Gd. Lynne et al., CONSERVATION TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION DECISIONS AND THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR, Journal of economic psychology, 16(4), 1995, pp. 581-598
This study of water saving technology adoption and technology investme
nt behavior for Florida strawberry farmers represents an application o
f the Theory of Planned Behavior. It is compared with the Theory of Re
asoned Action, and the Theory of Derived Demand. The focus is on perce
ived control in the decisions, first, to become an adopter of conserva
tion technology, and, second, to invest more capital in the technology
. The results lend credence to the Planned Behavior Theory but also su
pport Derived Demand Theory, in that actual financial capability (actu
al control) is found important. To predict technology adoption we may
need to account for both perceived and actual control. Unfettered gove
rnment control of farmer technology decisions could be counterproducti
ve, suggesting technology policy may need to include a mix of moral su
asion and incentives with more modest controls.