Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 3 — Observational / field trialPeer-reviewed

From platform logics to circular-oriented practices: advancing sustainability in agriculture

Maria Cristina Pietronudo, Francesco Schiavone, Fabian Bernhard, Octavio Escobar

Technology in Society · 2026

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Summary

This organisational study examines how the underlying logics of digital platforms—connectivity, sharing, and integration—can enable sustainability and circular-economy practices across agricultural value chains, even when platforms are not explicitly designed with sustainability as a primary goal. Using Agritrack, a digital platform in agriculture, as a case study, the authors demonstrate that these logics activate distinct sustainability mechanisms: connectivity drives collaborative initiatives, sharing enables monitoring and transparency, and integration coordinates optimisation across interconnected actors. The findings advance understanding of how platformisation can support circular transitions in food systems.

UK applicability

The findings may be applicable to UK agricultural digital platform adoption and circular-economy policy priorities, particularly for supporting interconnected supply chains and resource optimisation. However, the abstract does not specify the geographic context of Agritrack or its regulatory environment, limiting direct transferability assessment.

Key measures

Qualitative assessment of how platform logics activate sustainability practices; identification of circular-oriented configurations and their mechanisms for narrowing and slowing resource flows

Outcomes reported

The study identified how three platform logics (connectivity, sharing, and integration) activate sustainability practices within agricultural value chains. The research demonstrated that circular-oriented configurations emerge from combined activation of these logics, contributing to input optimization, waste reduction, and slowing of resource degradation.

Theme
Farming systems, soils & land use
Subject
Food & agricultural policy
Study type
Research
Study design
Theory-informed abductive case study
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
System type
Food supply chain
DOI
10.1016/j.techsoc.2026.103345
Catalogue ID
SNmoppcp9e-70cyah

Topic tags

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