Causal Factors Influencing Adoption of Agricultural Innovation for Sustainability: A Case Study of the Smile Innovation Project

Abstract

This quantitative research aimed to study the component of causal factors influencing adoption of agricultural innovation for sustainability. The sample of 398 farmers who participated in the innovation project of creating smiles and using agricultural technology were selected using purposive sampling from 45 areas in 29 provinces nationwide. Data was collected using an online questionnaire with closed-ended questions. The content validity and reliability of the questionnaire were examined. The content validity index was 0.945, and the overall reliability of the questionnaire was 0.979, both of which met the standard criteria. The data analysis using inferential statistics by employing the statistical software of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) technique was conducted to identify common factors and regroup the components. The research results were used to consult with experts to seek opinions related to the research. The experts included management team of innovation project of creating smiles, social enterprise management team, innovation team, and real farmer groups to obtain enough perspectives and information for the discussion. The results showed that the factors that contributed to the adoption of agricultural innovation for sustainability consisted of 6 factors: 1) Information Quality, 2) System Quality, 3) Marketing Mix, 4) Perceived Usefulness, 5) Perceived Ease of Use, and 6) Actual Use. The development guidelines required the responsible persons for the project to define the strategies for all 6 components and examine the actual demand of various users in order to develop the operation of technology system. Problems and solutions for the operation led to the adoption of new technologies that helped shorten the cultivation period, minimize the expenses and develop product design knowledge to maximize modern and unique selling points and online ordering.