ABSTRACT The present paper analyzes the role of bonding and bridging impacts of social capital in the willingness of farmers to embrace sustainable dairy innovation using cooperative‐based systems in resource‐limited areas. While prior studies have examined social capital and innovation adoption separately, limited research integrates Social Capital Theory (SCT) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explain cooperative‐led dairy innovation in rural, resource‐constrained contexts. Moreover, the mediating mechanisms through which social capital translates into sustainable adoption intention remain underexplored in developing agricultural economies. Based on the TPB and the SCT, the study implements a conceptual model comprising relational and psychological processes of perceived innovation compatibility, environmental motivation, and trust into cooperative‐led business models as mediators. Using survey data from 356 dairy farmers affiliated with cooperatives in Bihar, India, the study employs Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS‐SEM) to test hypothesized relationships. Results indicate that both bonding and bridging social capital significantly enhance all three mediators, which in turn strongly predict adoption intention. Mediation analysis further confirms that these mediators serve as critical pathways linking social capital to innovation behavior. The findings position dairy cooperatives as social infrastructures that convert community relationships into inclusive innovation outcomes. By integrating SCT and TPB within a cooperative‐led sustainability framework, this study advances theoretical understanding of behavioral adoption and provides practical and societal guidance for strengthening inclusive, environmentally responsible dairy innovation in marginalized rural communities.
Kumari et al. (Tue,) studied this question.