The research, led by Professor Sanjeev Kapoor from the Centre for Food and Agribusiness Management at IIM Lucknow, and Professor Neeraj Singh from the Marketing and Strategy Area at IIM Rohtak, has been published in the journal, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management.
The study encompasses four major Agtech platforms in India: Dehaat, Samunnati Agrielevate, IFFCO Bazar, and KRIBHCO-CSC-eGov. Through expert consultations and data analysis from various sources, the research scrutinizes their impact on network effects and how they enhance the platforms’ value proposition, particularly focusing on matching, transactional, discovery, and evaluation aspects.
Professor Sanjeev Kapoor, the lead author of the study, who underscores the significance of this research said that this study is the first to discuss partners for Agtech platforms. It investigates partners in both privately and collaboratively marketed Agtech platforms using a unique case research methodology. This study is relevant to the development of digital agribusiness strategies because of the rise of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and other democratic digital markets in agriculture. Practitioners and policymakers can utilize the emerging Agtech Value Proposition Canvas (AVPC) framework as an exercise to construct and establish platforms for rural markets.
The analysis identifies crucial complementary components for an Agtech platform in emerging markets, including third-party financial institutions for microcredit and transaction facilitation, as well as warehouse and logistics partners to boost efficiency. Social media modules foster peer-to-peer feedback and information sharing, promoting transparency and enhancing platform value through direct user interaction.
Professor Sanjeev Kapoor further discusses the advancement of agriculture through these platforms while saying that IFFCO Bazar and KRIBHCO CSC-eGov are exemplary cases of platform cooperatives with shared ownership and democratic governance involving numerous members. These cooperatives empower farmers through collective decision-making, prioritizing community interests. They foster local initiatives such as training rural youth or engaging local village-level entrepreneurs, ensuring community-driven benefits with profits.
In contrast, Dehaat and Agrielevate, as privately held companies, focused on profit, adopt firm-led control and ownership governance, emphasizing commercial performance and profit growth. Both approaches have their pros and cons, but the cooperative model stands out for its inclusive, community-centered governance, aligning platform objectives with agricultural stakeholders’ interests and fostering a more engaged and community-driven ecosystem.
Dr. Neeraj Singh from IIM Rohtak’s Marketing and Strategy Area emphasizes the lack of comprehensive understanding of the Agtech platform domain in academic and management circles. The study elucidates the structural and functional aspects of digital platforms for rural markets, providing a practical framework for agribusiness managers to identify relevant partner organizations and anticipate these actors’ impact on network effects and overall value proposition in advance. A successful Agtech platform boasts a clearly defined value proposition, and partnering firms that align with it tend to perform better. The framework also proposes strategies for agricultural platforms to expand by enhancing the net-positive network effect.
