Reinventing French Agriculture: The Era of Farmers 4.0, Technological Innovation and Sustainability

As digital transformation accelerates across the agricultural sector, understanding farmers’ adoption behavior becomes critical to facilitating sustainability and innovation. This study investigates the behavioral, contextual, and economic factors that influence French farmers’ adoption of innovative agricultural technologies. Using a mixed-methods approach, we first conducted qualitative interviews to explore resistance to innovation. Based on these insights, we refocused the quantitative phase on technology adopters to examine the factors that lead to usage. We propose the French Farming Innovation Adoption (FFIA) model, an agricultural adaptation of the UTAUT2 model. The model incorporates domain-specific constructs including Perceived Sustainability Advantages and Price Value. Data from 171 farmers were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that original UTAUT2 variables—Performance Expectancy, Facilitating Conditions, and Social Influence—do not directly predict Technology Utilization, but rather operate indirectly through Price Value. Price Value also mediates the influence of Social Influence on Perceived Sustainability Advantages. These findings contribute to Information Systems literature by demonstrating how economic perception mediates behavioral drivers in digital innovation contexts, particularly in cost-sensitive sectors like agriculture. Practical implications emphasize designing support mechanisms and communication strategies that align sustainability and innovation with farmers' perceived economic value.