Determinants of beekeepers’ behavioral intention to adopt digital platforms

The beekeeping industry faces several challenges, including fraudulent honey production, market pressure, growing traceability requirements, and fragmented communication among stakeholders. Digital solutions can support market transparency, but they cannot eliminate fraudulent practices on their own without coherent legal regulations and analytical methods enabling the verification of product authenticity. This study explores beekeepers’ intention to adopt digital platforms for honey traceability and customer communication. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), we analyzed behavioral intention through performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and facilitating conditions. We also extended UTAUT by incorporating strategic benefits associated with apiary operations and beekeepers' willingness to share information. A structured survey was conducted among Polish beekeepers between August and October 2024 (n = 949), and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was used to test hypotheses. Results confirm that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, willingness to share information, and strategic benefits significantly predict behavioral intention to adopt digital platforms. These findings suggest that platform developers and policymakers should emphasize economic returns and effective communication tools when promoting digital solutions in beekeeping.