the paper: The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that affect the spread of enabling technologies in agri-food sector. Factors affecting companies’ technologies adoption are individually investigated and clustered by conceptual groups. Then, their positive or negative effects on the adoption tendency of enterprises technologies were investigated. Methodology: This research is based on a systematic literature review, considering a range of online database from 2012 to 2024. Specific filters have been applied, resulting in a final database that consists of 58 articles. After reading the articles, variables were classified according to social, economic, environmental, and technical nature. Finally, their positive or negative effects on technology purchase intention were investigated. Findings: The research showed that “social factors” are more prevalent than “technical”, “economic” and “environmental” factors. Moreover, there is arguably a clear need to improve specific technical and managerial competences about advanced technologies, even by stimulating entrepreneurs to train themselves social, not relying on the experience of others. Research limits: The literature review was limited to articles in English, excluding studies in other languages that could offer significant contributions. Additionally, the selection of empirical studies was confined to the fields of “Business, Management and Accounting, ” and Engineering, limiting the scope of the analysis. Lastly, our methodology for evaluating the influence of factors was subjective, based on the interpretation of textual content, with a potential risk of bias. Practical implications: In light of the presented framework, we propose theoretical and managerial implications that would be useful for researchers and practitioners; a research agenda has been provided as well. Originality of the paper: This paper aims to provide an increased understanding of the current state of research and what still needs to be investigated about the adoption of technologies in agri-food sector. Our study offers an integrative conceptual framework where factors affecting the adoption of technologies in agri-food sector are individually investigated and clustered by conceptual groups, as well as analysed in terms of impact generated.