Startup e Innovación Tecnología: Ecosistemas de

innovación para mejorar el rendimiento de negocios agro-

comerciales en La Troncal

Adriana Nicole Verdugo Ortega

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we have taken a mixed research methodology that

will allow us through analysis of reports and studies

conducted by government organizations, NGOs and

interviews with business owners who provide

precision agriculture services such as spraying with

drones in the study area. Having as main objective a

review of the current situation of the problem to

identify the main innovation ecosystems needed to

improve the performance of agro-commercial

businesses in the Canton La Troncal.

proyecto que pretende realizar un estudio para la

implementación de herramientas informáticas

emergentes o startup para el área empresarial y

1576-7725

lsjaraob@ucacue.edu.ec https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4958-5698

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4958-5698

gubernamentales, ONG y entrevistas a propietarios

de negocios que brindan servicios de agricultura de

precisión como la fumigación con drones en el área

de estudio. Teniendo como objetivo principal una

revisión de la situación actual del problema para la

identificar los principales ecosistemas de innovación

necesarios para mejorar el rendimiento de negocios

agro-comerciales en el Cantón La Troncal.

changes in areas such as health, education, labor, logistics and trade. According to an

ECLAC report, the adoption of telework increased by 324%, e-commerce by 157% and

online education by more than 60%. This cultural change has an impact on all aspects of

society and the economy, but its adoption is limited by structural factors such as the

lack of digital infrastructure and socioeconomic restrictions. Although the countries of

the region have taken measures to promote the use of technologies, these actions have

been limited by gaps in access and use, especially in rural and agricultural areas. Today,

the agribusiness sector is facing increasing challenges to maintain its competitiveness

and profitability. However, the emergence of startups and technological innovations has

provided an opportunity to improve the performance of these businesses. An

the use of sensors and drones, enabling farmers to make informed decisions about

irrigation and fertilization. Another startup may develop an e-commerce platform to

connect farmers with buyers, enabling farmers to get better prices for their produce.

In addition to improving efficiency in production and processing, innovation ecosystems

can also help agribusinesses improve their environmental and social sustainability. For

example, a startup can develop a technology to reduce the use of pesticides and

fertilizers, which can help protect the environment and improve the health of

the adoption of technologies in the agribusiness sector, such as lack of infrastructure

and lack of access to finance, need to be addressed.

Ecuador's reality does not differ much from that described in studies throughout Latin

America and the Caribbean on the growing reach of technology by citizens. According

to the technical bulletin of the INEC (National Institute of Statistics and Census) on

information and communication technology indicators (2021) we have as results that the

use of desktop computer increased from 23.3% in 2019 to 25.3% in 2020 and from 28.5%

use of laptops in 2019 to 31.3% in 2020. Another important indicator shown in this study

is the percentage of Ecuadorian households that have internet access with 45.5% for the

to improve the performance of agro-commercial businesses in La Troncal Canton, for

which we have proposed to follow a mixed research methodology that allows us to

represent the different quantitative data from statistical centers such as INEC and the

analysis of qualitative data through the reading of the different scientific texts generated

on the topic of study that were consulted in scientific databases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The development of any research work requires the use of a mixed research

methodology focused mainly on the study of methods and techniques of analysis and

data collection, which will determine how the proposed problem will be developed. The

such as INEC and the Ministry of Telecommunications, Agrocalidad, and the Ministry of

Agriculture and Livestock.

The qualitative approach, is necessary to be able to address the perspectives developed

regarding the topic of Startup and Innovation Technology to improve the performance

of agro-commercial businesses proposed by academics in the different scientific texts

developed in recent years, this will allow through deductive method where Abreu

(2015) states that, "The deductive method allows determining the characteristics of a

deductive method fits our proposal in the Canton La Troncal, Cañar Province as the

study scenario for this article.

To complement the information in our study, we used the technique of interviewing

actors and representatives of agro-commercial businesses in La Troncal, identifying that

there are two service providers in the canton that apply technology for agricultural

processes such as spraying with drones.

There are many applications of the interview for the development of an empirical

research that is based on interpersonal communication between the researcher and the

subject or subjects of study to obtain verbal answers to the questions posed about the

problem. However, it is often forgotten that what is applied in practice is not the method

However, innovation is not only limited to technology, it can also be found in the fields

of business, medicine, education, among others.

In the 19th century, economists Joseph Schumpeter and Peter Drucker focused on

studying the importance of innovation in economic development, and in the 20th

century, it has become a key topic in business research and development. The

innovation process involves the identification of a need or problem, the generation of

ideas to solve it, the evaluation and selection of the best ideas, and finally, the

implementation and commercialization of the solution.(Arteaga et al., 2015)

The importance of innovation lies in its ability to improve the quality of life, create jobs

and increase competitiveness in a globalized economy. It is also essential to the survival

authors, Choez et al., (2021) consider that currently entrepreneurs who develop

competencies and move nimbly in these areas such as competitiveness, technological

change and innovation, during the crisis will possess a strategic advantage over their

competitors in the post pandemic economy, establishing opportunities for companies

to become more innovative and facing external pressures, getting out of their routines

and comfort zones to become creative problem solvers through innovation.

