Pro-environmental behavior among university students: Integrating Norm Activation and Planned Behavior Models

The current study attempted to understand factors influencing students’ pro-environmental intentions and behaviors in a developing nation, namely Iran. To do so, a theoretical research model was established by adding media use and environmental knowledge into the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire survey from a sample of 327 Iranian students and analyzed with the help of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results supported the applicability of including additional constructs in the TPB, as it has improved the predictive utility of the proposed model. The results indicated that perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and environmental knowledge were positively associated with pro-environmental intentions. Furthermore, pro-environmental intentions, perceived behavioral control, and environmental knowledge were related to pro-environmental behaviors. Perceived behavioral control and environmental knowledge were also indirectly related to pro-environmental behaviors through pro-environmental intentions. Notably, media use was directly related to pro-environmental behaviors and indirectly related to pro-environmental intentions through perceived behavioral control and environmental knowledge. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are highlighted.

A successful transition to a lower-emission society may require major changes in the patterns of individual behaviours. Yet, whilst awareness and concern about climate change have increased in recent years among the global population, global greenhouse gases emissions have not ceased to rise. This paper discusses potential reasons underlying the gap between individual knowledge of climate change and the actions implemented to contain greenhouse gas emissions. To investigate this phenomenon, we look at the scientific literature exploring the factors influencing pro-environmental behaviour. First, we highlight how an individual’s environmental knowledge is not only approximate but also biased by cognitive, affective, and cultural factors, influencing their appraisal of climate information and their motivation to act. Second, we discuss three major models of pro-environmental behaviour, such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the Norm-Activation Model (NAM), and the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN), to highlight their failure to account for automatic cognitive and affective factors influencing an individual’s ability to implement pro-environmental intentions. Then, we discuss the Comprehensive-Action-Determination Model of pro-environmental behaviour (CADM), and its efforts to overcome the limits of the previous models. Finally, we examine the dispositional traits associated with pro-environmental engagement to highlight how the relationship between dispositions and pro-environmental behaviour performance appears related to self-regulation processes, supported by executive functioning; increased self-regulation would enable alignment of pro-environmental intentions and behaviours, and anticipation of the long-term consequences of present behaviours. We conclude by calling for more research to be carried out on the effect of enhanced self-regulation, and of self-regulation training, on individual reactions to the climate crisis.

Rationality or morality? A comparative study of pro-environmental intentions of local and nonlocal visitors in nature-based destinations

PurposeThis science mapping analysis aims to discern current, emerging and future trends of pro-environmental behavior and the theory of planned behavior (TPB).Design/methodology/approachBibliometric analysis through bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis were used to reveal the progress of this phenomenon. Of the 1,120 documents search in Web of Science (WoS) database, 1,031 were used in this analysis after restricting to journal publications and studies after the year 2000.FindingsThe results show that four themes emerged, namely the fundamentals of TPB for pro-environmental behavior, antecedents of pro-environmental behavior, integration of TPB with the norm activation model and value belief theory and studies of pro-environmental behavior in developing countries. Environmental concern, environmental awareness, environmental knowledge and environmental education were the most commonly integrated variables.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is unique in the sense that the integration between TPB and other prominent theories of pro-environmental behavior is vital to predict individual pro-environmental behavior and understand the fundamental scientific importance of the domain. The norm activation model has been integrated with TPB in many pro-environmental behaviors. Mainstream media stakeholders should design and implement a plan for strategic communication and awareness campaigns in the community to encourage consumers to engage in many behaviors that lead to environmental sustainability.Originality/valueThis study presents a science mapping approach to uncover crucial knowledge structure related to pro-environmental behavior and the theory of planned behavior.

