Drivers of farmers' intention to use integrated pest management: Integrating theory of planned behavior and norm activation model

Abstract

Integrated pest management (IPM) has been promoted as an environmentally friendly pest control approach, but its adoption by farmers, particularly in developing countries, is low. The main purpose of the current study was to examine factors affecting the intention of farmers to use IPM practices in Iran. The research model was developed using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Norm Activation Model (NAM) and was empirically tested using data obtained from structured interviews with 327 tomato producers in Zanjan Province in northwestern Iran. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis indicated that all three components of attitude, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and subjective norm significantly influenced intention in the original TPB, while subjective norm had no statistically significant effect on intention in the integrative TPB-NAM. Despite this fact, subjective norm significantly impacted attitude, PBC, and personal norm in the integrative model. The study also supported the significant effect of awareness of consequences (AC) on personal norm, ascription of responsibility (AR), attitude, and subjective norm as well as the significant effect of AR on personal norm. Overall, personal norm was the most salient determinant of farmers' intention to use IPM practices in the integrative model. Most notably, integrating the constructs of TPB and NAM and particularly adding the interrelationships among the volitional, moral, and cognitive dimensions of the two models significantly enhanced the predictive power, utility, and comprehensiveness of the proposed framework for explaining farmers' intention to use IPM practices. The findings of this research provide a clearer understanding of factors driving the promotion of IPM among farming community and can be a basis for developing IPM policy interventions in Iran and other developing countries.