BEYOND BARRIERS: POWER DISTANCE CULTURE AND FARMERS’ RESISTANCE TO DIGITAL PAYMENT SYSTEMS—A MULTIGROUP ANALYSIS

Abstract

Digital payment systems is a key driver of the rapidly developing digital economy. However, its adoption among farmers remains limited, indicating persistent resistance to such innovations. This study examines farmers’ resistance to digital payment systems by integrating Innovation Resistance Theory (IRT) with the cultural dimension of Power Distance. It further investigates whether the effects of innovation resistance barriers differ across cultural groups. Data were collected from 316 Indonesian farmers and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Multigroup Analysis. The results show that value and image barriers significantly influence resistance in both high and low power distance groups, while tradition barriers are significant only in the high power distance group. In contrast, usage and risk barriers do not exhibit significant effects in either group. Multigroup analysis further indicates that power distance only differentiates the effect of tradition barriers on resistance behavior. These findings suggest that cultural context selectively shapes psychologically embedded resistance, particularly those related to tradition. The study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that farmers resistance to adopt digital payment system is dependent on cultural context, while it offers practical implication by highlighting the importance of culturally informed strategies in promoting digital payment adoption among farmers.