The impact of peer effect on the adoption of e-commerce by farmers——based on survey data of apple growers in Shaanxi Province
Based on the theory of peer effect,innovation diffusion,herd behavior and social learning,this paper constructs a theoretical framework between the peer effect and the adoption of e-commerce by farmers,and uses the micro-survey data of ap-ple growers in Shaanxi Province to empirically test the mechanism of the peer effect on the adoption of agricultural e-commerce.After fully considering the characteristics of individuals,families and villages,the regression results show that the peer effect has a significant positive impact on the adoption of e-commerce by farmers;herd psychology and social learning are the intermediate transmissions through which the peer effect can play a role,and social learning has a more important transmission role.The study further confirms that the influence of the peer effect on the adoption of e-commerce by farmers has group differences in the e-com-merce model and the capital endowment of farmers.Specifically,the peer effect has a more significant effect on e-commerce by farmers in the micro-business model groups with lower costs and less difficulty,as well as higher household income,higher levels of education and higher levels of social capital.
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