Analysis of the Herd Behavior in the Decision-making of Farmer Homestead Withdrawal Based on the Theory of Planning Behavior: Evidence from 638 Households Who Have Withdrawn from Their Homesteads in Suzhou District, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province

Based on the survey data of 638 households who have withdrawn from the homestead in the concentrated resettlement area of Suzhou district, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province, constructing the conformity behavior model from the perspective of planning behavior theory, this paper used factor analysis and a structural equation model to reveal the influence of conformity behavior on homestead withdrawal intention in group decision-making. The results showed that: (1) The main reason for the herd behavior was the attraction of convenient medical care, pension, transportation and other benefits of the new residence, as well as the drive of the “leader” in the village and the collective acceptance of the farmers; (2) the initial willingness of farmers to withdraw was not strong, and the herd behavior was relatively weak, mainly because the “leader” and the village collective do not play a significant role in promoting the compensation policy; (3) the strongest herd behavior was when most people in the village choose to withdraw from the homestead. Therefore, the conformity behavior had a great impact on the willingness to withdraw from the homestead through several main factors, such as collective recognition, the expectation of compensation for production and life, leadership ability, awareness of policy information, and the formulation and improvement of homestead exit compensation policy should pay attention to these key issues in the future.