Big Data in Smart Farming – A review
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a review of the state-of-the-art of Big Data applications in Smart Farming and identify the related socio-economic challenges to be addressed.
About: This article is published in Agricultural Systems.The article was published on 2017-05-01 and is currently open access. It has received 1477 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Big data & Supply chain.
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TL;DR: The IoT ecosystem is presented and how the combination of IoT and DA is enabling smart agriculture, and future trends and opportunities are provided which are categorized into technological innovations, application scenarios, business, and marketability.
Abstract: The surge in global population is compelling a shift toward smart agriculture practices. This coupled with the diminishing natural resources, limited availability of arable land, increase in unpredictable weather conditions makes food security a major concern for most countries. As a result, the use of Internet of Things (IoT) and data analytics (DA) are employed to enhance the operational efficiency and productivity in the agriculture sector. There is a paradigm shift from use of wireless sensor network (WSN) as a major driver of smart agriculture to the use of IoT and DA. The IoT integrates several existing technologies, such as WSN, radio frequency identification, cloud computing, middleware systems, and end-user applications. In this paper, several benefits and challenges of IoT have been identified. We present the IoT ecosystem and how the combination of IoT and DA is enabling smart agriculture. Furthermore, we provide future trends and opportunities which are categorized into technological innovations, application scenarios, business, and marketability.
814 citations
Cites background from "Big Data in Smart Farming – A revie..."
...The complexity of the data can range from structured to nonstructured data [11], [34] which can be in the form of text, images, audio, and video....
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...The use of IoT and DA will enable smart agriculture which is expected to deliver high operational efficiency and high yield [11], [12]....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the agronomical variables and plant traits that can be estimated by remote sensing, and describe the empirical and deterministic approaches to retrieve them, and provide a synthesis of the emerging opportunities that should strengthen the role of remote sensing in providing operational, efficient and long-term services for agricultural applications.
631 citations
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that agricultural intensification reduces network complexity and the abundance of keystone taxa in the root microbiome, and this is the first study to report mycorrhizal keystoneTaxa for agroecosystems.
Abstract: Root-associated microbes play a key role in plant performance and productivity, making them important players in agroecosystems. So far, very few studies have assessed the impact of different farming systems on the root microbiota and it is still unclear whether agricultural intensification influences the structure and complexity of microbial communities. We investigated the impact of conventional, no-till, and organic farming on wheat root fungal communities using PacBio SMRT sequencing on samples collected from 60 farmlands in Switzerland. Organic farming harbored a much more complex fungal network with significantly higher connectivity than conventional and no-till farming systems. The abundance of keystone taxa was the highest under organic farming where agricultural intensification was the lowest. We also found a strong negative association (R2 = 0.366; P < 0.0001) between agricultural intensification and root fungal network connectivity. The occurrence of keystone taxa was best explained by soil phosphorus levels, bulk density, pH, and mycorrhizal colonization. The majority of keystone taxa are known to form arbuscular mycorrhizal associations with plants and belong to the orders Glomerales, Paraglomerales, and Diversisporales. Supporting this, the abundance of mycorrhizal fungi in roots and soils was also significantly higher under organic farming. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report mycorrhizal keystone taxa for agroecosystems, and we demonstrate that agricultural intensification reduces network complexity and the abundance of keystone taxa in the root microbiome.
573 citations
TL;DR: A review of current studies and research works in agriculture which employ the recent practice of big data analysis, showing that the availability of hardware and software, techniques and methods for big dataAnalysis, as well as the increasing openness ofbig data sources, shall encourage more academic research, public sector initiatives and business ventures in the agricultural sector.
547 citations
TL;DR: This editorial reviews key insights from the literature on digital infrastructures and platforms, present emerging research themes, highlight the contributions developed from each of the six articles in this special issue, and conclude with suggestions for further research.
