Acceptance of government-sponsored agricultural information systems in China: the role of government social power

摘要

Though many governments enthusiastically supported agricultural information systems, little is known about the role of governments in farmers' acceptance of such systems. The present study examines the influences of government social power on farmers' intention to use government-sponsored agricultural information systems. A research model reflecting the relationships among technology acceptance, government social power, and adoption intention was developed and tested using data collected from 1,504 subjects in the Jiangxi province of China. Our findings show that the role of government social power should not be ignored, as it produced a substantial improvement in the variance explained in intention to use (from 57.1 to 70.8 %). This work also analyzed the influences of gender on the acceptance intention. Based on empirical findings, we offer managerial suggestions for the adoption of agricultural information systems.