Perceived Policy Effectiveness Research Articles

THE INFLUENCE OF ATTITUDE, SUBJECTIVE NORMS, AND PERCEIVED BEHAVIORAL CONTROL ON VACCINATION INTENTION AMONG TEACHERS: THE MODERATING ROLE OF PERCEIVED POLICY EFFECTIVENESS

Background and Purpose: This study explores teachers' influence on families' vaccination decisions and the role of schools in health education. It aims to identify factors shaping teachers' attitudes toward vaccines and their decision-making when vaccinating their children. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, the research examines educators' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control about vaccination choices. It provides insights into the crucial role of schools and teachers in promoting vaccination and enhancing vaccine acceptance in society.
 
 Methodology: A quantitative approach was employed to analyze the data in this study. Questionnaires were distributed to teachers in three states in Malaysia, namely Pahang, Terengganu, and Kelantan. Out of the total 400 questionnaires distributed, only 326 were found suitable for analysis after the screening process. The data were then analyzed using the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method.
 
 Findings: The study reveals a significant link between teachers' attitudes toward vaccinating children and a connection between subjective norms and parents' vaccination intentions. These findings support previous research, underscoring the influence of attitudes and subjective norms on vaccination decisions. However, no significant relationship was found between perceived behavior control and parents' intention to vaccinate, suggesting that parents' beliefs about accessing vaccines or overcoming barriers have a limited impact on their vaccination intentions. In addition, Perceived policy effectiveness positively influenced parents' vaccination intentions.
 
 Contributions: This study enhances understanding teachers' vaccination intentions, informing evidence-based policies to promote vaccination and address barriers. Recognizing the factors influencing teachers' decision-making, targeted interventions can enhance vaccination rates and improve public health outcomes.
 
 Keywords: Vaccine acceptance, teachers' vaccination intentions, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behaviour control.
 
 Cite as: Abd Rahman, N. A. S., Ju, S. Y., Razali, J. R., Ridzuan, M. R., & Kong, L. K. (2024). The influence of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on vaccination intention among teachers: The moderating role of perceived policy effectiveness. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 9(1), 224-244. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol9iss1pp224-244

Exploring the factors influencing the intention to clothing and textiles recycling among Chinese college students': a study based on TPB and VBN.

Recycling apparel and fabrics is essential for preserving resources and protecting the environment, providing considerable global advantages for ecology and society. This study sought to explore the participation of Chinese college students in the recycling of clothing and fabrics by combining the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the Value-Belief-Norm theory (VBN), self-identity, school education, and perceived policy effectiveness to create a comprehensive model. A total of 1,027 valid samples were obtained through stratified sampling and random sampling, primarily sourced from Eastern China, and analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) utilizing AMOS. The results of the research suggested the following: (1) College students' biospheric values emerged as the most influential factor in predicting their inclination to participate in recycling behavior. (2) VBN (encompassing biospheric and altruistic values) and self-identity significantly contributed to shaping attitude and perceived behavioral control, which in turn impacted individuals' intention to participate in recycling. (3) School education exerted a stronger moderating influence than perceived policy effectiveness on the relationship between attitude, perceived behavioral control, and intention. The comprehensive model proposed in this study demonstrated superior predictive capability in explaining college students' willingness to participate in clothing and textiles recycling. It has been proven to be practical and effective. Lastly, schools should promote the practice of clothing and textiles recycling, cultivate good values, and utilize the power of social influence to encourage college students to participate in clothing and textiles recycling. The government should improve relevant laws and regulations, collaborate with academia, and adopt measures like incentives to create a pro-environment atmosphere.

