Internal Factors Affecting Competitiveness in Agribusinesses: A Case Study in the Hazelnut Sector in Ordu and Giresun Provinces of Turkey.

ABSTRACT

The study's primary purpose is to reveal the factors affecting the competitiveness of hazelnut agribusiness enterprises. The data used in the research were obtained from surveys with 51 enterprises in Ordu and Giresun provinces, Turkey. The enterprises were divided into competitive and non-competitive with a two-step cluster analysis. Indices were calculated to measure enterprises' competitiveness, and the t­test was used to compare enterprises' characteristics and competitiveness values. The research results indicated that the size of the enterprises, implementation of corporate governance processes, support for personnel development, employment of qualified personnel, differentiated process management, robust information technologies infrastructure, and using e­commerce applications increased the competitiveness. The research results confirmed that the competitiveness of enterprises was affected not only by financial indicators but also by internal factors within the enterprise. The non-competitive enterprises focused on low-cost production and overlooked other internal and external factors necessary for competitiveness. The hazelnut enterprises could increase their competitiveness by investing in e­commerce and information technologies infrastructure by prioritizing personnel and corporate management processes.