Canonical correlation of technological innovation and performance in sheep's dairy farms: Selection of a set of indicators

Impact of Dynamic Capabilities on Performance in Dairy Sheep Farms in Spain

“…Absorption capability showed a positive influence on integration (Hypotheses 1) and on the economic result (Hypotheses 3) in a direct and indirect way. Farms recognize the value of external information and new technologies, assimilate and apply them to commercial ends [2,9]. Farmers in central Spain mainly responded to the economic crisis by increasing the sizes of their flocks, increasing the intensification and specialization in a productive activity, and reducing diversity and resilience of the farming system [3,6,30].…”

“…Data were collected by using in situ visits to the farms by the same person, with 5 h of duration each one, from 2012 to 2014, updated according to data from existing farms in 2018. References [2,30] describe the Manchego dairy mixed system in Castilla La Mancha. The questionnaire included 203 questions related to the use of land, facilities, flock, labor force, feeding, grazing, breeding, animal healthcare, milking and milk quality, and economic and social issues [29,30].…”

“…Considering Delphi's methodology, 49 indicators of dynamic capabilities and performance were assessed (Supplementary Materials Table S1). The selection and assignment process consisted of experts' judgments by means of successive iterations of a questionnaire oriented to show convergence of opinions, and to identify dissent or non-convergence [2,11,12]. To do the Delphi, a workshop with face-to-face participation of 30 experts from the Animal Science Department at the University of Cordoba was held in May 2017.…”

“…In Spain, the dairy sheep industry suffers from an intense crisis as a consequence of a group of factors: lack of profitability, increased bureaucracy in management, absence of intergenerational relay that assures the continuity of the activity [1][2][3], changes in the habits of consumers with a reduction in the consumption of sheep meat and animal protein [4], and the need to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions [5]. In Castilla La Mancha (central Spain), the producers have responded to the crisis: 33.7% of farms have abandoned the milking activity and the rest show a trend towards the intensification and specialization of production [6].…”

“…Questions were evaluated by applying a mixed methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies. For the selection and grouping of capabilities' indicators, Delphi's methodology was used [2,8]. Later on, a structural equation model (SEM) was built to evaluate interactions between the different dynamic capabilities and the impact of dynamic capabilities on farms' performance for Manchego dairy sheep farms in Castilla La Mancha, Spain [1,51,52].…”