Theory Of Planned Behavior Elements Research Articles

Examining Tourist Visit Intention to Nature-Based Tourism in Post-COVID-19 Pandemic

The study aims to investigate tourist visit intentions to nature-based tourism destinations after the COVID-19 pandemic. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used as the primary theoretical foundation to foresee tourist visit intention. This study used a quantitative research design with a purposive sampling technique to collect data. A total of 325 datasets were found to be suitable for the next analysis using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that entirely of the TPB factors are significant in influencing tourist visit intention. Specifically, tourist attitude has the greatest influence on tourist visit intention. It implies that the TPB can effectively forecast tourist visit intention to nature-based tourism destinations. Consequently, destination managers should consider the TPB elements when making decisions.
 Keywords: nature-based tourism, theory planned behavior, visit intentions, post- COVID-19, PLS-SEM

COVID-19 and sustainable environment: understanding higher education students' willingness to pay more for food delivery containers

PurposeThe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased the use of food delivery containers in the food and beverage industry. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the aim of this paper is twofold: Firstly, it examines the influence of three elements of TPB (attitude, perceived behavioral control and subjective norm) and time pressure on the intention to reuse reusable food delivery containers (ITR). Secondly, it examines ITR as an antecedent to the willingness to pay more for reusable food delivery containers (WTPM).Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 401 higher education institution (HEI) students and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe study found that the three elements of TPB influenced ITR. Furthermore, the results revealed that ITR directly influenced WTPM. Surprisingly, time pressure did not influence ITR.Originality/valueThe research is one of the earliest studies to investigate HEI students' intention to reuse food delivery containers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study contributes to TPB by presenting a novel, integrated model to explain the independent roles of time pressure and ITR on ITR and WTPM, respectively. Finally, it contributes to the existing body of knowledge on pro-environmental behavior among HEI students and advances methodologically by establishing the PLS-SEM approach.

Do trust in financial institution and financial literacy enhances intention to participate in stock market among Indian investors during COVID-19 pandemic?

This research aims to investigate the significance of trust in financial institution and financial literacy in the investment decision-making of individual investors during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigates the strength of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in this framework. This study considered a structured questionnaire to collect data from 460 individual investors of different districts in four states of India. For testing the research hypotheses, SPSS and PLS-SEM were taken into consideration. The findings enlighten that elements of TPB, i.e. attitude (ATT) and subjective norms (SNs), are significantly associated with investment intentions (INT) while perceived behavioral control (PBC) displays an insignificant association with INT. Furthermore, along with the original components of the TPB model, Trust in financial institution (TFI) and Financial Literacy (FL) were also incorporated in the model, which shows a significant affect on investors’ intention to invest in the stock market. The results stated that TFI is the most significant factor that enhances investors’ intention to participate in stock market during COVID-19 pandemic. The study describes that during the phase of uncertainty like COVID-19 pandemic trust is the most important factor that enhances investors’ participation in the stock market. Authors suggest SEBI and other financial institutions should promote trust and trusting behavior in financial institutions as it is significant not only from the perspective of financial development but also to empower the individuals to gain from institutional services as well as to guard them, from possible negative effects (like financial frauds), which are more likely to be present outside of regulatory boundaries. This study is one of the initial attempts in the context of the Indian Stock Market to introduce TFI as a dual (both mediating and moderating) variable between the basic constructs of TPB. Further, the study also examines the importance of trust in financial institution and financial literacy in enhancing investors’ intention to participate in stock market during COVID-19 pandemic.

Influence of emotion on purchase intention of electric vehicles: a comparative study of consumers with different income levels.

Promoting electric vehicles (EVs) adoption has become one of the important paths for countries around the world to address climate change and accelerate the transformation of energy system for achieving sustainable development. As one of the important psychological factors, the research on the explanatory power of emotions to EVs purchase intention is still insufficient. This paper collected 400 valid questionnaires all around China. By incorporating emotions and moral norms into the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model, this study used structural equation model to estimate the impact of positive anticipated emotion (PAE), negative anticipated emotion (NAE), and moral norms together with TPB elements on EVs purchase intention. In order to explore the heterogeneity effect of the above factors on EVs purchase intention among consumers of different income groups, we divided the total sample into high-income subsample and low-income subsample according to the household monthly disposable income. We concluded as follows: for the total sample, PAE has the greatest impact on EVs purchase intention, followed by attitude, NAE, and perceived behavioral control (PBC). In particular, the purchase intention of high-income consumers mainly depends on NAE, while the purchase intention of low-income consumers mainly depends on PAE. Additionally, PBC has more significant impact on EVs purchase intention of high-income group. Finally, targeted policy implications are proposed to promote EVs purchase.

