Barriers to Strategic Analysis and Smart Technology Adoption in Developed Dairy Farms: A Qualitative Pilot Study

Developed dairy farms face increasing turbulence from climate change, market volatility and rapid digitalization. While strategic analysis is widely promoted, its systematic use, and the strategic integration of smart technologies, remains limited. This qualitative pilot study, grounded in strategic management and innovation literature, explores these challenges by combining a targeted review with ten semi-structured interviews involving farmers (3), consultants (4), a veterinarian specialized in data-driven farming, a policymaker, and a professor of strategic analysis. Across this diverse group, seven interrelated barriers emerged: constrained information use, low digital readiness, behavioural resistance, weak entrepreneurial orientation, institutional uncertainty, underused advisory support and fragmented decision routines. The findings highlight a persistent gap between established strategic tools (SWOT, PESTEL, scenario planning) and their practical application: digital investments are often reactive rather than strategically embedded. The contribution lies in framing digital transformation as a strategic capability challenge, not only a technological one, and translating the barrier set into actionable levers for managers, advisors and policymakers. As a pilot, the study also sets out a research agenda for broader comparative analysis of strategy and digital adoption in agriculture, providing both immediate insights and directions for future work.