“Yes, It’s Cute, But How Can I Be Sure It’s Safe or Not?” Investigating the Intention to Use Service Robots in the Context of Privacy Calculus

Technological advancements have made artificial intelligence and robotic systems more functional, intelligent as well vulnerable. This development caused fresh discussions about service robots in tourism and hospitality service settings where privacy is crucial. One of these discussions is the privacy of personal information and the attitude toward service robots. With a focus on current discussions, this study aims to explore the relationship between the perceived benefits and risks of disclosing personal information and the intention to use service robots. This study also hypothesized that willingness to disclose information privacy influence the intention to use service robot. In this study, an online survey was used as a method of quantitative research. A total of 541 responses were received during the data collection process. Model and hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results of this research showed that perceived personalization and personal innovativeness were associated with the perceived benefits of information disclosure. Meanwhile, it was found that the unauthorized secondary use of personal data and perceived policy effectiveness were negatively related to the perceived risks of information disclosure. Overall, the results indicated that perceptions of disclosing personal information under privacy calculus were related to the intention to use a service robot.

When and Why Do People Accept Public-Policy Interventions? An Integrative Public-Policy-Acceptance Framework

The successful introduction of public policies to prompt behavior change hinges on the degree to which citizens endorse the proposed policies. Although there is a large body of research on psychological determinants of public policy acceptance, these determinants have not yet been synthesized into an integrative framework that proposes hypotheses about their interplay. In this article, we develop a review-based, integrative public-policy-acceptance framework that introduces the desire for governmental support as a motivational foundation in public-policy acceptance. The framework traces the route from problem awareness to policy acceptance and, ultimately, policy compliance. We propose this relationship to be mediated by a desire for governmental support. We integrate numerous key variables assumed to qualify the relationship between problem awareness and the desire for governmental support, such as control attributions, trust, and value fit, as well as the relationship between the desire for governmental support and policy acceptance, such as perceived policy effectiveness, intrusiveness, and fairness. We exemplify the use of the proposed framework by applying it to climate policies.

ASSESSING RESIDENTS’ INTENTION TOWARDS MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE SOURCE SEPARATION: A CASE STUDY OF MALAYSIA

This study investigates factors affecting Malaysian residents' municipal solid waste source separation behaviour. An extension of the theory of planned behaviour was applied by including the situational factor and perceived policy effectiveness in the model. A sample of 410 respondents was collected using convenient sampling methods. Data were analysed using the structural equation modelling-partial least-square (SEM-PLS) method on the hypotheses in the study. The findings revealed that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and perceived policy effectiveness significantly influenced residents’ municipal solid waste source separation intention. On the other hand, situational factors negatively impacted the municipal solid waste separation intention. Results further revealed that moral obligation and environmental knowledge positively influenced attitudes towards solid waste source separation. Thus, it is important for the government to increase Malaysian residents to perform solid waste source separation by providing adequate physical waste separation facilities with effective regulation enforcement.

Public opinion about restrictive driving policy: Does political affiliation matter? A case study of odd-even restrictive driving policy in Delhi, India

Public opinion and their support for any new government policy depend on their beliefs on acceptance, intrusiveness, and effectiveness. Considering a varying degree of social and cultural heterogeneity, this study investigates the array of political affiliation, which analyzes the influence of political affiliations on assessment and acceptance of the restrictive driving transport policy. A case study on an odd–even restrictive driving policy implemented during November 4–11, 2019, in Delhi (India) is undertaken using quantitative research methods. The conceptual model was first empirically tested with 275 responses from male residents using partial least squares structural equation modeling and then with necessary conditions analysis for robustness of the findings. The findings show that political affiliation positively influences perceived policy effectiveness, policy fairness, and policy acceptance. This study may help policy-makers and regulators to design measures and interventions that influence broader public perspective related to the odd–even restrictive driving policy through political affiliation.

Determinants of waste separation behavior Tabriz, Iran: An application of the theory of planned behavior at health center

Background: Identifying factors that may influence waste separation behavior can lead to more effective waste separation, better recycling plans in a community, and more effective and efficient waste management interventions. The purpose of the survey was to identify the key factors behind such behavior.Methods: The scientific inquiry was cross-sectional in nature, took place in Tabriz, Iran, and employed multistage random sampling to recruit the study’s 360 participants. The data collection process took place between September 2018 and February 2019. A Theory of Planned Behavior-driven questionnaire was developed by the research team for the purpose of data collection. The structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was deployed for data analysis.Results: The structural equation modeling of the data showed the most important determinants of behavioral intention were perceived behavioral control (β = 0.39, p < 0.05), moral commitments (β = 0.19, p < 0.05), and perceived policy effectiveness (β = 0.12, p < 0.05). The strongest determinants of waste separation behavior were behavioral intention (β = 0.29, p < 0.05) and perceived behavioral control (β = 0.25, p < 0.05). In addition, age-group and gender differences were statistically related to waste separation behavior significantly (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Recycling investors and other stakeholders should focus on perceived behavioral control and intention in designing and implementing waste separation programs.