Personality effect on students’ entrepreneurial intention: The mediating effect of the theory of planned behavior

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct effects of personality traits on entrepreneurial intention (EI), the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on EI, as well as the indirect effects of personality traits on EI through the elements of TPB. In order to enhance the originality of this study, the model of personality and the theory of planned behavior were combined to explain entrepreneurial intention (Zhang & Cain, 2017; Sousa, Blamey, Reason, Ramos, & Trigo, 2018). This study utilized a 55-item questionnaire to assess personality traits (openness to experience (O), conscientiousness (C), extraversion (E), agreeableness (A), neuroticism (N), and risk aversion (R)), the elements of TPB (attitude (AT), subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC)) and EI (Tsaknis, 2022). The study sample (n = 315) included students of the business department of a public university in Athens. The results indicate that C has a direct negative impact on EI. O, C and E have an indirect positive effect on EI through AT and PBC. N has an indirect negative effect on EI through PBC and finally R has an indirect negative effect on EI through AT and PBC. Finally, AT and PBC have a direct and positive effect on EI. The data were analyzed empirically using the Jamovi program and R language (Rosseel, 2012). In light of these findings, more studies are needed to corroborate and validate the findings presented here, especially in other settings.

To verify or not to verify: using partial least squares to predict effect of online news on panic buying during pandemic

PurposeCoronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has given rise to different dimensions of uncommon human behavior, and panic buying is one of them. Interestingly, panic buying research has not been given much attention. The purpose of this paper is threefold. Firstly, it examines the influences of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) elements (subjective norm, attitude and perceived behavior control (PBC)) on panic buying. Secondly, it investigates online news and the perceived likelihood of being affected (PLA) as antecedents to the TPB constructs. Finally, to examine online news verification as a moderator on the relationship between the TPB constructs and panic buying.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 371 respondents and analyzed using the partial least squares method structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). PLS predict was applied to determine the predictive power of the model further.FindingsThis study found that subjective norms and attitude influence panic buying. The results further revealed that online news has a direct influence on the PLA and attitude. However, PBC has no such effect on panic buying. Surprisingly, online news verification also has no moderating effects on the relationships between the TPB elements and panic buying.Originality/valueThis research helps to understand consumer panic buying behavior, especially during shock events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is the first that extends the TPB incorporating both online news and PLA as antecedents to panic buying in the same model. Furthermore, the study serves as an initial attempt to investigate online news verification as a moderator between the link of three constructs of TPB and panic buying, contributing to existing literature. Lastly, it advances the body of knowledge on consumer behavior and contributes methodologically by introducing the PLS approach.

Exploring Strategic Factors for Promoting Blood Donation Campaign

Approximately 2.2 percent of the Malaysian population donates blood each year, compared to the standard expectation of 5 percent. It is a sign that this country will experience insufficient blood supply in the future. This worrying statistic has led to the exploration of blood donation decision-making conducted worldwide for the purpose to understand the factors that will help to encourage the publics to donate blood. Understanding the intention-based Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) helps the researchers to develop targeted campaigns based on specified factors from the pool survey. These TPB factors among Malaysian adults have not yet been fully investigated. Thus, the survey was administered to respondents concerning potential motivating factors based on the suggested TPB elements in their decision to donate blood. The study was conducted on Malaysian adults working in the public and private sectors. This study was to identify the correlation and regression value to identify the relationship between the factors and to infer causal relationships between the factors. The result shows that there is a significant relationship between the subjective norms with the blood donation intention. The potential discouraging factors need to be addressed to ensure future decision whether or not to donate blood might be inflected. However, this study has pointed out for further investigation on factors affecting the donor intention and decision to donate the blood among Malaysian adults.

