The websites adoption in the Spanish agrifood firms

Abstract

Currently, the use of websites in the firms of the Spanish agrifood sector has not become widespread despite the possible benefits to be derived from their adequate integration and management within the firms. Among these advantages, the increase in the quality of the services offered and the improvement in the relations with their stakeholders should be highlighted. In this context, the objective of the present work is to determine to what extent websites are used by firms in the agrifood sector of Spain, analysing the background which explains why they are adopted and the consequences of introducing them. To do so, a theoretical framework is posed which allows these factors to be identified, and an empirical study is carried out with Spanish agrifood firms. The results of the work indicate that the adoption of websites will be favoured when the directors of the firm are higher qualified, the firm is bigger in size, the firm’s function is distribution, and when the relative advantage and technology compatibility is perceived, among others. Technology adoption consequences analysis suggests that the benefits of adoption are related with improving the relationships with suppliers, customers, owning partners and, in general, the quality of the services offered by the firm.