The Effect of Technology Adaptation and Government Financial Support on Sustainable Performance of MSMEs during the COVID-19 Pandemic

By observing 1026 samples of Indonesian MSMEs, this study tries to explain the effect of technology adaptation, innovative financial practices, and financial policy-related factors on sustainable financial performance and the survival-recovery of MSMEs during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed using the PLS-SEM technique through SMARTPLS software version 3. Samples were selected and collected through purposive sampling by setting criteria and deploying them online and offline. The results show that the agility to conduct technology adaptation and innovative financial practices by MSMEs significantly affected their sustainable financial performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovative financial practices also positively moderate the relationship between technology adaptations on sustainable financial performance. On the other side, preferential policies of the bank have a significant impact on sustainable financial performance directly and indirectly through the mediating role of perceived policy effectiveness. The financial support by the government also significantly affected the sustainable financial performance of MSMEs through the mediating role of perceived policy effectiveness. Eventually, sustainable financial performance significantly affected the survival-recovery of MSMEs.

Exploring consumers’ usage intention of reusable express packaging: An extended norm activation model

The express delivery industry is experiencing rapid growth, which has led to an environmental problem with express packaging. To this end, utilising reusable express may be a viable solution. This study aims to understand consumers' usage of reusable express packaging. A norm-based perspective is proposed by integrating subjective norm and environmental concern into an extended norm activation model. For the data analysis, a structural equation model is employed to analyse 400 valid responses collected from an online questionnaire survey. The empirical results show that: (1) consumers’ behavioural intention is strongly influenced by personal norm, and the personal norm is determined by their awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility; (2) the behavioural intention is also enhanced by subjective norm, which is further shaped by the media influence and perceived policy effectiveness; and (3) environmental concern influences consumers' behavioural intention both directly and indirectly through personal norm. The research findings contribute to the theoretical study of reusable express packaging and provide practical implications for the promotion of reusable express packaging.

Promoting Physical Activity among Working Women: The Influence of Perceived Policy Effectiveness and Health Awareness.

In recent years, patients with chronic diseases have shown a younger trend due to physical inactivity and irregular lifestyles. Accordingly, the Chinese government has implemented the "National Fitness Program", which aims to enhance people's health by popularizing exercise and a healthy lifestyle. However, women are less physically active than men, and how to appeal to women to devote themselves to fitness activities has become a social concern. Based on the expanded theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study explores the impact of the perceived policy effectiveness and health awareness on physical activity among working women. This study adopted a repeated cross-sectional study method, and each respondent was asked to complete a two-stage survey. The structural model of the extended TPB was tested using sample data from 376 working women in Changsha, China. The results show that perceived policy effectiveness and health awareness positively affect actual behavioral control and implementation intention. Among them, perceived policy effectiveness has the most significant impact on implementation intention, followed by health awareness. Furthermore, actual behavioral control and implementation intention mediate the relationship between perceived policy effectiveness/health awareness and physical activity. The findings suggest that to promote physical activity among working women, the Chinese government should deepen the implementation of the "National Fitness Program" and raise the public's health awareness.

