The role of technology in the cocoa and chocolate production process in a development organization

This case study analyzes the role of technology in the cocoa and chocolate production process at the Fundación Conservación y Desarrollo and its associated company Aroma Ecuador. Its objective is to understand the social construction of the technology of this organization from an interpretive perspective. The three dimensions of technology proposed by Roberts and Grabowski were used as theoretical support; they are defined as mechanical technologies, human or physical technologies, and knowledge technologies, categories for the first time used in this type of analysis. The methodology used was focused ethnography, applied to the understanding of the triple dimension of technology within this development organization. The results describe the importance of this primary export product in the economic history of Ecuador. Then, the organization is portrayed, as the object of the case study, and the role that technology has in the cocoa and chocolate production process. This work highlights the presence of knowledge technologies in five processes identified.

• Main Author: Abad Merchán, Guido Andrés (author)
• Other Authors: Salgado Arteaga, Francisco Rodrigo (author), Acuña Bermeo, Cristina Fernanda (author), Naranjo Borja, Klever Efraín (author)
• Format: article
• Language: spa
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: administración; cacao; chocolate; producción; tecnología; cocoa; Business Processes Management; production; technology
• Online Access: https://revistas.uea.edu.ec/index.php/racyt/article/view/126