Social-Psychological Determinants of Serbian Tourists’ Choice of Green Rural Hotels

The significance of green rural tourism for sustainable development is widely recognized. In addition, a number of researches attempt to explain the green choice among tourists. Hereby, different theoretical approaches are used. The dynamic approach to the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is implemented in this study. The approach considers that the influence of different elements of TPB (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control) on intention to visit green rural hotels is tested in the context of different phases in behavior change of the respondents (pre-decision, pre-action, action). According to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first implementation of the dynamic approach to the TPB in understanding green rural choice. During data analysis, multigroup structural equation modelling (SEM) was used. The results indicate that the existence and the strength of the influences of the elements of TPB are different in different phases of behavior change. Managerial implications for the studied market (Serbia) are also provided within the paper.

Rational or Irrational Decision? Examination on Gamers’ Intention to Purchase Probability-Type Items

Abstract Expanding the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model with non-volitional factors, this study investigated determinants of purchase intention (PI) for probability-type items (PTI) in a popular mobile game. An online survey was conducted with 534 players of Summoners War. The overall results show that the PI of PTI is associated with both rational and impulsive factors. Specifically, the results of hierarchical regression analysis demonstrate that along with two TPB elements (attitude and perceived control), individual factors of self-control and general stress, as well as game-related factors of advancement, competition, purchase frequency and spending amount were all significant predictors of PTI PI. These non-volitional factors account for additional 18% of variance out of 48% total variance (R2 = .48) in PI.

The Role of Entrepreneurship Education in Cultivating Student’s Entrepreneurial Intention

Purpose: This research seeks to prove whether entrepreneurship education can significantly grow student’s entrepreneurial intention. The approach of theory of planned behavior (TPB) is used to examine whether the effect of entrepreneurship education on student’s entrepreneurial intention initially goes through attitude variables, subjective norms, and perceptions about behavioral control first. The population of this study is the students of Narotama University who were taking the course of Strategic HR Management in the odd semester of 2017/2018. Data was analyzed using path analysis method. The result shows that entrepreneurship education has no direct effect on student’s entrepreneurial intention. As for the three elements of TPB, only attitude variable which is able to significantly mediate the influence of entrepreneurship education on student’s entrepreneurial intention.
 Design/methodology/approach: In this research, data in the form of respondents’ perceptions were analyzed quantitatively using path analysis method.
 Findings: Entrepreneurship education has no direct effect on student’s entrepreneurial intention and solely mediated by attitude of the students in order to effectively influence their entrepreneurial intention. 
 Research limitations/implications: In this research, entrepreneurship education is seen from the learning process in one course only, not viewed holistically starting from a policy making process at the top management level of the university, the preparation of an integrated entrepreneurship curriculum, to its implementation in the learning process in each course. Also, the family background of each student was not considered as one of the determinants of their entrepreneurial intention.
 Practical implications: There is a need to increase affective content so that a stronger persuasive ability will be established among students to influence the norms in their social environment. Addition in psychomotor content is also needed to form more positive perception about students’ competence in doing entrepreneurial activity.
 Originality/value: This research combines the study of entrepreneurship education with the latest development in TPB study. This research also focuses on a population of students who are taking a certain course. Thus, the components in a learning process can be better observed. 
 Paper type: Research paper
 Keyword: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Intention, Entrepreneurship Education, Theory of Planned Behavior

Theory of Planned Behavior including self-stigma and perceived barriers explain help-seeking behavior for sexual problems in Iranian women suffering from epilepsy.

To apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the two additional concepts self-stigma and perceived barriers to the help-seeking behavior for sexual problems in women with epilepsy. In this 18-month follow-up study, TPB elements, including attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention along with self-stigma and perceived barriers in seeking help for sexual problems were assessed in n=818 women with epilepsy (94.0% aged ≤40years). The basic TPB model (model 1) and the TPB model additionally including self-stigma and perceived barriers (Model 2) were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Both SEM models showed satisfactory model fits. According to model, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention explained 63.1% of the variance in help-seeking behavior. Variance was slightly higher (64.5%) when including self-stigma and perceived barriers (model 2). In addition, the fit indices of the models were better highlighting the importance of self-stigma and perceived barriers in help-seeking behavior for sexual problems. Theory of Planned Behavior is useful in explaining help-seeking behavior for sexual problems in women with epilepsy. Self-stigma and perceived barriers are additional factors that should be considered in future interventions aiming to adopt TPB to improve help-seeking behavior for sexual problems.

