Are you a water saver? Discovering people's water-saving intention by extending the theory of planned behavior. (1st June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Si, Hongyun; Duan, Xu; Zhang, Wenjia; Su, Yangyue; Wu, Guangdong
• Is Part Of: Journal of environmental management. Volume 311(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-06-01
• Subjects: Water -- Saving behavior -- Intention -- Theory of planned behavior -- Environmental concern -- Information publicity; Environmental policy -- Periodicals; Environmental management -- Periodicals; Environment -- Periodicals; Ecology -- Periodicals; 363.705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114848
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0301-4797

Abstract

Abstract: Saving water is a common responsibility of all humanity, which is essential for achieving sustainable use of global water resources. The aim of this study is to discover the determinants of an individual's intention to save water. Based on the theory of planned behavior, a novel comprehensive framework has been developed by extending environmental concern, perceived risk, and information publicity. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to perform an empirical analysis with data from questionnaire of 265 residents in Jinan, the famous Chinese "Spring City". The findings indicate that residents have a strong environmental concern and water-saving intention with mean values of 6.78 and 6.67, respectively. Attitude and information publicity are the most important antecedents of water-saving intention, followed by subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. Environmental concern and perceived risk indirectly affect the intention to save water through attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. The role of environmental concern is more important than the role of perceived risk. Interestingly, a high level of information publicity may strengthen the impact of attitude on water-saving intention but weaken the impact of perceived behavioral control. This study strongly supplements current knowledge on water-saving behavior. Moreover, these findings provide insights for policymakers to motivate people to save water. Highlights: A novel theoretical framework was constructed to explain water-saving intention. The integrated model explains 81.8% of the variance in water-saving intention. Attitude and information publicity encourage residents' water-saving intentions. The role of environmental concern is more significant than the perceived risk. The moderating effect of information publicity differs in different paths.