Factors influencing the adoption of geological information in Swedish municipalities

Abstract

A geological map includes a description (e.g., geological composition and structures) as well as an interpretation of materials (e.g., porosity or extraction capacity). Geological maps are pertinent to city planning, infrastructure projects and environmental impact assessments. While the maps are identified in the literature as beneficial to society, few have discussed the adoption of geological maps. By investigating factors influencing information adoption, one can identify barriers for potential users. We consider the literature on diffusion of innovation and discuss the effects of information being a so-called ‘experience good,’ which implies high opportunity costs and sunk costs. The framework is empirically tested on survey data collected from officials in Swedish municipalities. The results suggest that perceived usefulness and educational effort have the largest influence on the adoption decision. Furthermore, the results indicate that organizational effects exist on the working unit level, but there are no spatial interactions across municipal boundaries.

Keywords:

• Information adoption
• geological information
• GIS data
• municipalities

Acknowledgements

Financial support from the Geological Survey of Sweden (Grant no. 61-1451/2011) is gratefully acknowledged, as are valuable comments from Patrik Söderholm and two anonymous reviewers. Any remaining errors reside solely with the authors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Scarcity of resources necessitates trade-offs, which results in an opportunity cost. The opportunity cost of a decision, e.g. acquiring knowledge, is the value of the alternative foregone in order to achieve such a decision. Sunk costs refer to irreversible time (and monetary costs) that an individual needs to spend in order to learn how to use the new information or information system.

2. For a description on how the Wald test works, we refer the reader to Greene (2012).

Additional information

Funding

Geological Survey of Sweden [grant number 61-1451/2011].