The Relationship between Internal Audit Assurance Frequency and Earnings Manipulation Intent and Behavior: A Theory of Planned Behavior Approach

This study uses Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB) to examine whether the internal audit function’s use of continuous auditing affects managers intent and actual behavior related to earnings manipulation. I conduct an experiment where 265 corporate managers assume the role of a divisional vice president incentivized by an annual bonus based on divisional performance. At midyear, participants signal their intent and actual earnings manipulation behavior in a setting where the division is on target to miss the annualized earnings target if the manager does nothing. Consistent with theory, univariate analyses suggest that managers who indicate higher perceptions on each of the three TPB elements were more likely to manipulate earnings. Multivariate analyses support a positive relationship between each measure and earnings manipulation intent, however, the attitudes measure is statistically insignificant. Related to actual behavior, I predict and find that managers who intend to manipulate earnings actually do so. Further, I find that participants who intend to manipulate earnings prefer to use accounting estimates relative to accounting expenditures as their earnings manipulation mechanism in this setting. In additional analyses, I find managers with current or prior audit committee experience were less likely to manipulate earnings. Lastly, I find that managers are indeed less likely to manipulate earnings when the internal audit function uses continuous auditing. This study contributes to knowledge by disentangling earnings manipulation intent from actual behavior. Results of the study should be of interest to auditors, academics, and financial statement preparers.

Cross-Cultural Competences and International Entrepreneurial Intention: A Study on Entrepreneurship Education

To identify and foster potential international entrepreneurs are important goals for entrepreneurship education. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), we argue that International entrepreneurial intention (IEI) is a predictor of international entrepreneurship (IE). In addition, cross-cultural competences are hypothesized as antecedents to IEI and moderators of the relationship between TPB elements and IEI. We integrate two elements of cross-cultural competences (global mindset and cultural intelligence) in a TPB-framework to identify the drivers of students’ IEI. We analyze a sample of 84 students with OLS regression and moderation analysis. OLS regression results reveal no significant direct effects from cultural intelligence and global mindset on IEI. Moderation analyses suggest a negative, significant moderating effect of cultural intelligence on the relationship between personal attitude and IEI and on subjective norms and IEI. Therefore, simply enhancing global mindset and cultural intelligence does not contribute to students’ IEI. More is required from entrepreneurship education, such as improving the perception of international entrepreneurship as a valuable career choice.

The relationship between the theory of planned behavior and medication adherence in patients with epilepsy.

The aim of this study was to apply the theory of planned behavior (TPB) with two other factors (action planning and coping planning) to the medication adherence of adults with epilepsy. We measured the elements of the theory of planned behavior (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention), action planning, and coping planning at baseline among adults with epilepsy (n=567, mean±SD age=38.37±6.71years, male=48.5%). Medication adherence was measured using the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) and antiepileptic serum level at the 24-month follow-up. Structural equation modeling (SEM) examined three models relating TPB elements to medication adherence. Three SEM models all had satisfactory fit indices. Moreover, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention together explained more than 50% of the variance for medication adherence measured using MARS. The explained variance increased to 61.8% when coping planning and action planning were included in the model, with coping planning having greater association than action planning. In addition, MARS explained 3 to 5% of the objective serum level. The theory of planned behavior is useful in understanding medication adherence in adults with epilepsy, and future interventions may benefit by improving such beliefs as well as beliefs about coping planning.

Beyond intentions – what makes a student start a firm?