This study examined villagers’ intention of pro-environmental behavior while supporting the Landcare Policy in China. The research team conducted field surveys of villagers from four famous scenic spots of Cili, which is near the world natural heritage site of the Zhangjiajie natural landscape core area. This area has developed rural tourism, many local villagers rely on tourism to obtain their livelihood income. However, the area is now affected by the environmental remediation policy called Landcare Policy. Cultivated land near the tourist area needs to be repaired, which affects the tourism income of some local villagers. Therefore, local villagers are facing a contradiction between tourism development and environmental protection. The study chose the change in local villagers’ pro-environmental intention as the research content. Then we adopted an empirically validated norm activation model (NAM) from Schwartz, and merged the NAM with the expectancy theory of Vroom, based on 511 valid responses from the field questionnaire surveys, we aimed to develop a theoretical framework for researchers to understand the change in villagers' pro-environmental behaviors, concerning the balance between rural tourism livelihood benefits and environmental remediation behavior. Structural equation modeling was conducted for each index of the responses, the findings showed that the merged model had 76.46% better predictive accuracy of villagers’ pro-environmental intentions than applying Schwartz’s NAM independently. This study found that the motivational force of this new theory significantly influences environmental personal norms due to the joint impact of valence, instrumentality, and expectancy. Villagers with a positive pro-environmental behavior intention expect good tourism benefits and environmental living conditions under the impact of the Landcare policy in rural tourism destinations near the famous natural heritage site.

PurposeThrough the application of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study aims to explore the main determinants of higher education students’ pro-environmental behavior.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was conducted among the students of a public higher education institution (HEI) in Portugal, from March to May of 2020. The data were analyzed with the structural equation modeling technique, considering environmental attitude, knowledge, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control as exogenous latent variables, and pro-environmental intention and behavior as endogenous latent variables.FindingsThe results show that the students’ environmental attitude and knowledge have no significant impact on their pro-environmental intention, while the students’ subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have a positive impact on their pro-environmental intention. The results also reveal that the students’ perceived behavioral control and pro-environmental intention have a strong and positive impact on their pro-environmental behavior.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on the students from a single public HEI, in accounting and administration area, and deepens environmental behavior in relation to resources’ consumption.Practical implicationsThis study provides findings that can be useful for HEIs to be more effective in their policies, strategies and practices to improve students’ environmental behavior.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the literature by exploring the main determinants of higher education students’ pro-environmental behavior in a Portuguese HEI and extending the TPB considering the additional variable environmental knowledge.

Global-scale energy use has contributed to worldwide environmental issues, including climate change, global warming, and air and haze pollution. Home appliances are commonly used products that consume a lot of energy. This study aims to empirically assess the factors that lead to pro-environmental consumer behavior in households under the influence of haze pollution. The relationship among the variables of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) (attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, purchase intention, and purchase behavior), the norm activation model (NAM) (ascription of responsibility, awareness of consequences, personal norms), and additional psychological variables such as green trust and environmental concern has been examined. In addition, the moderating role of herd mentality on consumer purchasing has also been assessed. A non-probability-based purposive sampling technique has been employed to gather data from 429 respondents. The results from PLS-SEM show that haze pollution stimulates the usage of energy-saving appliances. Environmental concern positively affects consumers' intentions to purchase energy-efficient household appliances, and green trust positively influences environmental concern. Subjective norms, attitudes, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental concern shape purchase intention. Personal norms are influenced by the awareness of consequences and the ascription of responsibility. The influence of these factors on consumers' pro-environmental behavior is evident in purchasing energy-efficient household appliances to minimize haze and mitigate associated environmental issues. This study proposes strategies to persuade individuals to purchase energy-efficient household equipment based on the empirical findings.

