Directional Peer Effects in Technology Adoption: Influence of Farmer Interactions in Sustaining Rice Production in Thailand

ABSTRACT This study examines whether Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) practices in Thailand are driven by directional social peer exposure and physical proximity. Analysing survey data from 1363 rice‐producing households across Thailand's Central and Northeastern regions, we construct a directed social network based on self‐reported information exchanges alongside a spatial network grounded in shared subdistrict locations. Methodologically, the analysis transitions from probit specifications to Spatial Durbin Models that jointly account for spatial peer outcomes and covariates. The results show a robust positive association between the adoption behaviour of physically proximate peers and household SRP adoption. By contrast, the average peer effect in the pooled social network is not statistically significant. Once the social network is decomposed by direction, however, a significant positive peer effect emerges for inward ties—relationships from which farmers receive information—while outward ties remain insignificant. Program participation, irrigation access, and prior use of SRP‐related practices are also positively associated with adoption. These findings suggest that sustainable technology diffusion depends not simply on social connectedness, but on the directional flow of information and the visual observability of practices in physical space. By integrating spatial and directed social networks within a unified framework, this study underscores the critical role of directional heterogeneity in peer‐driven agricultural technology adoption.