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Abstract
The agricultural sector in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), with a particular focus on Romania, is characterized by a structural paradox: high agricultural potential coupled with a limited capacity to generate value added along the production chain. Although transitioning towards high-performance agribusiness requires significant capital infusions, access to traditional bank lending remains restrictive for many agricultural firms. Digital financial solutions and non-traditional funding instruments (Agri-FinTech) offer viable alternatives, yet their large-scale adoption is heavily contingent on the human factor.
This paper evaluates the capacity of regional agricultural firms to assimilate financial innovation by analyzing the intersection between generated value added and human capital profiles. The research explores how labor market characteristics and the decision-making profile of agricultural management-viewed through the lenses of qualification, corporate governance, and openness to innovation-act as key determinants or barriers to the utilization of digital financial services.
Taking a microeconomic approach, the study demonstrates that the successful implementation of non-traditional finance does not depend exclusively on the availability of technological infrastructure, but rather on the degree of organizational sophistication. This work addresses a major gap in the current literature by shifting the focus from macro-technological barriers to micro-structural ones. The findings highlight the critical need to align support policies and FinTech products with the educational, demographic, and operational realities of decision-makers in Eastern European agriculture.
