Interior Design Practitioner Motivations for Specifying Sustainable Materials: Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to Residential Design

Abstract

Although sustainable design has become one of the major concerns in the interior design industry, the frequency of making such sustainable choices in real practice is still limited. Given that little research has yet focused on interior designers’ choice of sustainable material, this study aimed to identify factors affecting interior designers’ sustainable material choices focusing on sustainable flooring materials for residential use. On the basis of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a theoretical framework, we developed hypotheses to test relationships (1) between three determinants (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) and behavioral intention and (2) between two behavioral beliefs (environmental outcome and health outcome) and attitude. This study used quantitative methodologies through an Internet survey with a sample selected from American Society of Interior Designers practicing residential design. A total of 225 final surveys were utilized for further analysis. Findings revealed that all three determinants (attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) were positively associated with behavioral intention to choose sustainable flooring materials. Attitude toward adopting sustainable flooring materials were significantly related to environmental beliefs but not to health beliefs. Our findings imply that the TPB framework can provide valuable insights for developing more effective and comprehensive strategies and strengthening the interior design curriculum to promote interior designers’ sustainable decision–making in material choices in actual real–life design practice.