In light of escalating global environmental deterioration, studies on pro-environmental intention and behaviour with the ultimate goal of identifying contributing factors to minimise environmental issues are common. Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is widely used to study environmental intentions and behaviours. However, how quality of life (QoL) influences these intentions and interactions among TPB’s own variables within a single research framework has not been thoroughly explored. Therefore, this study extends TPB by incorporating the four dimensions of QoL, as measured by the Control, Autonomy, Self-Realisation, and Pleasure (CASP-19) scale, to understand pro-environmental intentions from Malaysian viewpoints. In this study, quantitative approach was applied, and the data were collected from Malaysians aged 18 and above (N = 182) in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), a two-step approach was employed to assess the measurement and structural models. The findings confirmed Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is a robust model for environmental studies showing that subjective norm and perceived behavioural control significantly influence attitudes toward pro-environmental behaviour, ultimately leading to pro-environmental intention. Interestingly, this study found no relationship between QoL dimensions and pro-environmental intention. Lastly, both theoretical and managerial implications were discussed, and research limitations and suggestions for future research directions were put forward.

PurposeLittle is known about how religious beliefs can motivate consumers to behave more pro-environmentally. Drawn on an integrated model of the theory of planned behavior, the norm activation model and the self-determination theory, this study aims to explore the effects of religious beliefs (especially, karmic beliefs (KB) and beliefs in a just world (BJW)) on consumers' pro-environmental behavior.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 736 consumers recruited from the eight most populous cities in Vietnam using the mall-intercept survey approach and structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to test the hypothesized model and hypotheses.FindingsThe findings indicate that KB and BJW can increase consumers' green intrinsic motivation, which subsequently encourages them to engage in pro-environmental consumption. Moreover, awareness of consequences (AOC) and ascription of responsibility (AOR) serially indirectly inspire consumers' sustainable consumption through serial mediators, including personal norms (PN), attitudes toward green products and green purchase intention.Practical implicationsBased on the findings, some theoretical and managerial implications for pro-environmental consumption are provided.Originality/valueThe study offers fresh perspectives on the role of religious beliefs in pro-environmental research. Additionally, this study sheds new light on the marketing literature by integrating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and norm activation model (NAM) with self-determination theory (SDT) to explore the underlying mechanisms and effects of psychological components on consumers' pro-environmental behaviors.

Purpose The investigation of pro-environmental behaviors (PEB) among college students is essential for future sustainability endeavors. Existing research seldomly concentrated on college students and their PEB. This study aims to address the gap in understanding PEB among college students. Design/methodology/approach This study constructed an integrated model combining the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory, with the novel addition of environmental risk perception. Through an empirical study involving 844 college students, this research analyzed the data with the structural model. Findings The authors identified that environmental values, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms and risk perception play crucial roles in shaping PEB. This study also revealed age-related differences, highlighting that older students might be less influenced by attitudes and subjective norms due to more established habits. Findings underscore the importance of fostering PEB through environmental education, promotion of low-carbon lifestyle choices and incentives. This investigation not only enriches the theoretical framework for PEB but also offers practical insights for policymakers and educators to enhance sustainable practices among the youth. Research limitations/implications Though the authors offer valuable findings, this research has two key limitations: the use of observational data for hypothesis testing, which weakens causal inference, and the collection of data through questionnaires, which may be biased by social desirability. Respondents of self-report tend to behave in the socially desired ways. Consequently, they usually exaggerate their pro-environmental intention or PEB. To comprehend the influencing aspects more thoroughly, future research should consider incorporating experimental methods and objective data, such as digitalized data. Practical implications The findings provide valuable evidence for guiding college students’ PEB, including strengthening environmental education, promoting of low-carbon fashion and providing incentives for PEBs. Originality/value First, the authors examine the internal factors influencing PEB among Chinese university students within the “dual-carbon” initiative framework. Second, this research pioneers the use of structural equation modeling to merge TPB and VBN theories, offering a predictive model for university students’ PEB. Third, the authors introduce “environmental risk perception” as a novel variable derived from both TPB and VBN, enhancing the model’s explanatory power.

