As an increasing number of people have become interested in healthy and environmentally friendly farm products, the diffusion process of sustainable farming has been widely discussed. However, few studies have empiric...As an increasing number of people have become interested in healthy and environmentally friendly farm products, the diffusion process of sustainable farming has been widely discussed. However, few studies have empirically investigated the differences between early adopters and early majority in diffusion of environmentally friendly farming. The purpose of this study is to examine the existence of the gap between early adopters and the early majority in the diffusion of environmentally friendly certified farm production by focusing on the case in which a frequent buyers program （FBP） was introduced for locally certified crops in the farmers markets of Japan. Though there were no differences in the characteristics of the two groups, early adopters initiated such production through governmental information provision and expected more profit than the adopters that followed. It was also found that non-economic reasons and information on stable markets for the certified products were crucial for both adopter groups.展开更多
文摘As an increasing number of people have become interested in healthy and environmentally friendly farm products, the diffusion process of sustainable farming has been widely discussed. However, few studies have empirically investigated the differences between early adopters and early majority in diffusion of environmentally friendly farming. The purpose of this study is to examine the existence of the gap between early adopters and the early majority in the diffusion of environmentally friendly certified farm production by focusing on the case in which a frequent buyers program （FBP） was introduced for locally certified crops in the farmers markets of Japan. Though there were no differences in the characteristics of the two groups, early adopters initiated such production through governmental information provision and expected more profit than the adopters that followed. It was also found that non-economic reasons and information on stable markets for the certified products were crucial for both adopter groups.
