Résumé
This contribution examines the capacity of digital tools to reduce farmers' transaction costs. The study uses data from a survey of 157 French market gardeners. Propensity score matching methods are used to identify the effects induced by the use of digital tools. We distinguish six different functions of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and compare their effects according to the farmer's marketing strategy (direct or indirect sales). The results show that every ICTs functions reduces at least one type of transaction cost for all farmers. ICTs are beneficial for direct sellers because they reduce their transaction costs (online price information, marketing and relational functions) or have no significant effect. However, for indirect sellers, while certain functions reduce these costs (sales organisations, marketing and relational functions), information exchange within the supply chain function seems to reinforce the information asymmetries that exist in long supply chains and increase transaction costs.