Drivers of Behavioural Intention to Adopt Artificial Reefs among Coastal Fishers: Trust, Environmental Fit and Institutional Support in India

Artificial reefs (ARs) are increasingly promoted as ecological infrastructure to restore marine habitats and strengthen small-scale fisheries. Yet their adoption remains uneven, raising broader questions about how sustainability-oriented technologies are accepted within resource-dependent communities. Conceptualizing ARs as socio-technical interventions embedded within institutional and ecological systems, this study extends the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to examine fishers’ behavioural intention to adopt ARs in coastal Tamil Nadu, India. Using primary data from 442 fishers and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the model explains 70.1% of the variance in behavioural intention. Trust in technology, environmental compatibility, and facilitating conditions emerge as the most influential determinants, underscoring the importance of institutional credibility, ecological fit, and governance support in shaping adoption. Perceived risk exerts a significant negative influence, reflecting concerns over environmental uncertainty and long-term sustainability. In contrast, effort expectancy and habit show limited explanatory power, suggesting that collective ecological technologies operate differently from individual-use digital innovations typically examined in technology acceptance research. By extending UTAUT to the domain of environmental infrastructure, this study contributes to debates on the societal embedding of sustainability technologies and offers policy insights for enhancing the legitimacy and uptake of state-led ecological interventions. The findings provide practical insights for fisheries managers designing artificial reef programmes, highlighting the importance of institutional support, environmental suitability of deployment sites, and risk communication in encouraging community adoption.