Understanding Farmers’ Intention to Use a Sustainability Standard: The Role of Economic Rewards, Knowledge, and Ease of Use

Veronika Hannus and Johannes Sauer
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Veronika Hannus: Agricultural Production and Resource Economics, Technical University of Munich, Alte Akademie 14, 85354 Freising, Germany
Johannes Sauer: Agricultural Production and Resource Economics, Technical University of Munich, Alte Akademie 14, 85354 Freising, Germany

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-21

Abstract: Voluntary approaches to improving sustainability in agriculture can contribute significantly to reduce the sector’s negative environmental impacts and provide a foundation for sustainable land use and farmers’ incomes. We investigate what motivates farmers to implement comprehensive sustainability management on their farms. For this purpose, we use a structural equation model (SEM) to evaluate the individual factors influencing the decision-making process within the technology acceptance model (TAM). Our empirical data from 363 farmers fit the theoretical model very well. The model confirms a positive influence of expected economic rewards and subjective norms on the perceived usefulness of such an innovation. However, ease of use is most important, as it is related directly to the stated intention to use a standard. In addition, the data indicate a high, significant, and direct effect of prior knowledge of on-farm sustainability management on stated intent to use a standard. These findings can serve as a starting point to improve not only existing sustainability management systems, but also emerging farm management information systems (FMISs), or agri-environmental schemes with the aim to make their use more attractive. However, further research is needed to verify the results by means of practical applications.

Keywords: sustainable agriculture; sustainability management; farm sustainability standard; innovation adoption; technology acceptance model; TAM; standard design; structural equation model; SEM; ease of use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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