Eco-innovation in agriculture: Investigating factors influencing farmers’ adoption of green manure

• Developing application of eco-innovations are one of the best strategies for environmental sustainability. • This study aims to extend the technology acceptance model (TAM) to the context of green manures, with the potential to enhance its applicability in agricultural sustainability • This study intends to provide valuable insights into how perceived usefulness and ease of use can influence farmers’ attitudes, contributing to strategies that address misconceptions and promote the environmental and economic benefits of green fertilizer adoption. • Interpersonal relationships can serve as a facilitating factor or a "playing field" for enhancing the intention to adopt green manure through technology characteristics This study seeks to investigate the adoption process of green manures as a recycling-based perspective to realize sustainable agriculture and the factors affecting it among farmers. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among Iranian rice farmers to gather data on their agricultural practices. The study utilized PLS-SEM to analyze complex relationships among variables influencing the adoption of green manures. This study extends the TAM by incorporating trialability, visibility, and interpersonal communication to explain farmers’ adoption of green manure in Iran. The results revealed that perceived usefulness had a significant positive effect on farmers’ intention to adopt green manure (Beta = 0.318; T = 3.764), and other constructs, including perceived behavioral control (Beta = 0.105; T = 4.151), trialability (Beta = 0.105; T = 3.597), visibility (Beta = 0.099; T = 2.657), and attitude toward green fertilizer (Beta = 0.282; T = 4.226), showed significant positive effects on adoption intention. While perceived usefulness (Beta = 0.843; T = 19.701) and trialability positively affected attitude (Beta = 0.136; T = 3.567), other variables, including perceived behavioral control (Beta = 0. 002; T = 085), visibility (Beta = - 0.040; T = 1.445), and interpersonal communication channels (Beta = 0.010; T = 0.308), had no significant effects on attitude. The study also identified that attitude mediated the relationships between perceived usefulness (Beta = 0.060; T = 3.964) and trialability (Beta = 0.014; T = 2.760) with the intention to adopt green manure. Finally, the moderated hypotheses showed that interpersonal communication channels (IPCC) positively moderated the effects of attitude and trialability on adoption intention. The contributions of present study provide both theoretical advancements to the technology acceptance model and practical recommendations for increasing the adoption of green manures as a recycling-based perspective in agricultural systems, contributing to more sustainable farming practices.