The role of behavioural factors in accepting agri-environmental contracts – Evidence from a Q-method and thematic analysis in Germany

The voluntary character of agri-environmental-climate schemes (AECS) makes it essential for their design to meet farmers' expectations and stakeholders' needs. To enhance the understanding of how behavioural factors influence farmers' participation decisions and how policymakers can shape them through scheme design, we explore stakeholders' preferences for biodiversity-enhancing AECS using Q-methodology in two case studies: arable land and grassland in Bavaria (Germany). The Q-analysis revealed three perspectives on scheme design, each favouring a distinct AECS with differing levels of conservation intensity. To further investigate the interactions between behavioural patterns influencing decision-making and their influence on AECS design, we uniquely analyse the follow-up interviews from the Q-method using thematic analysis. This additional step uncovers the cognitive, social, and dispositional factors driving the Q-sorting decision, which should be considered during scheme design. These factors include knowledge requirements, perceived costs and benefits, flexibility preference, and risk aversion. While confirming the external validity of previous studies advocating a combination of both ‘broad and shallow’ and ‘deep and narrow’ approaches in scheme designs, our findings emphasize the crucial importance of considering the interaction between behavioural factors and scheme design attributes during the policy development of AECS.