Managerial and structural drivers of industry 4.0 technology adoption in the agri-food supply chain

This study examines the organizational and managerial factors that influence the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies, specifically Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT), within the U.S. agri-food supply chain. Drawing on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, we analyze data from a national survey of 281 agribusiness professionals distributed through the Center for Food and Agricultural Business (CAB) at Purdue University. We construct composite perception indices for AI, blockchain, and IoT based on familiarity, integration, productivity, and resiliency items. We then estimate separate logistic regression models for the adoption of each technology and report the average marginal effects. Our results show that organizational role and market scope are more strongly associated with both adoption and favorable perceptions than educational attainment. Upper-level management and globally positioned firms are systematically more positive and more likely to adopt. The study suggests that firms seeking to accelerate Industry 4.0 adoption should target education and change-management efforts at middle management, strengthen cross-functional exposure to digital use cases, and align incentives and support structures around integrated adoption of AI, blockchain, and IoT rather than treating each technology in isolation. These findings contribute to the growing literature on digitalization in the agri-food supply chain by highlighting the importance of internal organizational dynamics and strategic positioning. The results offer practical implications for stakeholders aiming to accelerate digital adoption, including policymakers, industry leaders, and workforce development professionals. More broadly, the study highlights the importance of aligning digital infrastructure, managerial capacity, and strategic incentives in transitioning to digitized agri-food supply chains.