Understanding farmers’ eco-friendly fertilization technology adoption behavior using an integrated S-O-R model: The case of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology in shaanxi, china

Abstract

The rapid development of high-standard farmland construction has triggered explosion of farmland cultivated land protection technologies in recent years. Contemporary, eco-friendly fertilization technology (EFFT) are rapidly becoming main force to achieve food security and promote the national ecological strategy. Hence, based on the extended stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theoretical analysis framework, this empirical research 295 field interview data of farmers in the high standard farmland grain main production area in Shaanxi Province, a developing country context, to analyze the mechanism of external incentives on farmers’ eco-friendly fertilization technology adoption behavior, further tested to examine the mediating effect of intrinsic perception and moderating effect of the family endowment. We applied the methodological approach, partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), to test the hypothetical model. The results show that external incentives can effectively improve farmers’ technology adoptive behavior; internal perception has a significant positive effect on adoptive behavior, and it plays an intermediary role between external incentives and eco-friendly fertilization technology adoption behavior; family endowment has a significant positive effect on farmers’ technology adoption behavior, but the moderating effect of family endowment in external incentive-technology adoption behavior relationship is not significant. Therefore, we should choose appropriate and flexible government regulations, and give full play to the role of premium incentives, so as to improve the motivation of farmers to adopt eco-friendly fertilization technology.