Examining the Relationship Between Ecological Commitment, Environmental Knowledge, and Farmers’ Nature-Friendly Behavior: Investigating the Moderating Influence of Environmental Legislation

The increasing concern regarding the degradation of the environment caused by unsustainable agricultural practices necessitates a more comprehensive examination of farmers’ nature-friendly behavior and the influence of environmental legislation on their actions. This study employs face-to-face surveys conducted with a sample of 476 Chinese farmers to investigate the complex relationship between ecological commitment (ECO), environmental knowledge (EKN), the new ecological paradigm (NEP), and ecological behavior (EBH). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used as the analytical approach. The findings indicate that ECO (β = .421, p