Tax Incentive Policy and Recovery of SMEs in the post-COVID Period: The Moderating Role of Perceived Policy Effectiveness in Indonesia

The efficacy of the lockdown measures implemented by the Indonesian government in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 has been proven, albeit at the cost of significant economic repercussions. The Indonesian government expeditiously enacted a comprehensive tax and fee reduction policy as a precautionary measure against adverse shocks. This study tries to prove (through the SME’s perspective) whether the tax incentives provided by the government have a positive impact on SMEs in maintaining their sustainable financial performance that leads to the survival-recovery of SMEs. This study also tries to observe the moderating effect of the perceived effectiveness of the implementation of tax assistance to increase the positive influence of the policy. Researchers collected data through a survey by distributing questionnaires to 1026 SMEs in Cianjur, Sukabumi, Bandung, and Bogor cities and Regencies. The data were then analyzed using the PLS-SEM method with the help of SMARTPLS version 3. The results showed that tax incentives from the government for SMEs have a significant positive effect on their sustainable financial performance and survival-recovery of SMEs. Indirectly, government tax incentives positively affect SMEs’ survival-recovery via the mediating role of sustainable financial performance. In addition, the perceived effectiveness of tax policy implementation positively moderates the effect of this relationship, thus increasing the impact of tax incentives on sustainable financial performance. In the end, sustainable financial performance has been proven to positively influence the survival and recovery of SMEs during a pandemic. This research closes with government policy recommendations for helping SMEs recover their performance in future crises.

Capturing the Low-Cost Housing Residents’ Sustainable Practices in Urban Area: The Moderating Effect of Perceived Policy Effectiveness

Globally, solid waste has contributed to environmental issues in many nations. Malaysia likewise one of the countries which has had trouble managing its solid waste since landfills are often used to dispose of garbage in Malaysia. People who live in low-cost apartments in Kuala Lumpur are frequently stereotyped as being preoccupied with the problem of garbage collection. It is commonly seen that low-income communities are more likely to engage in environmentally damaging garbage disposal practices. Looking at the households in low-income flats, notably those in Flat Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) Sri Pantai, will provide useful insight into the factors that motivate people to recycle. This study employs the hypotheses study to test the moderating effects on the relationship between independent variables (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and moral norms) and dependent variable (recycling intentions). 125 households of Flat PPR Sri Pantai, Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur were surveyed for this study. Among four hypotheses, the perceived policy effectiveness only has moderating effects on subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and moral norms.

Assessing psychological factors on farmers' intention to apply organic manure: an application of extended theory of planned behavior.

Different from the previous studies on social and economic impacts, this study focused on the assessment of psychological factors on farmers' application of organic manure. We explored the psychological evaluation based on the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB), which consists of attitude (AT), perceived behavior control (PBC), subjective norm, moral norm (MN), environmental risk perception (ERP), and perceived policy effectiveness (PPE). Further, we explored the moderating effects of PPE. We studied 235 tea growers in China to verify the model and analyzed the psychological factors in their decisions regarding organic manure application. The results showed that by incorporating psychological factors, such as MN, ERP, and PPE, the extended TPB's ability to explain farmers' intention to apply organic manure increased by 6%. The results also confirmed that psychological factors (ERP, PPE, AT, PBC, and MN) positively influenced farmers' inclination to use organic manure. Finally, PPE was found to have a negative mediating effect on attitude and intention. Given the influence of these psychological factors (PBC, ERP, and PPE), we discovered that increasing the policy publicity, raising the policy subsidy, and promoting the popularization of sustainable agriculture and environmental awareness, are essential to encourage farmers' utilization of organic manure.

New pathway exploring the effectiveness of waste recycling policy: A quasi-experiment on the effects of perceived policy effectiveness

Evidence suggests that the level of waste recycling largely depends on the effectiveness of waste recycling policy (WRP). As such, this study examined a rarely discussed, but significant perspective for promoting waste recycling, that is, the effects of residents' perceived policy effectiveness (PPE) on the effectiveness of WRP. In a quasi-experiment, residents living in Kunming central urban area served as subjects in three groups (n = 874). The primary outcome was that high level PPE could make a positive effect, while low level PPE hindered residents' recycling behavior. Subsequently, the mechanism, negative effects, and influencing factors of PPE were further explored. The main findings suggest that (i) PPE affects recycling behavior mainly through subjective norm and perceived behavioral control; (ii) PPE plays a moderating role in the trust relationship between the government and residents, and further affects the achievement of policy goal; and (iii) the perception of convenience is the important factor influencing residents’ PPE. This study made a comprehensive discussion on PPE and helped to understand the psychological causal mechanism of policy implementation and actual behavior at the micro level. In addition, it pointed out the significance of explaining the effectiveness of environmental policy from the perspective of citizens.

