Role of creative classes in sustainable agricultural development: focusing on creating shared value in rural Japan

The purpose of this study was to clarify the role of creative classes in sustainable agriculture development through creating shared value in rural Japan by applying latent class analysis (LCA), structural equation modeling (SEM) and cognitive map analysis to the results of a questionnaire survey of farmers. Two hypotheses were set for verification: “There are a certain number of Japanese farmers who belong to the creative class” (H1) and "The creative class is highly entrepreneurial, appreciates the attractiveness of agriculture, prefers sustainability policies and seeks to create shared value in agriculture" (H2). We obtained analytical results as follows. First, from the results of the latent class analysis (LCA), farmers were classified into four classes (class 1: Majority, class 2: Early adopter, class 3: Laggard, class 4: Innovator). In addition, Class 4 (innovator) was interpreted as the creative class because most respondents answered positively about creative thinking, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, innovation orientation, social capital and cognitive changes due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Second, the analysis of the structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed the factors affected the entrepreneurship, namely preference for agricultural policy and impact on creating shared value in agriculture in the creative class. In other words, we found that the evaluation of the multi-functionality of agriculture influences each element for entrepreneurship of the creative class, and also influences the preference for agricultural policy and creation of shared value. Thirdly, analysis of cognitive maps revealed that creative classes contribute to sustainable agricultural and rural development through the creation of shared value. However, in current Japan, the creative classes are concentrated in urban areas and farmers highly value the risk of failure, so there is no virtuous cycle for the entrepreneurial environment to shape entrepreneurial attitudes. Therefore, it is important for policies to develop creative classes in flatland agricultural areas and mountainous areas, and build networks for the creative classes among different regions.