Increasing pro-environmental behavior may combat environmental deterioration and promote animal and human welfare. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), we investigated how an Australian zoo-based seal encounter influenced participants’ pro-environmental intentions and behavior at 1-month follow-up. Participants were 113 seal encounter visitors, with n = 29 providing 1-month post-encounter data. Pre-encounter, participants reported past and intended pro-environmental behaviors, and TPB constructs (attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective and moral norms). Post-encounter, participants rated their experience and future pro-environmental intentions. At 1-month follow-up, participants again reported their pro-environmental behaviors. The model explained past pro-environmental behaviors and future behavioral intentions (but not plastic use specifically), with subjective norms being the most important. Unlike past research, moral norms were not significant, perhaps due to the zoo-based research context. Importantly, participants reported a decrease in plastic use 1-month post-encounter. These findings provide suggestions for zoos to design encounters targeting subjective norms to promote pro-environmental behavior.

Environmental psychology has exhibited a notable propensity for promoting pro-environmental conduct as a feasible strategy for confronting environmental issues and fostering sustainable development. Recent research has incorporated the norm activation model (NAM) into several investigations concerning individual and organizational pro-environmental conservation behaviors. The objectives of this literature review were to: 1) examine pro-environmental behaviors previously studied using the NAM framework; and 2) analyze the extended NAM components. 3), understanding NAM construct framing; 4), finding environmental studies' NAM model theories; and 5), assessing variables' importance and linkage, including mediating variables. This review employed a systematic literature review encompassing 53 articles published from 2018 to 2023. The results indicated that 98.11 percent of studies employed NAM by integrating additional constructs to improve its ability to predict environmentally friendly behavior. About 39.62% of research included constructs from other theories to improve the main theory's predictive power. TPB was heavily integrated into the NAM model. The results of the review also indicate that NAM is a strong paradigm for explaining pro-environmental behavior when combined with relevant constructs. Its application differs between core factors like personal norms, awareness of consequences, and ascription of responsibility and literature-introduced notions like motivation, risk, benefits, beliefs, knowledge, personality, and cultural values. These additional factors may greatly affect human pro-environmental behavior, drawing attention to using NAM in environmental behavior studies in new ways.

As destination residents are both stewards of the local environment and daily participants in place-based socio-ecological interactions, their engagement in pro-environmental behaviors has emerged as a key factor in supporting destination sustainability. This study investigates destination residents’ pro-environmental behaviors by exploring the concepts of human-nature symbiosis (e.g. nature relatedness and place attachment), pro-environmental climate (e.g. family and social pro-environmental orientations) and identity processes (e.g. identity resilience). In addition, it explores the gap between destination residents’ pro-environmental intentions and actual behaviors and empirically tests the moderating role of incentive measures in narrowing this gap. Based on survey data from China, the world’s largest domestic tourism market, the results indicate that nature relatedness, place attachment, family pro-environmental orientation and social pro-environmental orientation are significantly and positively associated with destination residents’ pro-environmental behavioral intentions. Identity resilience strengthens the positive relationships between these factors and pro-environmental behavioral intentions. A disparity persists between destination residents’ pro-environmental intentions and their actual actions; however, incentive measures can help bridge this gap by promoting the translation of intentions into actions. By adopting the Theory of Interpersonal Behavior as its analytical framework, this study extends beyond conventional models such as the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Norm Activation Model, offering a more holistic account of the psychological, social and contextual complexities faced by destination residents.

