Documented technology adoption in environmental impact assessment: a mixed-methods study of adoption–perception gaps in Korea

Despite rapid advances in AI, big data analytics, GIS, real-time monitoring, and predictive modeling, their integration into environmental impact assessment (EIA) practice remains poorly documented. This study employs a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design to examine documented technology adoption in Korean EIA and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). A Technology Adoption Maturity Index (TAMI) was applied to 120 stratified documents from Korea’s EIA Support System (EIASS), and a structured survey assessed technology acceptance and regulatory barriers among 34 practitioners using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) extended with Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) constructs. Joint display integration identified adoption–perception gaps. TAMI analysis showed that 81.7% of documents contained no technology reference, with AI and Big Data absent. Practitioners reported technology acceptance and behavioral intention, alongside a regulatory barrier centered on the survey’s highest-rated item — the absence of recognized standards for incorporating technology-derived results into consultation documents. The central finding is that adoption is constrained by an institutional readiness gap, the lack of legally recognized standards permitting technology-derived outputs to serve as valid consultation evidence, rather than by technology readiness or skill deficits. Findings support a differentiated governance agenda featuring enabling legislation as a foundational prerequisite, technology-differentiated investment, and role-differentiated capacity development.