Author

Tyler McGee

Graduation Year

January 2012

Graduation Month

May

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

School or Department

Business School

Major

Management Information Systems

Faculty Mentor Department

Business School

Faculty Mentor

David Firth

Faculty Reader(s)

Doug Dalenberg

Keywords

carr, disruptive innovation, christensen, agribusiness, walmart, innovator's dilemma, adm, agriculture, does it matter?, information systems

Subject Categories

Agribusiness

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how the process of disruptive innovation will impact the agribusiness industry, and how this transition will take place. This analysis will be demonstrated through scenario analysis, with three potential scenarios being demonstrated and explained. This project was developed using research from a broad range of sources over the course of several years, as well as studies conducted within the industry itself through firsthand experience gained while working for one of the largest firms operating in this industry. While disruptive innovation has been a phenomenon studied in several industries and areas, it has not yet been applied to agribusiness. This approach looks at this well-documented process, but analyzes it from the standpoint of the agribusiness, an area that has yet to be examined. This is significant because agribusiness affects every person on the planet. From the subsistence farmer in Africa to the large scale commercial farmer in the American Midwest, to consumers around the world, nearly the entire human population relies on the agribusiness industry to manage, transport, and process simple crops into foods, ingredients, chemicals and products that nourish our bodies and build our world. Any changes that occur in this industry will theoretically spread to impact every person who consumes food with even the slightest processing, and every industry that is in any way connected to the crops and other raw materials produced by agriculture.

Honors College Research Project

1

Included in

Agribusiness Commons

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© Copyright 2012 Tyler McGee