Factors and barriers of digital transformation in agricultural enterprises: comprehensive analysis and typology

Abstract

Problem. Digital transformation in the agro-industrial complex is seen as a key factor for increasing competitiveness and ensuring food security. However, the pace of digital technology adoption in the Russian agro-industrial sector remains low, and the reasons for the gap between technological potential and actual practice have been studied only fragmentarily. Methodology. The study is based on a systems approach using statistical data analysis from Rosstat and HSE, a review of scientific literature and consulting company reports, as well as case studies of digital technology implementation in Russian agricultural enterprises ('Step', 'Rusagro', 'Russian Land'). The typology of barriers was built based on identifying stable relationships between economic, technological, human resource, and institutional constraints. Research results. It was found that the share of spending on digital technologies in agriculture stagnates at around 0.3% of total expenses, but absolute spending increased from 10.1 billion rubles in 2023 to 12.9 billion rubles in 2024. The share of Russian software in license costs reached 68.6%, indicating progress in import substitution while dependence remains in narrow segments. Based on an analysis of five groups of factors (economic, technological, institutional, personnel, organizational and managerial), an original typology of digitalization barriers was developed, showing that for large agroholdings, the key systemic issue is managing the complexity of the digital architecture (integrating fragmented systems and ensuring cybersecurity), while for small farms it’s institutional and infrastructural isolation (high solution costs without cooperation and weak basic infrastructure). Self-sustaining cycles of mutual reinforcement of barriers (systemic traps) have been identified and characterized, and a concept of a systemic digital inertia index has been proposed, which allows for pinpointing key nodes in these cycles and justifying priority support measures for enterprises of different sizes. A critical analysis of foreign experience (USA, Germany, China) made it possible to identify not only useful practices but also the limits of directly applying them in Russia, based on which outlines of adapted solutions were suggested. Practical application. A differentiated approach to overcoming barriers has been proposed – for large businesses, promoting the development of domestic software and standardization; for small businesses, developing infrastructure and subsidizing affordable platform solutions, which can be used when adjusting regional agricultural digitalization programs.