Table 1Company results

The table indicates that both SMEs and large companies suffer variation in operations

each year. The same INEC report tells us that MSMEs sold 46,921 million in 2019,

representing 27.7% of the total sales generated by all companies in Ecuador.

An important process for the current growth of innovation in Ecuador's SMEs is the

process of digital payments, which play an important role in financial inclusion, as they

allow people to access additional financial services such as credit and insurance, improve

savings and risk management capacity, and help to better withstand financial shocks. In

addition, digital payments allow governments to reach a larger proportion of the

Caribbean) such as :

innovation

ecosystems found in the literature review.

For Jackson (2011), as cited in (Finquelievich et al., 2017) The difference between a

biological ecosystem and an innovation ecosystem is that the former refers to a set of

relationships between life, habitat and residents in an area, while the latter refers to

complex relationships in the economy that promote the development of technology

and innovation. The key elements in an innovation ecosystem include material resources

and human capital, such as students, professors, researchers and companies, which are

part of institutional entities such as universities, companies and funding agencies.

Currently, the most economically prosperous cities are those that have managed to

to act in the Knowledge Society.

In the paper entitled Species in the Wild: a typology of innovation ecosystems, Klimas

& Czakon (2021) using a critical analysis of systematic literature reviews and a thematic

analysis, identify 34 different types of innovation ecosystems intentional (deliberate,

planned), emergent (implicit), orchestrated (hierarchy), collectively coordinated

(heterarchy), emergent, developmental, mature, declining, dead, corporate-dominated,

university-dominated, meta-organizational, centralized, decentralized, egocentric (firm-

centric; center-based), microscopic, mediocopic, macroscopic, radical innovation-

centered, incremental innovation-centered, pioneering innovations-centered, high-tech,

multi-platform, urban/innovation districts, local, regional, national, international, global,

unsuccessful (weak), unprofitable and unsustainable". Depending on the extent to which

innovation co-creation relationships are exploited through innovation processes

implemented by IE actors (innovation ecosystems), they aggregate into: (1 ) co-

discovery; (2) co-development; (3) co-implementation; (4) co-delivery; (5) co-diffusion;

and (6) multi-stage co-innovation." (Finquelievich, Feldman, & Girolimo, 2017, p. 275)

For our research, we will take the types of ecosystems mentioned above that we have

considered best suited to our study.

companies that lead the agribusiness markets, leaving little room for small and medium

enterprises that emerge in this environment. An environment that, according to the

article in the electronic newspaper primicias (2019) indicates that in general more than

half of the local entrepreneurship does not manage to overcome the barrier of 3 years

and attributes among the possible causes the absence of innivation, low profitability and

difficulty in accessing credit as the main causes. (Pensantes, 2019)

The second within the category of innovation ecosystem rank criteria under the spatial

rank typology we have the urban/innovation district ecosystems, which are

characterized by the physical sense, the structure of the IE does not extend beyond a

modes of labor and domestic distribution, new partnerships between public and private

organizations to operate in the city and, above all, new ways of collaboratively linking

institutions and companies that traditionally competed with each other in a small local

market. (Gzyl, 2015)

The existence of innovation districts is based on processes and qualities that have always

accompanied the city as an effective means of association and human exchange.

Another important reference to the types of innovation is made by (Barreras et al.,

2015) in which he quoted Revilla (2008) who defines in his text that innovation "consists

of the commercial application of an idea" and refers to two types of innovation the first

using as a criterion the degree of novelty of the innovation and the following

agribusiness companies implies greater investments due to their geographical location

where they must operate usually in cantons next to the productive sectors of

agriculture.

Regarding radical innovation (Barreras et al., 2015),who in his work cites (Schumpeter,

1996, p.122) indicates:

"Both radical innovation and incremental innovation are relative in a temporal or

chronological sense, since the degree or magnitude of novelty. In the case of radical

innovation, there is a temporary rupture that gives way from the non-existent or old to

the existing or novel, which implies, in Schumpeter's words, a process of "creative

genetic material (seeds), leaving aside the adoption of information and communication

technologies to directly improve the operations and processes of agricultural work.

(Hugo & Zambrano, 2019)

Finally, disruptive innovation involves direct technological and behavioral changes,

following the market rather than a particular factor. As the origin of the word disruptive

(Ledo et al., 2019) mentions in his text "The word disruptive is of French origin

"disruptif" and English "disruptive", and is used to define a decisive or abrupt change.

Then, that technology that brings about profound changes in processes, products or

services is a disruptive technology and generally entails a strategy of introduction, to

consolidation and displaces the previous technology".

that provide this service imply that the final costs of the service for farmers are very

high for the profits that their crops represent.

The alternative of spraying using a drone system greatly reduces operating costs, in this

respect. (Boza, 2021) mentions that specialized drones for agriculture in the market

currently range between USD$20,000 and USD$24,000 depending on the

characteristics and specifications of the drone, the cost of acquiring 8 drones to provide

As the image illustrates, about 27 thousand hectares of the province of Cañar are

destined for the cultivation of sugar cane, 5 thousand for the cultivation of cocoa and 3

thousand for the cultivation of bananas, with the highest concentration in the canton of

La Troncal.

The same ecuadorencifras portal that uses a business intelligence tool, powerbi, shows

us the following graph for the province of Cañar.