An ergonomic approach to sustainable development: The role of information environment and social-psychological variables in the adoption of agri-environmental innovations

Sustainability is defined as meeting the human needs of current as well as future generations. This anthropocentric perspective leads to joint objectives between sustainability and ergonomics. In the present study, we adopted a systems ergonomic approach and, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, we analyzed the paths by which the information environment can affect farmers' adoption of sustainable measures through the mediation of attitudes, social pressure, and behavioral control. One hundred ninety-nine Italian farmers completed a questionnaire assessing exposure to impersonal, personal-formal, and personal-informal sources of information on the one hand and attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms toward the adoption of two types of sustainable innovations (technological solutions and organizational/managerial practices) on the other. The results showed that attitudes and perceived behavioral control were the dominant determinants of farmers' adoption behavior, and personal-formal sources of information were positively associated with perceived behavioral control. Possible interventions are discussed for farmers' information environment to promote the adoption of sustainable innovations.