The influence mechanism analysis on the farmers’ intention to adopt Internet of Things based on UTAUT-TOE model

Internet of Things (IoT) technologies are widely recognized as one of the most important infrastructures for economic development and technological innovation. By analyzing the influencing factors of vegetable farmers’ intention to adopt agricultural IoT, it helps to formulate effective IoT promotion policies and accelerate the realization of agricultural modernization. Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) theory, this study constructed for the first time a mechanism model of the influence of vegetable farmers’ intention to adopt IoT, expanding the scope of current research on agricultural IoT and revealing the intrinsic influence mechanism of farmers’ adoption of IoT technologies. In this study, 357 quantitative data were obtained by a questionnaire survey, and structural equation modeling was used to test the direct and indirect effects of each factor on vegetable farmers’ intention to adopt IoT. The results show that almost all variables in TOE have significant direct impacts on the intention, while no variables in UTAUT have significant direct impacts. Among variables in TOE, government support and complexity are the two most important elements influencing the intention. Although the interactions among variables in TOE and UTAUT are also found, the indirect effects of variables are non-significant. Therefore, it is proposed to reduce the complexity of operation and use of IoT technologies; improve rural information infrastructure and compatibility of IoT platforms and devices; and governments should increase subsidies, and incentives to promote the use of IoT in agriculture and agricultural practices.