The Impact of Group Learning on the Application of Innovation in Agricultural Cooperatives (Case Study: Agricultural Cooperatives of Tehran Province)

Today, innovation is essential for organizations and the secret to their survival. The application of innovations, especially in the field of agricultural production and distribution methods, helps agricultural cooperatives to be flexible in dynamic markets against environmental fluctuations and achieve their goals. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of group learning on training courses provided by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare on the use of innovations and whether group learning components can play an effective role in increasing the use of innovations in agricultural cooperatives. The causal-comparative research method and the statistical population included members of agricultural cooperatives in Tehran province in the fields of agriculture and horticulture (= 10180N). The sample size was 335 according to the Cochran's formula. In this study, a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of several sections, with a Likert spectrum, was used. These questionnaires were distributed by stratified method with appropriate attribution among 335 members of agricultural cooperatives. The content validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by a panel of experts from the Board of Directors of Agricultural Cooperatives and Cooperative Experts from the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare. Its reliability was also confirmed by sequential theta and hybrid reliability. The results of research using structural equation method showed that from the perspective of agricultural cooperative members, group learning has a positive, direct and significant effect on the use of innovation and can play an effective role in increasing the use of innovation in agricultural cooperatives.