The effects of policy design complexity on public support for climate policy

Abstract Important challenges like climate change require transformative policy responses. According to a growing public policy literature, such transformative responses typically require complex policy packages that bundle various individual policy instruments to complement each other, compensate transition losers, and create positive synergies. Nevertheless, while adding new instruments to a package can increase policy effectiveness, it comes at a price: increased policy design complexity. Increased complexity potentially leads to fundamental public misperceptions that undermine policy legitimacy and feasibility. Here, I argue that complex policy packages affect public opinion through a compensation, policy perception, and design complexity mechanism. To test this argument, this study assesses if citizens evaluate proposals for isolated climate policies related to food and mobility behaviors differently to complex policy packages. Employing a novel two-stage conjoint-experimental approach with 9115 respondents from the USA and Germany, the study shows that policy packaging increases citizens’ perceived policy effectiveness to reduce climate pollutants, but also perceived restrictions on citizens’ lifestyles. Moreover, increased design complexity can lead citizens to pay special attention to salient costly parts of policy packages. However, increased design complexity does not fundamentally reverse preferences. Through packaging desired and undesired policy instruments, policymakers can increase public support for transformative climate policies.

The Mechanism of Household Waste Sorting Behaviour-A Study of Jiaxing, China.

Economic growth and rapid urbanization have resulted in various urban issues related to sustainable development in emerging economies such as China. Nowadays, two-thirds of China’s cities are besieged by waste and one-fourth of the cities have no space to build landfills. China is embarking on a top-down waste sorting revolution, in which residents’ awareness and behaviour of participation are fundamental to the success of garbage classification. The purpose of this paper is to understand residents’ waste sorting behaviour and identify the influencing factors in China. The subjects of this study are urban and rural residents in Jiaxing, where local government has begun to encourage waste classification but has not yet legalized it. With the integration of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and value-belief-norm theory (NAM), this study represents a “motivation-intention-behaviour” theoretical model for the systemic illustration of the antecedents of household waste sorting behaviour. A total of 541 questionnaires were administered in person in households in Jiaxing, China. Structural equation modelling with partial least squares was applied to analyse empirically. The results show that attitudes (ATT), subjective norm (SN), and perceived behavioural control (PBC) have a significant positive effect on the intention of household waste sorting (WSI), and the perceived policy effectiveness (PPE) has a positive and significant effect on the attitudes and waste sorting intention. The waste sorting intention has a positive and significant effect on waste sorting behaviour (WSB). In addition, individual characteristics have a significant impact on waste sorting behaviour, where respondents of women, higher income, and middle and old age are more willing to implement waste sorting behaviours. This study theoretically contributes to the literature by improving the understanding of the determinants of household solid waste sorting behaviour. It also provides several recommendations to improve existing policies at the practitioner level. These recommendations can be valuable references for waste management in China and other emerging economies.

The Moderating Effect of Perceived Policy Effectiveness in Residents’ Waste Classification Intentions: A Study of Bengbu, China

The Chinese government is promoting a waste classification policy to solve the increasingly serious issue of cities being besieged by waste. Only few studies investigate whether residents’ understanding of garbage classification policy has an impact on their garbage classification behaviour and the nature of such impact. The purposes of this study are twofold: first, to explore conceptually the mechanism behind any moderating effects of perceived policy effectiveness (PPE) on waste classification and, second, to examine empirically if and how PPE influences the relationships between attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SN), perceived behaviour control (PBC), awareness of consequence (AC) and waste classification intention (WCI). The conceptual model of the study is developed by combining insights from the theory of planned behaviour, norm activation theory and value–belief–norm theory. A total of 351 questionnaires were administered in person to households in Bengbu, China. The results based on structural equation modelling with partial least squares show that PPE negatively moderates the relationship between AC and WCI. AC is more strongly related with the intention to classify waste when PPE is weaker. Likewise, when PPE is higher, people’s awareness of consequences becomes less important for WCI. The findings have significant implications in policymakers’ developing guidelines and offer a framework for implementing more effective waste classification policy.

