Constructs Affecting the Willingness to Adopt Internet of Things (IoT) by Early Adopter Farmers in Tehran Province

The agricultural sector is one of the fields in which the IoT is widely used. In order to use the IoT more effectively in agriculture, it is necessary to pay attention to the factors that make farmers tend to use it. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the constructs affecting the willingness to IoT by early adopter farmers in Tehran Province. This research is a descriptive survey and in terms of the purpose of the research it is considered an applied study. The statistical population was all early adopter farmers in Tehran province who were selected and introduced by the Ministry of Jihad Agriculture. The statistical population was 500 farmers and 221 cases were selected by simple random sampling. The sample size was calculated using the Cochran's formula. Respondents were also surveyed using a researcher-made questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Face, content, and construct (convergent and divergent) validity indices were used to assess the validity of the research tool. It is worth mentioning that the reliability of the instrument was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and Composite reliability indices. In this study, the variables perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust, social influence, perceived enjoyment, and perceived behavioral control were supposed to be the main influencing variables on the willingness to use the IoT. The convergent validity of the research variables, confirms the convergent validity of the questionnaire. In order to determine the reliability of the questionnaire, pilot study and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were used. Alpha coefficients of the research variables, demonstrate the acceptability of the reliability for the research tool. The results also revealed that the effects of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust, social influence, and perceived behavioral control on the willingness to use IoT were significant. It is also worth mentioning that the effect of trust on the perceived usefulness of IoT was approved.