[Defended thesis] Ysé Commandré: Distribute durably with digital? The case of fresh agricultural and food products

Distribute durably with digital? The case of fresh agricultural and food products

Hello, my name is Ysé Commandré. When I chose to do my postgraduate studies in the humanities and social sciences at the Université Paul Valéry Montpellier III, I never thought I'd one day write a thesis on the world of agriculture, co-financed by #DigitAg. During the course of my studies, I was particularly interested in social issues. It was through a study of changing consumption patterns during my Master 2 in sociology and an internship co-supervised by Inra's UMR IATE and Irstea's UMR ITAP that I gained an insight into contemporary agricultural issues.
As the granddaughter of farmers, these issues particularly resonated with me. I chose this thesis in management science, which combines the place of agricultural producers in food value chains and digital technology, because in view of contemporary issues and my personal background, I wanted to understand how to improve conditions for agricultural producers.
Digital technology is increasingly identified as a solution to contemporary problems and issues affecting agriculture, but its knock-on effects are poorly understood. I'd like to contribute to identifying the factors that make digital a resource for a more sustainable distribution of food products for agricultural producers.

• Starting date: October 2018
• University : University of Montpellier
• PhD school: EDEG
• Scientific field: Management sciences
• Thesis management: Sophie Mignon (Univ Montpellier MRM) et Catherine Macombe (Inrae ITAP)
• Thesis supervisors: Rallou Thomopoulos (Inrae IATE) et M-Christine Lichtlé (Univ Montpellier MRM)
• Funding: #DigitAg – Université de Montpellier
• #DigitAg : Cofunded PhD – Axes 1 et 2 – Challenges 7, 6 et 8

Keywords: Fresh produce distribution - ICT - digital - digitalization of distribution - remuneration of producers

Abstract: Lifestyles are changing rapidly, both in the West and among the middle classes in the South (Kharas, 2010). Many modes of distribution have developed. An extreme example is that of an American company, which offers fresh home-made food products (including the Rosette de Lyon!) in the heart of New York. This latter model is based on an intensive mobilization of digital resources, with advantages (it brings together producers and consumers, it facilitates access to products of the most isolated, it reduces waste, limits car journeys) but also obvious disadvantages. On the other hand, this new form of distribution creates new balances of power between the actors within the sector and new legal arrangements (contracts etc.). The rebound effects induced by the use of ICT in this context are unknown, including the sustainability of the production companies engaged in these processes. In addition to the traditional forms of mass retailing in most developing countries, it is likely that new forms based on the use of ICT will emerge rapidly. Indeed, these countries are subject to technological leaps, as we have seen for mobile telephony (Etzo and Collender, 2010). New distribution systems could therefore be developed through ICTs, both in the North and the South, and in the future will represent an important part of the market for the distribution of fresh agricultural and food products. In the hope that this form of distribution will increase, this project aims to improve our knowledge about its links with digital resources and its consequences of all kinds.

Jury compound:

• Olivier Germain, Professeur, Université du Québec à Montréal, Rapporteur
• Marie-Christine Lichtlé, Professeur des Universités, Université de Montpellier, Co-Encadrante de thèse
• Catherine Macombe, Directeur de recherche, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'alimentation et l'Environnement, Co-Directice de thèse
• Sophie Michel, Professeur Associé, EM Strasbourg Business School, Examinatrice
• Sophie Mignon, Professeur des Universités, Université de Montpellier, Directrice de these
• Jean-Luc Moriceau, Professeur des Universités, Institut Mines-Télécom Business School, Examinateur
• Corinne Rochette, Professeur des Université, IAE Clermont Auvergne, Rapporteur
• Florent Saucède, Maître de Conférences, Institut Agro Montpellier, Invité