What drives resident acceptance of personal carbon trading policy in China?

Personal carbon trading (PCT) policy has been considered as an innovative and radical environmental policy tool to achieve carbon neutrality in private sector. For a new policy tool, resident acceptance is extremely vital and should be considered first and put in a vital position. The aim of this research is to understand resident acceptance of PCT policy and examine what drives resident acceptance and opposition of PCT policy. Based on a national survey in China, this research analyzed the level of resident acceptance toward PCT policy and its associated driving factors. Results delineated that residents are more likely to accept the piloting of PCT policy in other city and more positive toward the implementation of PCT policy in the next five years, but less likely to accept the piloting of PCT policy in their city and more negative toward the immediate implementation of PCT policy across the country. Furthermore, this research uncovered that residents from different regions and living areas and with different income level have different acceptable level to PCT policy. Additionally, this research found that resident acceptance of PCT policy is significantly affected by PCT knowledge, perceived benefit, perceived cost, perceived policy effectiveness and environmental awareness. However, compared with other factors, environmental awareness plays a limited role in improving resident acceptance of PCT policy. On the basis of research findings, measures to improve resident acceptance of PCT policy were discussed.

Household Waste Separation Intentions in Mongolia: Persuasive Communication Leads to Perceived Convenience and Behavioral Control

This study contributes by developing a set of household waste separation (HWS) attributes to address waste mishandling and to enhance waste separation intentions in households. In Mongolia, a lack of waste separation at the household level needs to be addressed to improve municipal solid waste management systems. However, prior studies have not established attributes in a hierarchical structure, nor do they understand their cause-effect interrelationships. First, the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) was used to screen out the unnecessary attributes in qualitative information. The fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (FDEMATEL) was then applied to understand the hierarchical structure of the attributes and their cause-effect interrelationships. The study identifies a valid set of attributes consisting of five aspects and 17 criteria under uncertainties. A hierarchical framework consisting of environmental attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioral control, perceived convenience, and persuasive communication is provided. The findings reveal that persuasive communication and environmental attitudes are causal group aspects. Furthermore, persuasive communication has a strong causal impact and higher importance in improving HWS intentions, and it leads to perceived convenience and behavioral control. For policymakers, credibility of information, knowledge and information, awareness of consequences, willingness to sort, and perceived policy effectiveness are the key causal criteria for enhancing HWS intentions. Theoretical and practical policy implications are discussed.

Using the three-pillar model of sustainability to understand lay reactions to climate policy: A multilevel approach

Public support for climate policy is necessary to enact the large-scale changes needed to mitigate climate change. We use the three-pillar model of sustainability as a conceptual framework to examine how individuals evaluate climate policies and how these evaluations predict policy support. We consider individuals’ evaluations of 1) environmental impacts (i.e., perceived policy effectiveness), 2) economic impacts, and 3) social impacts of policies. We use multilevel modeling to disentangle variance in policy support attributable to between-person differences (i.e., aggregated policy support) and within-person variations across policies. First, we fit a multilevel factor model to our dataset (Nobs = 1056) to identify whether the factor structure of the three-pillar model at both the between-person and within-person levels of analysis. The three-pillar model emerged at the within-person level. In contrast, items instead loaded onto two factors at the between-person level: benefits and harms. Thus, we created within- and between-person constructs matching these factors. Results from multilevel regressions suggest that a) individuals who anticipate more benefits and fewer harms of climate policies (as a set) also tend to report greater aggregated support for climate change policies, and b) anticipating environmental benefits, economic impacts and social impacts to be above average for a certain policy (relative to other policies) predicts greater support for that policy. Our work suggests the relevance of differentiating between who is most likely to support climate policies in general (i.e., between-person differences) as well as policy-specific evaluations associated with support for some policies over others (i.e. within-person variation in support).