Abstract: In the last few years, leading-edge research from information systems, strategic management, and economics have separately informed our understanding of platforms and infrastructures in the digital age. Our motivation for undertaking this special issue rests in the conviction that it is significant to discuss platforms and infrastructures concomitantly, while enabling knowledge from diverse disciplines to cross-pollinate to address critical, pressing policy challenges and inform strategic thinking across both social and business spheres. In this editorial, we review key insights from the literature on digital infrastructures and platforms, present emerging research themes, highlight the contributions developed from each of the six articles in this special issue, and conclude with suggestions for further research.
442 citations
Cites background from "Big Data in Smart Farming – A revie..."
...markets, to selling insurance, and even informing commodities trading decisions (Wolfert et al. 2017)....
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...Uses range from powering seasonal labor markets, to selling insurance, and even informing commodities trading decisions (Wolfert et al. 2017)....
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References
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01 Jan 1998
TL;DR: Porter's concept of the value chain disaggregates a company into "activities", or the discrete functions or processes that represent the elemental building blocks of competitive advantage as discussed by the authors, has become an essential part of international business thinking, taking strategy from broad vision to an internally consistent configuration of activities.
Abstract: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE introduces a whole new way of understanding what a firm does. Porter's groundbreaking concept of the value chain disaggregates a company into 'activities', or the discrete functions or processes that represent the elemental building blocks of competitive advantage. Now an essential part of international business thinking, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE takes strategy from broad vision to an internally consistent configuration of activities. Its powerful framework provides the tools to understand the drivers of cost and a company's relative cost position. Porter's value chain enables managers to isolate the underlying sources of buyer value that will command a premium price, and the reasons why one product or service substitutes for another. He shows how competitive advantage lies not only in activities themselves but in the way activities relate to each other, to supplier activities, and to customer activities. That the phrases 'competitive advantage' and 'sustainable competitive advantage' have become commonplace is testimony to the power of Porter's ideas. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE has guided countless companies, business school students, and scholars in understanding the roots of competition. Porter's work captures the extraordinary complexity of competition in a way that makes strategy both concrete and actionable.
17,979 citations
"Big Data in Smart Farming – A revie..." refers background in this paper
...Business processes can be subdivided into primary and supporting business processes (Davenport, 1993; Porter, 1985)....
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...Primary Business Processes are those involved in the creation of the product, its marketing and delivery to the buyer (Porter, 1985)....
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...An important foundation of chain networks is the concept ‘value chain’, which is a systemof interlinked processes, each adding value to the product of service (Porter, 1985)....
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Book•
01 Jan 1985
TL;DR: Porter's concept of the value chain disaggregates a company into "activities", or the discrete functions or processes that represent the elemental building blocks of competitive advantage as mentioned in this paper, has become an essential part of international business thinking, taking strategy from broad vision to an internally consistent configuration of activities.
Abstract: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE introduces a whole new way of understanding what a firm does. Porter's groundbreaking concept of the value chain disaggregates a company into 'activities', or the discrete functions or processes that represent the elemental building blocks of competitive advantage. Now an essential part of international business thinking, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE takes strategy from broad vision to an internally consistent configuration of activities. Its powerful framework provides the tools to understand the drivers of cost and a company's relative cost position. Porter's value chain enables managers to isolate the underlying sources of buyer value that will command a premium price, and the reasons why one product or service substitutes for another. He shows how competitive advantage lies not only in activities themselves but in the way activities relate to each other, to supplier activities, and to customer activities. That the phrases 'competitive advantage' and 'sustainable competitive advantage' have become commonplace is testimony to the power of Porter's ideas. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE has guided countless companies, business school students, and scholars in understanding the roots of competition. Porter's work captures the extraordinary complexity of competition in a way that makes strategy both concrete and actionable.
13,593 citations
Book•
01 Oct 1992
TL;DR: In this article, Davenport provides numerous examples of firms that have succeeded or failed in combining business change and technology initiatives and highlights the roles of new organizational structures and human resource programs in developing process innovation.