Purpose – Entrepreneurial intentions have been extensively studied in student populations, with results suggesting that higher education does not promote formation of entrepreneurial intentions (e.g. Varamäki et al., 2013). However, the gap between intending to start a business and actually doing something to start one remains. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions with higher education students andto analyze the antecedents of actual behaviors related to start-ups with higher education students. The authors use theory of planned behavior (TPB) for both analyzing the intentions and analyzing the actual behaviors. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply Ajzen’s (1991) TPB to entrepreneurial intentions of higher education students and test their relevance as antecedents of actual behaviors. In addition to the basic elements of TPB (attitudes, subjective norm (SN) and perceived behavioral control (PBC)) the authors test the impact of entrepreneurial characteristics (EC) (innovativeness, tolerance of ambiguity, creative problem solving and the ability to organize) of the student for intentions and for actual behaviors related to start-ups. Gender, entrepreneurial role models and basic education (upper secondary school vs vocational) are used as control variables. The data were collected in fall 2012 in seven different universities of applied sciences and consists of 3,754 responses, including 182 from respondents who were starting their own business at the time of the study. Findings – For entrepreneurial intentions, the model explains 47 percent of the variance. The best antecedent of intentions seems to be attitude followed by PBC. EC and SN are significant but their role in the model is quite small. For actual behavior related to starting up a firm, the results are quite different. Gender explains behavior significantly and so does basic education. The most important independent variable is EC followed by PBC. Attitude toward entrepreneurship is not significant in explaining the actual start-up behavior, nor is SN. Research limitations/implications – From an empirical standpoint, the sample was limited to higher education students in one country. This limits the scope of generalization. Further studies, comparing antecedents of intentions and behavior in multiple contexts should be undertaken. Another limitation of the study is that the authors have been unable, due to the small number of students engaged in start-up activities, to examine the differences between study years. Practical implications – The results raise interesting and difficult questions for entrepreneurship educators. Should entrepreneurship education aim at actual behaviors rather than intentions – or neither? What is vocational education doing “right” compared with upper secondary school or, indeed, higher education? Furthermore, if EC are this significant for actual behavior, what should or could be done to promote development of such characteristics in higher education? Originality/value – The paper contrasts entrepreneurial intentions with actual behaviors related to starting up a firm and tests the utility of the TPB antecedents in this context. As the development of entrepreneurial intention has generally been studied in isolation from actual activities, the paper presents an interesting counterpoint to previous research.

The role of subjective norms in theory of planned behavior in the context of organic food consumption

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicability of theory of planned behavior (TPB) with special emphasis on measuring the direct and moderating effects of subjective norms on attitude, perceived behavioral control and buying intention in context of buying organic food. Design/methodology/approach – Structured questionnaires were randomly distributed among academic staffs and students of two universities in southern Punjab, Pakistan. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed model fit. Findings – Results of the study showed that subjective norms significantly moderate the relationship between attitudes and buying intention as well as between perceived behavior control and buying intention. Furthermore, subjective norms significantly influence attitude toward buying intention. Practical implications – The paper provides useful insights for the academics and marketers. Academics may further explore the role of subjective norms in order to have a better understanding of their effects on TPB components. Whereas, marketers can target the opinion leaders and reference groups to increase the demand of organic food. Originality/value – Majority of previous studies overlooked the role of subjective norms in determining the buying intentions with respect to organic food. The striking feature of this study is an in-depth emphasis on exploring the direct and moderating effects of subjective norms on the elements of TPB. Moreover, to the best of authors’ knowledge, this is a pioneer study that comprehensively examines the linkage of components of TPB with organic food purchasing in Pakistan.

Seeing the forest as well as the trees: general vs. specific predictors of environmental behavior

The domain of environmental protection is comprised from many sub-domains as recycling, conserving water, or reducing the consumption of energy. The attitude–behavior gap is partly explained by the gap between the specificity levels of the particular measured behavior and of its antecedent(s). The present study aimed at assessing the effects of general vs. domain-specific behavior’s proximal antecedents included in the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model (intentions, attitudes towards the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) on performance of specific environmental behaviors (EBs) in five environmental sub-domains. We found that in all of the environmental domains examined, a specifically worded TPB model predicted specific behaviors better than a generally worded TPB model did. However, the magnitude of the improvement varied among behavioral domains and the improvement did not arise from the same TPB elements in every domain. The implications for environmental education and for EB research are discussed.