The Organizational Logic of Technology: An Analysis of the Transformation of the Agricultural Economy in County B, 1986–2016

Abstract

Based on field investigation in County B of Shanxi Province, this paper explores the relationship between technology and organization by examining the complex interactions between the government (technology supplier) and the differentiated agricultural managers (technology recipients) and the subsequent transformation of the agricultural economy. Past studies have argued that government intervention can significantly improve economic management, and the government-led, highly organized model of agricultural technology promotion can effectively solve the problem of social cost in technology application by rural households. However, when technology promotion driven by political mobilization is over, the application of new technologies by rural households encounters difficulties because of the growing capitalization of technological factors on the one hand and the households’ limited capital accumulation and consumption structure on the other. The government, for its own part, also redirects its technological services to the more capitalized, large-scale managements, which are considered to be able to accelerate the application of new technologies and the realization of the government’s economic objectives. Nevertheless, the importance of rural households should never be ignored in the government’s economic planning. It is possible that, with the support of the government, large-scale agricultural managements can integrate rural households into their growth model that combines production with marketing by outsourcing technological service. This will bring about profound changes in the local agricultural technology promotion system and accelerate the transformation of the agricultural management system.