Digital and Sustainable: Business Ecosystem, Digital Platforms, and Big Data in the Norwegian Livestock Farming and Food-Producing Industries

Digitalization has diverse practical applications and, thus, has many central and immediate implications in various contexts. It is assumed that digitalization has simultaneously contributed to sustainable development and the achievement of the UN’s sustainable development goals and prompted the spread of online platforms that comprise the bases of digital business ecosystems. Adopting these views as a starting point, this chapter provides an outlook on the role of digitalization in sustainable development in the business ecosystem of Norwegian livestock farming and food production industries. In particular, this chapter discusses the sustainable focus of the actors in this ecosystem and how online platforms can facilitate sustainable goals by enabling the farming big data collection and analysis needed to make those goals attainable. The examination of big data-based animal breeding research in a nationwide business ecosystem in this chapter furthers our understanding of digitalization and how it can be used to mobilize sustainability.