Abstract
The main objective of this chapter is to foster the discussions on the perspectives and actions of knowledge management and use in agribusiness, especially in the coordination of agro-industrial production chains, or in the so-called agrifood systems, connecting agribusiness professionals and researchers under knowledge management and use in this context, without, however, ending the discussion. The adequate management of information and its rapid transfer within the agrifood system is a competitiveness factor, as trust and cooperation are elements which enhance knowledge construction, resulting in the consideration, by companies, of articulation forms, in addition to organizational boundaries. It is believed that knowledge management, applied in the production chains coordination, will have an important role in overcoming the challenges generated by the pandemic the world is going through.
TopIntroduction
The current scenario, centered on new information technologies and business globalization, promotes greater competitiveness across organizations, which has become a major challenge. Increasingly complex supply chains and customer demands are constantly changing, resulting in the economic transition from an era of competitive advantage based on information to an era of knowledge creation and knowledge management (Daghfous & Zoubi, 2017).
This organizational scenario is the result of new consumer needs. Therefore, we highlight the organizations which, working in partnerships, develop actions to obtain a consistent supply chain to achieve joint objectives with greater efficiency, constantly forcing researchers and managers to think in terms of managing operations and processes beyond the organizational borders (Melnyk et al., 2007).
In this context, knowledge management gains prominence, becoming fundamental in the business environment, in supply chains and in agribusiness management, with a view to agro-industrial production chains.
The Brazilian agro-industrial sector, at the end of the 1990s, went through an increasing process of market subordination, resulting in strategic changes in the production and distribution sectors aiming at improving competitiveness. This includes a greater concern with product quality, adding value to products, new eating habits and greater speed in information exchange among productive and commercial agents, and others (Alves, 2001).
Batalha and Scarpelli (2005) report that information and communication technologies (ICT) can substantially affect the agro-industrial businesses management, facilitating information search, access, storage and dissemination, and serving as a means of communication and coordination across the agents of a given agro-industrial system.
According to Satolo, Simon and Gonella (2019), within the agribusiness supply chain, the planning and management of the links go through different actors, with relevant and distinct roles in this sector of the economy. Each of these actors contributes with different information and knowledge which, when connected, enhance collective and individual results. In this sense, Choo (2006) highlights that knowledge is responsible for connecting operations and resources.
In view of this observation and based on the assumption that knowledge management is essential for generating competitive differentials, so necessary today, this study questions how this reflects in the management and coordination of supply chains and the agrifood production chain.
This chapter seeks, as an objective, to start a discussion on the perspectives and actions of knowledge management and use in agribusiness, especially in the coordination of agro-industrial production chains, or in the so-called agrifood systems, connecting agribusiness professionals and researchers on the knowledge management and use in this context, without, however, ending the discussion.
To achieve this objective, an extensive bibliographical survey was prepared on the different themes, providing important reflections on areas that rarely dialogue with each other. Marconi and Lakatos (2006) mention that, bibliographic research is not a mere repetition of what has been said or written about a certain subject, but allows the examination of a theme under a new focus or approach, to be able to draw innovative conclusions.
The researched material enabled researchers to connect these different themes, bringing initial reflections that may underpin future applied research. According to Gil (2008) the underpinnings for the relationships across themes is developed from previously published material, consisting of books and scientific articles. In this sense, the chapter is characterized as interdisciplinarity of knowledge, relating different areas and concepts (presented in the following sections) for their joint application.
The chapter was structured in six parts, including this introduction, which contextualizes the idea to be broadly analyzed. The logic of thought suggests to the reader to go first through the concepts of information and knowledge as organizational resources, and then deepen the discussion about knowledge management. Defining and understanding supply chains and agro-industrial productive chains as well as their links and component agents are the objective of the fourth topic. The fifth topic then discusses knowledge management in the context of agro-industrial production chains, bringing contributions to the area, albeit on a preliminary basis. The chapter ends with the conclusions, with the topic open for new contributions based on what was presented, setting a provocation of what will be the next steps, from the resumption of normality after the COVID-19 pandemic, going on worldwide while this chapter has been written.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Information: The organizational component used in everything organizational activities and tasks.
Coordination (of Production Chains): Refers to vertical relationships within supply and trade chains, including forms of governance, which are important for the dynamics of its functioning.
Supply Chain: A supply chain comprises a company and all the organizations with which it interacts directly or indirectly through its suppliers and customers, from the point of origin of the materials to the point of consumption of the final products.
Knowledge Management: The activities organizational used to working with the organizational knowledge.
Knowledge: The organizational component inserted into people's minds.
Agrifood System: Name given to a set of agents that interrelate with each other, in the same sector or from different sectors, and the organizations and institutions that support for its proper functioning.
Productive Chains: In agribusiness, they refer to the processes that transform from basic inputs to the constitution of a final product.
Agro-Industrial System: This term follows the same logic of generic use applied to a section of agribusiness activities, requiring the due qualification when applied.
Goods With Specificities: Characteristics of the raw material obtained from agricultural and livestock activities, which make the agrifood systems management more challenging, for example the production seasonality, the perishability of the raw material, climatic dependence and quality variation of agricultural products.
Agribusiness: The term agribusiness has a more generic scope, and should be properly qualified when applied to a section of agribusiness activities, for example: Brazilian agribusiness, meat agribusiness, etc.
Transformation Companies: Refers to the agricultural transformation processes (raw material) into a final product that can be directly marketed or into an Intermediate product destined for another transformation company, producing more elaborate products.
Information Management: The activities organizational used to working with the organizational information.
Supply Chain Management (SCM): SCM is the integration of business processes from the end user to the original (primary) suppliers that provide products, services and information that add value to customers and stakeholders.