Behavioral precursors in the innovation-decision process: The case of bioenergy in Ethiopia

Despite ample potential energy sources, most developing countries depend highly on fuelwood to meet their energy needs, with repercussions on the environment and human health. Bioenergy innovation is one way to combat this issue, the adoption rate of which remains low in many of them. Using primary data collected from Ethiopian experts in the energy field, this study combines factor analysis with ordered logit regression to identify the drivers of introduction and diffusion of bioenergy innovations. Moreover, this study detects and analyzes the behavioral precursors of the respondents’ intention to adopt brand new or upgraded bioenergy innovations. The results reveal differences between their decision-making processes and suggest targeted research and policy strategies to boost the adoption rate of bioenergy innovation.