Rural residents' climate change perception and its influence on climate-smart business adoption using technology acceptance model: A study in Lahijan County, Iran

Rural areas heavily rely on natural resources. This makes their residents and businesses vulnerable to the climate change and its impacts. Addressing these challenges requires reducing harmful climate effects, promoting adaptation, and improving rural-environmental relationships for sustainable development. This study aims to explore how rural residents perceive climate change influence their adoption of climate-smart rural businesses in northern Iran. Data were collected using a questionnaire from a sample include 175 rural residents selected from a population of 23,668. The partial least squares modeling method was employed to data analysis. Results showed that tangible natural impacts, such as rising soil salinity and poorer groundwater quality, most strongly shaped villagers’ perceptions of climate change. However, residents exhibited low trust in climate-smart rural businesses as effective solutions, indicating a confidence gap. Attitudes toward climate-smart rural businesses as the most important factor affecting adoption intention. The study highlights the need for policies that address trust gaps, enhance perceived usefulness and ease of climate-smart rural businesses to shift attitudes toward climate-smart rural businesses, and resolve urgent environmental challenges. It seems, integrating local perspectives with ecological and social realities is vital to align rural livelihoods with sustainability goals and ensure effective climate adaptation.