Abstract: The business environment of the 1990s demands significant changes in the way we do business. Simply formulating strategy is no longer sufficient; we must also design the processes to implement it effectively. The key to change is process innovation, a revolutionary new approach that fuses information technology and human resource management to improve business performance. The cornerstone to process innovation's dramatic results is information technology--a largely untapped resource, but a crucial "enabler" of process innovation. In turn, only a challenge like process innovation affords maximum use of information technology's potential. Davenport provides numerous examples of firms that have succeeded or failed in combining business change and technology initiatives. He also highlights the roles of new organizational structures and human resource programs in developing process innovation. Process innovation is quickly becoming the byword for industries ready to pull their companies out of modest growth patterns and compete effectively in the world marketplace.
4,474 citations
"Big Data in Smart Farming – A revie..." refers background in this paper
...Business processes can be subdivided into primary and supporting business processes (Davenport, 1993; Porter, 1985)....
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Posted Content•
TL;DR: The Mechanisms of Governance as discussed by the authors is an important work in the field of transaction cost economics, a branch of the New Institutional Economics with which Oliver Williamson is especially associated.
Abstract: This book brings together in one place the work of one of our most respected economic theorists, on a field which he has played a large part in originating: the New Institutional Economics. Transaction cost economics, which studies the governance of contractual relations, is the branch of the New Institutional Economics with which Oliver Williamson is especially associated. Transaction cost economics takes issue with one of the fundamental building blocks in microeconomics: the theory of the firm. Whereas orthodox economics describes the firm in technological terms, as a production function, transaction cost economics describes the firm in organizational terms, as a governance structure. Alternative feasible forms of organization--firms, markets, hybrids, bureaus--are examined comparatively. The analytical action resides in the details of transactions and the mechanisms of governance. Transaction cost economics has had a pervasive influence on current economic thought about how and why institutions function as they do, and it has become a practical framework for research in organizations by representatives of a variety of disciplines. Through a transaction cost analysis, The Mechanisms of Governance shows how and why simple contracts give way to complex contracts and internal organization as the hazards of contracting build up. That complicates the study of economic organization, but a richer and more relevant theory of organization is the result. Many testable implications and lessons for public policy accrue to this framework. Applications of both kinds are numerous and growing. Written by one of the leading economic theorists of our time, The Mechanisms of Governance is sure to be an important work for years to come. It will be of interest to scholars and students of economics, organization, management, and law.
4,106 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1996
TL;DR: The Mechanisms of Governance as discussed by the authors is an important work in the field of transaction cost economics, a branch of the New Institutional Economics with which Oliver Williamson is especially associated.
Abstract: This book brings together in one place the work of one of our most respected economic theorists, on a field which he has played a large part in originating: the New Institutional Economics. Transaction cost economics, which studies the governance of contractual relations, is the branch of the New Institutional Economics with which Oliver Williamson is especially associated. Transaction cost economics takes issue with one of the fundamental building blocks in microeconomics: the theory of the firm. Whereas orthodox economics describes the firm in technological terms, as a production function, transaction cost economics describes the firm in organizational terms, as a governance structure. Alternative feasible forms of organization--firms, markets, hybrids, bureaus--are examined comparatively. The analytical action resides in the details of transactions and the mechanisms of governance. Transaction cost economics has had a pervasive influence on current economic thought about how and why institutions function as they do, and it has become a practical framework for research in organizations by representatives of a variety of disciplines. Through a transaction cost analysis, The Mechanisms of Governance shows how and why simple contracts give way to complex contracts and internal organization as the hazards of contracting build up. That complicates the study of economic organization, but a richer and more relevant theory of organization is the result. Many testable implications and lessons for public policy accrue to this framework. Applications of both kinds are numerous and growing. Written by one of the leading economic theorists of our time, The Mechanisms of Governance is sure to be an important work for years to come. It will be of interest to scholars and students of economics, organization, management, and law.
4,051 citations
"Big Data in Smart Farming – A revie..." refers background in this paper
...The choice of a particular network governance structure aims atmitigating all forms of contractual hazards foundbetween the different contracting parties in such away that transaction costs are minimized (Williamson, 1996)....
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