The Role of the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Technology Acceptance Model in Determining the Adoption of Innovative Agricultural Technology by Small-Scale Farmers

This research aims to examine the mediating effect of the two dimensions of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU)) on the relationship between Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) variables (attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC)) and small farmers' intention to adopt innovative technologies in agriculture in Malaysia. Data was collected using an online survey. The online survey link was sent to a total of 384 respondents via WhatsApp and emails; however, 289 responses were received back, and finally, only 270 responses were fit for analysis. The remaining 19 responses were rejected due to incomplete information. The collected data was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The research found that both dimensions of the TAM partially mediated the relationships between the dimensions of TPB and small-scale farmers' intention to adopt technological innovation in agriculture. The results also showed that all of the predictive variables had positive and significant effects on small-scale farmers' intentions to embrace technology in agriculture, except for PEOU, which had a negative impact on intention. The results show Beta values of 0.356, 0.198, 0.412, 0.179, and -0.14 between attitude, PBC, subjective norms, PU, and PEOU, respectively, on small-scale farmers' intentions to use new technology in agriculture. Also, Beta values of 0.355 and 0.203 were found between attitude on PEOU and PU, respectively. PBC and PEOU demonstrated beta values of 0.383 and 0.411, respectively, on PU. Subjective Norms and PEOU demonstrated Beta values of 0.240 and 0.339, respectively, on PU. The R2 value shows that 86.8% of the small-scale farmers' intention is explained by the TBP and TAM. Also, the results showed that the predictors of perceived usefulness and PEOU are, respectively, 80.3% and 81.9%. This study may be applied only to small-scale farmers rather than the entire population of farmers in Malaysia. However, this was one of the few studies that explored small-scale farmers' intentions to adopt innovative agricultural technologies in Malaysia through the lens of the TPB and the TAM. This study viewed the importance of developing innovative agricultural technologies that can make a difference and should be user-friendly.