Impact assessment of the Coffee Social Network (Rede Social do Café)

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the impacts of the Coffee Social Network (Rede Social do Café, in portuguese) among different categories of users through the proposal of a method based on multidimensional indicators. The CSN shares information about coffee and promotes collaboration and exchange of experiences in the coffee ecosystem. In an online study conducted in 2019 with 366 respondents, we observed an overall measured impact of the CSN of 29.1%, ranging from 25% to 37%, among eight categories of users: Agroindustry, Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (TARE), Commer-cialization, Communication, Education, Research, Agricultural Production, and Other. The most expressive results were found in the Quality, Evolution in Knowledge, and Adoption of Technologies indicators, at 44.4%, 39.4%, and 38.4%, respectively. Such indicators refer to an established pattern in each one of the categories of users and are aligned with the objectives of the CSN and with its most frequent themes. The results found are relevant for the man-agement of the platform, whether as informative content or in relationship with users. Finally, the model of impact assessment proved to be appropriate for the CSN and can be applied in other social networks linked to agribusiness.