Green Innovativeness in Farm Enterprises: What Makes Farmers Think Green?

Abstract

This work is based on the conjecture that multiple motivational pathways might lead to the adoption of green innovations. A sequence of two studies was designed to identify motives driving farmers to adopt green innovations. Study 1 aimed at the development of a scale assessing potential adoption motives. Study 2using this measureexamined which of these motives predict farmers' adoption behavior. Study 1 uncovered five factors that affect adoption decision: adaptation to the social process of innovation diffusion, environmental concern, convenience, economic incentives and the internal need to pursue change. Study 2 showed that perception of the convenience of an innovation is a significant antecedent of farmers' green innovativeness. Economic drivers, farmers' environmental concern and their need to pursue novelty are also positively associated with aspects of green innovativeness. Our results underscore the multidimensional nature of green innovativeness and generate challenging directions for future research in the field of sustainable development.

An ergonomic approach to sustainable development: The role of information environment and social‐psychological variables in the adoption of agri‐environmental innovations

“…Finally, in the present study, we relied on self‐report data. Although self‐reporting is a common strategy in this kind of investigation (Defrancesco et al, ; Lioutas & Charatsari, ; Menozzi et al, ) and in ergonomics research (Kirwan & Ainsworth, ), it might be that participants' responses were affected by memory bias. Thus, in a future development of the research, it will be useful to triangulate (MacLeod, Wells, & Lane, ) this kind of data with on‐field observations to provide further consistent results.…”

“…The choice to adopt sustainable innovations is a rather complex process among farmers, which needs to be analyzed by integrating theories drawn from diverse fields of study, both social‐psychological and technical in nature. Some recommendations arise from the present study: To encourage the adoption of innovations (regardless of whether it is technological or organizational/managerial, Lioutas & Charatsari, ), it would be useful to adopt multidimensional measurements and a systems ergonomic approach focusing on the skills needed to empower farmers and enhance their perceived control of the innovation. In addition, information campaigns could be developed adopting a bottom‐up participatory approach to the diffusion of innovation.…”

“…The six measures represented two types of innovations: technological improvements (sensors and apps, systems for precision agriculture, and systems for diesel engine exhaust gas emission abatement) and organizational/managerial practices (use of organic fertilizers, conservation tillage, and rational use of water). These six measures were chosen to represent the different types of sustainable innovations described by Lioutas and Charatsari (), and they emerged as the most frequently cited measures in previous studies regarding agricultural sustainability in different European countries (Lioutas & Charatsari, ; Unay Gailhard et al, ; Wauters et al, ).…”

“…Moreover, Menozzi, Fioravenzi, and Donati () found that attitudes positively affected farmers' intentions to implement eco‐friendly farming practices in Italy, whereas attitudes and perceived behavioral control predicted the intention to adopt voluntary sustainability schemes. Finally, in their study of the adoption of green innovations in Greece, Lioutas and Charatsari () noted that subjective norms did not affect the adoption decision.…”

Embracing green innovation via green supply chain learning: The moderating role of green technology turbulence

“…The increasing environment contamination has significantly influenced the business operations of firms (Chen, Lai, & Wen, 2006;De Marchi, 2012;Zhao, Feng, & Shi, 2018). Both the industrial policies and stakeholders' pressures push firms to purse sustainable development, which has brought new concerns and challenges to firms' innovative activities (Du, Zhang, & Feng, 2018;Lioutas & Charatsari, 2018). Green innovation, which implies that innovations in products or processes lead the companies to higher levels of environmental sustainability, stands out as an important strategic choice (Chang, 2011;Jiang, Chai, Shao, & Feng, 2018;Lin et al, 2013;Tseng, Wang, Chiu, Geng, & Lin, 2013;Zhao et al, 2018).…”