The Adoption Of Smartphone Technology By Cocoa Small Holders

SINOPSIS: This study focuses on cocoa sector as one of Indonesia seed commodity and part of international market which was supported by 1.7 million hectares plantation and 1.7 million farmers. Global cocoa value chain inclusion does not necessary improve the fartmers’ quality of life due to various problems faced by cocoa farmers. As mentioned above, this study analyses the industry environment and seeks the proper analog and digital approach to improve the competitiveness of Indonesia cocoa. As part of the analysis on digital contribution, this study also analyses the technology acceptance by cocoa farmers and the impact to their business performance. First part of this study provides high level overview about Indonesia cocoa includes its’ position in the global cocoa supply chain. This section concludes that there is a decreasing trend on Indonesia position in the global cocoa market and this sector faces competitiveness gaps on business sophistication, innovation, and macroeconomic condition. Next part of the study provides an analysis on potential benefit for cocoa farmers from global value chain inclusion by exploiting the dynamics in the governance of global value chain. Based on literature study and interview with the experts, internet is considered would able to help farmers to improve their quality of life by increasing the complexity of transaction along with the capability improvement on transaction codification and finally enabling the farmers to access a wider market include virtual market. In order to analys the farmers’ acceptance on internet technology, this study employs Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), a model developed by Davis (1989) to explain the peoples’ behavior on adopting new technology. These two main factors are influenced by some external variables. Based on previous researches, this study combines the variable of business environment represented by sub-variable of Five Forces Porter with the variable of individual environment represented by sub-variable of perceived cost; perceive security and convenience; and social environment. This part of the study proposes a conceptual framework on the impact of technology adoption to business performance through intermediary variables of creativity and innovativeness. A field study was conducted in southern part of East Java with the consideration on the number of cocoa farmers, quality of broadband network, and prediction on smartphone penetration. As the result on the analysis on the impact of technology adoption, this study concludes that the user perceives the indirect benefit of mobile broadband through intermediary variables of creativity and innovativeness. This study concludes that Indonesia cocoa farmers have an opportunity to improve their quality of life by utilizing mobile broadband. Theoretically, this study contributes new understanding on technology acceptance model by combining individual and business environment factors with the impact of technology adoption to business performance through creativity and innovativeness. Managerial implication of this study states that key success factor on implementing this technology is the active involvement of business/farmer association to encourage the usefulness perception of this technology beside social approach to promote the perception on ease of use.