An Assessment of Scottish Farmers’ Orientation Toward Change and Its Association with Future Behavioural Intentions

Farmers face a range of structural, environmental and market adjustments that require continual adaptation in management practices and decision-making. Understanding how farmers respond to change is central to promoting adaptability and resilience in agriculture. This study examines Scottish farmers’ dispositional orientation toward change using data from a Farmer Intentions (FIS) 2023 survey. Thirteen Likert-scale statements, adapted from Oreg’s (2003) Resistance to Change (RTC) framework, were used to elicit farmers’ orientation toward change. The Likert-scale items were used to construct a composite behavioural change-cautious orientation (CCO) index following psychometric validation where a higher value indicate a stronger change-cautious orientation, whereas lower values reflect greater openness to change. The index was analysed using ANOVA and regression methods to examine demographic, social and perceptual determinants of behavioural orientation, and to assess how openness to change influences farmers’ future investment and environmental intentions. Two underlying dimensions were identified, namely, aversion to disruption in daily practices, and openness to embrace behavioural and managerial change. CCO varied with farmer type, group membership, age and percentage of household income that comes from the farm business. Business-oriented and group-affiliated farmers exhibited a weaker CCO, whereas crofters, hobbyists, smallholders, and especially the oldest farmers showed a stronger CCO. Farmers with a weaker CCO were significantly more likely to plan increased investment and participation in agri-environmental activities. Farmers with weaker CCO are also more likely to adopt sustainable agricultural practices. These results indicate that openness to change among Scottish farmers is structured by type, farmer group-affiliation and experience. Differentiated engagement strategies are needed to strengthen farmers’ orientation toward change. Therefore, policies that combine business-focused advisory support with network-based learning for different farmers’ enterprise type can help reduce behavioural inertia and encourage forward-looking investment and environmental action.