Transformación digital y productividad total de los factores (PTF) en las empresas españolas del sector oleícola: Una aproximación digital

Resumen:El actual entorno globalizado ha venido precedido de un aumento generalizado de la difusión y de la utilización de las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TIC) por parte de las empresas y los consumidores, dicha circunstancia hace que el uso de estas tecnologías sea fundamental para que el sector cooperativo oleícola afronte con garantías la creciente competencia. Así, la correcta utilización de las TIC proporciona una mejora de la productividad, y por ende de la competitividad de las empresas. Así, en este artículo se analiza la evolución de la productividad total de los factores en el sector de aceite de oliva español entre los años 2012 y 2016, a fin de determinar la influencia que tiene esta variable en la posición internacional de las empresas.Abstract:The current globalized environment and the widespread increase in the dissemination and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by companies and consumers, makes the use of these technologies essential for the Olive oil cooperative sector faces increasing competition in the market. Nevertheless, the use of ICT provides an improvement in productivity, and hence the competitiveness of companies (Diaz-Chao & Torrent-Sellens, 2010). Thus, any product is likely to enter into this dynamic of international trade, among others, agri-food products are currently an important part of the global market. But for this circumstance to occur it is important that all companies adapt to the global market, which is why this recent business contextualization has led to rethinking the scale of operations, knowledge management, as well as labour practices. In order to achieve this purpose, you must first innovate and improve your productivity. Despite the importance of the sector in Spain these companies have not been subject to in-depth analysis. Given this reality, it is important to analyse the impact of the sector's productivity, which in turn allows for greater internationalization, as well as the improvement of TFP in those companies in the sector that actively use ICT. Our main hypothesis is determined by the relationship between a higher productivity of the company with respect to its international position. The higher productivity the company sells in the international market. The main objective of this work is to analyse the international reality of the sector in recent years, as well as to measure and analyse the evolution of the total factor productivity (TFP) in the olive oil sector of Spain and Catalonia between the years between 2012 and 2016, in order to determine the influence this variable has on the international position of companies. However, the impact of ICT on the growth of the TFP at the microeconomic level is measured. Although, there is a clear limitation to the problem raised here. Not obtaining data for the total of the 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities means that the total sample is reduced to a total of 12 Autonomous Communities. That is why the contrast of the hypothesis will be reduced to this total. To carry out the database, we work with the Sistema de Análisis de Balances Ibéricos (SABI), which provides us with economic and financial information on Spanish companies throughout the Spanish industrial fabric, and in this case, the national oil sector for the period under study between the years 2012 and 2016. Therefore, in the realization of the database based on the companies where the main activity is the manufacture of olive oil are collected under the heading 1043 of the Clasificación Nacional de Actividades Económicas (CNAE). This work is developed in three phases. In the first one, the theoretical and methodological framework is carried out on the variables of vital importance in the industrial fabric, such as productivity, ITC and internationalization. For the correct estimation of the first variable, an estimation of the Cobb-Douglas production function is performed, where the estimation of the parameters will be determined, allowing to determine the reality of the TFP of the Spanish oleic sector. Likewise, it allows us to determine the influence of the ICT variable in the improvement of the TFP of the companies in the sector. The estimation of the Cobb-Douglas function is carried out by means of the ordinary least squares method and generalised squares method. Later, it is intended to analyse the impact that the TFP variable has on the company's international position with the aim of contributing to the economic literature in order to determine if the companies that are internationalized, either by export or investment, are more productive than those they do not sell in the world market. In order to test this hypothesis, a Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test is performed, which allows to compare distributions of a dichotomous variable (export-not export) with respect to a quantitative variable (TFP). The importance of the size of the company when it comes to improving the average position of the TFP variable is also analysed. That is to say, it is posed if the business size has a greater influence on the improvement of the TFP. In this case, The first thing that should be highlighted with respect to the Spanish oil sector is that micro and small companies are those that have a greater specific weight in terms of the industrial fabric of the sector with a corresponding total of 90.07%, while medium and large companies are more residuals with a total of 9.93%. In this research results have been obtained that demonstrate how to reject the hypothesis of the positive relationship between the improvements of the TFP with the use of ICT by companies in the oleic sector. Likewise, as the Autonomous Communities of the Balearic Islands, Navarra and Galicia have a better average TFP of the total of CC.AA analysed in this assignment. Finally, there is a positive relationship between productivity improvement and internationalization. Having a clear international positioning of the sector through exports. Regarding the relationship between business size and a higher average TFP value, it can be observed how medium and large companies have the best results with respect to the variable under study, while micro and small companies have lower values. This shows that even though the latter are the ones with the highest number of companies, they have the lowest mean TFP values. However, the entire business fabric of the sector has a wide margin for improvement in terms of TFP, although micro and small companies must make a greater investment in improving the variable under study. Regarding the Autonomous Communities, it can be seen how the Spanish average of the PTF is 0.596. However, the Autonomous Communities of the Aragón (0.186) and Murcia (0.123) are above the Spanish average, with these Autonomous Regions of the geographical areas with the lowest volume of olive oil companies representing the Aragón 1, 42% andMurcia 0.71%, totalling 2.13% of the total number of companies in the sector nationwide. It should be noted that Andalusia being a historical CC.AA in the production of olive oil and with 59.29% of companies in the sector has an average value of TFP bigger than Spanish with 0.510. As for Catalonia, the volume of companies corresponds to 9.22%, with an average TFP value of 0.512. This value is below the Spanish average. This reality indicates how the Catalan oleic sector has an improvement margin with respect to the variable TFP. Finally, with the application of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test, it is affirmed that there is a causal relationship between a higher productivity evaluated by the TFP and an international position (based on export). That is, these results show how the companies that have greater and better productivity are positioned in the international market through export. If the CC.AA are taken as the core object of study, it can be observed how applying a decision tree with the dependent variable the dichotomous export variable (where it takes value 1 if it performs export and value 0 if it does not perform this international activity) are the CC .AA from Galicia, Castilla y León and Murcia those that make the largest export, while Catalonia, together with the regions of Madrid, Andalusia, Valencian Community or Valencia, Castilla La Mancha, Balearic Islands and Aragon are the least exporting group. As main conclusions it is stated that in reference to the business size it is demonstrated how the large and medium companies have an index of the variable TFP higher than the micro and small companies. Likewise, regarding CC.AA, there is a clear positive position regarding the variable PTF such as the Balearic Islands, Navarre and Galicia. Although, it was expected that Andalusia was the one with a high average value of the variable under study, contrary it is below the average value of the total CC.AA analysed. Finally, it should be noted that Catalonia has a low position; therefore, it can be affirmed that said Autonomous Community has possibilities of improvement in the national set. Finally, it should be pointed out that economic policy must promote in a decisive way the competitiveness of the Catalan oleic sector, and more taking into account the importance of it in the Catalan industrial fabric. It must know how to promote the use of ICT, where it has been seen that it has a positive impact on the improvement of business TFP, allowing an improvement in competitiveness. We cannot forget the need for investment in human capital that knows how to use the new tools associated with ICT, and generate both public and private impulse in R & D & I investments.