Digital Revolution in Food Entrepreneurship: Perspectives from Select Small and Micro Food Enterprises
Authors: Yachao Pu , Aquino Jet 
Published: November 2024

This study is entitled Digital Technologies and Its Integration In The Operations Of Micro And Small Food Enterprises: Basis For Strategic Plan which intended to describe the profile of the companies namely, Henan Little Jade Foods, The Garden of Clear Fragrance Foods, Tianjin Joint Venture Foods, and Tianjin the EatSmart Way Technology Development Company. These four food enterprises located in Henan and Tianjin, China integrate digital technologies in their business operations. This research aims to provide a description of digital technologies integrated in the operations of micro and small food enterprises as basis for strategic plan. The description of the profile of the four companies dealt with the nature of business, products and services offered, number of years in the business, existing market, platform of distribution, and business or asset size as of 2022.
In addition, this study delves into the use of digital technologies in the business areas of management and decision making, marketing, production/operations and finance. Regarding the integration of digital technologies in small microfood businesses, all respondents strongly agreed on the use of digital technologies in the four main areas of management and decision making, marketing, production/operations and finance. In the area of management and decision making, 98% of the respondents strongly agreed with the following item statements:In the marketing area, 96% of respondents strongly agreed that digital technology "helps to broaden the customer base, pricing, customer trends and future demand forecasting, helps to develop a customer-centered marketing strategy, and helps to build a competitive brand." In the production/operations area, 92% of respondents strongly agreed with the statement that the following items: "facilitates the implementation of more effective risk assessment and risk mitigation, brings innovation to the company, facilitates an effective transition from traditional to modernized production models, improves the efficiency of customer relationship management, and better connects the company to the community." In the area of finance, 93% of respondents felt strongly that digital technology has caused "confusion and struggle due to lack of preparedness on issues such as the digital economy, cyberthreats and attacks, financial management software, and digital investments." In marketing, respondents agreed that digital technology has created "confusion due to loss of control over customer interactions, poorly trained staff, and mistrust among customers." They also agreed that on the production/operations side, digital technology has brought about internal conflicts and difficulties in complying with regulatory policies due to different perspectives on understanding digital". Based on these findings, we propose a strategic plan for food companies to study and adapt. The researcher recommends further research into the potential for micro and small food businesses to participate in a centralized data management system. However, this will require more training for employees to ensure that everyone is up-to-date with the industry's digitalization and in sync with customer platforms. The challenges that food companies face in integrating digital technologies must be examined by top management and employees alike to determine what issues the company must strategically address to ensure sustainability and productivity, which are the ingredients for survival in the world market.
 
Keywords:  digital technologies, integration, micro and small food enterprises, management and decision-making, marketing, production/operations, finance