Internet Use, Social Capital, and Farmers’ Green Production Behavior: Evidence from Agricultural Cooperatives in China

Jingjing Wang, Jiabin Xu and Silin Chen ()
Additional contact information
Jingjing Wang: School of Economics and Management, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Jiabin Xu: College of Economics and Management, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Silin Chen: College of Economics and Management, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: Agricultural cooperatives are the main vehicle for farmers to engage in green agriculture. With the digital transformation in rural areas, it is crucial to explore how cooperative members can effectively access online information and integrate it into green production decision-making processes. Based on the survey data of 530 members of rice planting cooperatives in Heilongjiang Province in China, this paper selected eight green production behaviors commonly used by rice farmers as explained variables, and constructed an ordered probit model. Using the social capital theory, the impact and mechanism of internet use on cooperative members’ green production behavior were examined. The results showed the following: (1) Internet use facilitates the cooperative members’ green production behavior. This conclusion remains valid even after addressing the endogeneity test and robustness test. (2) The heterogeneity analysis revealed that the internet is particularly effective in enhancing the green production behaviors of farmers who are less educated, middle-aged, and those with strong connections to cooperatives. (3) A further mechanism test indicates that internet use not only significantly influences farmers’ trust in cooperatives but also aids them in comprehending the cooperative’s production specifications, thereby further advancing the improvement in green production behaviors. (4) Members’ satisfaction with cooperative sales can serve as a substitute for the internet in influencing their green production behavior.

Keywords: internet use; green production behavior; cooperative members; social capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1137/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1137/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:1137-:d:1580552

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().