Drivers of Adoption: Mechanical Harvesting in the Corporate Sector Tea Plantations in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Tea industry experts emphasize that selective manual harvesting is the best way to maintain leaf quality while preserving tea plant health. However, tea plantations tend to adopt mechanical harvesting to overcome labour shortages and harvesting costs. But the adoption of mechanical harvesting is still low, prompting further investigations. The purpose of this study is to investigate tea plantation managers’ concerns about the factors influencing mechanical harvesting adoption based on a case study as the research strategy. The results demonstrated that the majority of determinants that emerged, as drivers are consistent with the latent constructs, defined in adoption theories. Key drivers are employees’ attitudes, facilitation, continuous monitoring, training of women and skill development through regular practice. The organizational factors that cannot be explained through adoption theories were isolated. The findings concluded that multi-dimensional factors have emerged as the driving force, which will be useful to anyone looking into the real application.