The recognition of environmentally responsible behaviour as a key tool for sustainable management of national parks and other tourism environments demands an understanding of how the relationship between people and places might influence pro-environmental behaviour. This study is underpinned by an attitudinal approach to the study of place attachment based on the principles of attitude-behaviour models. Operationalising the multi-dimensional nature of place attachment as four sub-constructs (place dependence, place identity, place affect, place social bonding), the present study develops a conceptual framework that integrates the different place attachment sub-constructs and tests their relationship to place satisfaction and pro-environmental behavioural intentions of visitors in a national park context. The study employs reliable and well-established scales from literature to inform the survey design. Data were collected from 115 visitors in the pilot study and 452 visitors in the main study at the Dandenong Ranges National Park, situated east of the city of Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, Australia. Due to the need for a pro-environmental behavioural intentions scale that was appropriate to the context, a pilot study using this scale only was undertaken and the results were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). As a result of modifications made to the scale items, the scale was reanalyzed in the main study. Results from EFA in the main study suggested it was necessary to consider pro-environmental behavioural intentions as a two-factor structure construct which were labelled as low and high effort pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Recognising that each of the place attachment sub-constructs are fundamentally different and may have differing effects, the study employed multiple regression to test their separate effects on place satisfaction and pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Findings suggest that the four place attachment sub-constructs were significantly associated with place satisfaction and the latter was significantly associated with low effort pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Place affect positively influenced both types of pro-environmental behavioural intentions, while place identity was not significantly associated with either. A significant association was also noted between low effort and high effort pro-environmental behavioural intentions. The study further established and confirmed the validity of place attachment as a second-order factor and investigated its relationships with place satisfaction and visitors’ low and high effort pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were employed to test the structural model using AMOS Version 19. Results indicate positive and significant effects of place attachment on both low and high effort pro-environmental behavioural intentions of park visitors. A significant and positive effect of place attachment on place satisfaction was noted. Findings also suggest a significant and positive effect of place satisfaction on low effort pro-environmental behavioural intentions while a negative and significant influence of place satisfaction was noted on high effort pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Findings led to important theoretical and practical contributions for park sustainability and sustainable tourism development. A notable contribution is that this study consolidates the increasingly fragmented work of place attachment by shedding light on its multi-dimensional nature taking into account the four sub-constructs of dependence, identity, affect and social-bonding. A significant methodological contribution this research makes is that it establishes and supports the validity of place attachment as a second-order factor. The study further contributes to the scarcity of studies linking place attachment and pro-environmental behaviour in a national park context. Another important contribution that this study makes to existing literature relates to the delineation of the pro-environmental behavioural intention construct into low and high effort pro-environmental behavioural intention. The study suggests that it may be misleading to consider pro-environmental behaviour as a uni-dimensional construct because the sub-constructs of place attachment had different effects with the two types of environmental behaviours. The study also provides important practical implications for the Dandenong Ranges National Park management and discusses the implications of the findings for tourism sustainability. Findings suggest that the park’s management may benefit from implementing strategies to foster place attachment through information provision, investment in distinctive attributes of the park, infrastructure, activities, and affective components of the site. The significant contribution of place identity and place affect to place attachment further suggests that these are important areas that park managers should focus on to increase visitors’ attachment to the site and ultimately improve visitor satisfaction and promote pro-environmental behaviours among park visitors. In doing so, the findings from this study ultimately may contribute to the conservation of environmental resources, thereby contributing to society’s welfare and to the goals of sustainable development.

Purpose This study aims to examine the influence of pro-environmental awareness and social media advertising on hotel customers’ pro-environmental behaviours. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and social impact theory (SIT) are applied to investigate how environmental and advertising-related factors interact to shape customers’ behavioural outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The study employed an online survey in this study, with a focus on customers who recently stayed at a hotel and engaged in pro-environmental behaviours. Both symmetrical (partial least squares–structural equation modelling [PLS–SEM]) and asymmetrical (fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis [fsQCA]) methods were used to analyse the roles of subjective norms, pro-environmental attitudes and perceived behavioural control in driving pro-environmental accommodation behaviours. Findings The results highlight the mediating role of subjective norms and attitudes in translating environmental and advertising influences into pro-environmental behaviours. The findings underscore the synergistic effects between environmental awareness and advertising characteristics, highlighting their combined impact on customer behaviour. Practical implications This study provide guidelines for hotel managers and policy makers to promote customer incentives, differentiated social media communication strategies and a green certification system with cross-sectoral collaboration to promote customer eco-behaviour effectively and to facilitate the sustainable transformation of the hospitality industry. Originality/value By integrating the TPB and SIT, this study advances the theoretical understanding of the interplay between environmental awareness and advertising strategies. Further, the use of both PLS–SEM and fsQCA offers a comprehensive perspective, bridging the gap between statistical and configurational analyses.