The Moderating Effects of Family Farms Between Innovation, Information Systems, and Training-Learning Over Performance

This work addresses how information systems and training-learning affect the innovation of productive processes and in turn how they influence the performance of the agricultural banana companies (AC). Particularly, it analyzes the moderation effect that being a family farm exerts on these relationships. To do that we apply partial least square technique to 416 AC in the province of El Oro—Republic of Ecuador. Data were obtained by an in hand self-administered questionnaire addressed in 2017 to the owners and managers of these businesses. The results show that (1) information systems contribute significantly to the innovation of productive processes of AC. It also contributes directly and significantly to the performance of the AC as well as through the innovation of productive processes mediation; (2) training directly and significantly influences the innovation of productive processes, but not on performance, which it influences only through the mediation effect of the innovation of productive processes; (3) innovation of productive processes significantly affects the performance of the AC Further, we demonstrate the moderating effect that the family farms have on the information systems—the innovation of productive processes—performance relationship.