Emerging Agricultural IoT Ecosystems and Strategic Archetypes: A Cross-Country Multiple Case Study

Despite significant technological advances, Internet of Things (IoT) adoption in agriculture remains limited. While extensive research has addressed technical barriers across device, network, and analytics layers, scholarly attention to business layer challenges, where commercial viability and market formation occur, remains scarce. This thesis addresses this gap by examining how IoT companies achieve market penetration in nascent agricultural ecosystems.

Adopting an alternative format comprising five interlinked papers, four of which are published in peer-reviewed venues and one of which is under review, this thesis progresses through two phases. The first phase presents a systematic literature review (SLR) establishing that the “big three“ barriers identified in academic literature are cost, skills, and standardisation, while revealing that business layer studies constitute barely 10% of scholarly output. The second phase employs a grounded theory approach through a cross-country multiple case study of six IoT companies across Greece, Italy, Serbia, and Türkiye, drawing on 29 in-depth interviews conducted during fieldwork in outdoor crop agriculture – the sub-sector most challenged by IoT adoption. The thesis develops a theoretical framework that reconceptualises market penetration as an infrastructure development challenge rather than a barrier elimination problem. Analysis reveals three interconnected mechanisms: multi-catalyst activation, whereby converging environmental, regulatory, and technological forces create market opportunities; a divergent barriers paradox, where technological progress paradoxically amplifies socio-cultural resistance; and trust infrastructure development as the foundational element of business model design. Contrary to literature expectations, fieldwork reveals that awareness and trust deficits, rather than technical limitations, present the most significant obstacles to adoption.

Four strategic archetypes are identified: Ecosystem Orchestrator, Local Champion, System Integrator, and Technology Specialist, each representing a distinct approach to constructing trust infrastructure necessary for market penetration. This research contributes to Information Systems (IS) literature by demonstrating how trust-building mechanisms constitute core business model components rather than supplementary factors, offering practical guidance for companies and policymakers seeking to advance agricultural IoT adoption.