Effect of multi-component and preventive features on technology adoption decisions
2010
Barroga, K.E.T., Philippine Rice Research Inst., Science City of Muñoz, 3119, Nueva Ecija (Philippines) | Pannel, D.J. | Marsh, S.P., University of Western Australia, 35 Sterling Highway, 6009 Crawley, Western Australia
In recent years, efforts to extend and promote adoption of improved farming practices have tended to focus on complex, integrated packages of technologies. They consist of multiple components and, to some extent, they are designed to prevent future problems, rather than offering immediate benefits. Adoption of these technologies has been observed to be relatively slow and limited. An experiment was conducted to measure the extent to which a decision to adopt a technology with multi-component and preventive features is affected as a result of the availability of a simpler technology. The experiment was based on the example of integrated weed management (IWM) compared with the use of chemical herbicides under conditions where development of herbicide resistance was expected. Some 120 students from the University of Western Australia participated in the computer-based experiment, which made use of a modified version of the Resistance and Integrated Management Model. A 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design was followed, yielding four treatments: the availability/non-availability of resistance-free herbicide and having/not having delayed payment. Two-way ANOVA results showed that only the availability of the resistance-free-herbicide option significantly affected IWM adoption. These results supported the hypothesis that people place a substantial value on simplicity but not the hypothesis that preventive technologies are less adoptable than technologies with immediate benefits. Thus, if it is possible to simplify integrated packages of technologies (e.g. by reducing the number of components or promoting stepwise adoption), it may possibly improve their adoption.
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