Investigating the Relationship Between Scalability and Break-Even in Agtechs: An Analysis of a Multifactorial Model

• Grant number: 25/06954-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Principal Investigator: Paulo Henrique Bertucci Ramos
• Grantee: Ana Carolina Issobe Bom
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências em Gestão e Tecnologia (CCGT). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Campus de Sorocaba. Sorocaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The agribusiness sector has been transformed by the advancement of digital technologies, driving the growth of Agtechs-startups that apply innovative solutions to the agricultural and agribusiness sectors. The scalability of these companies is a crucial element for their success, especially in relation to break-even, where revenues begin to cover fixed and variable costs. The main objective of this research project is to complement the Design Science Research (DSR) protocol used in the previous work (2023/11456-7) by evaluating the multifactorial model developed, which highlights the relationship between break-even and scalability in Agtechs. To achieve this, in-depth interviews will be conducted with CEOs, founders, and investors specializing in Agtechs. The central theme of these interviews will address the characteristics that contribute to a good user experience, such as operational feasibility, generality, clarity, appropriateness to the studied reality, completeness, consistency, comprehensibility, and structural simplicity. The interviews will be analyzed using content analysis techniques (Bardin, 2010), and the statements made during the interviews will undergo agreement analysis using the Likert scale (1932). (AU)