The Internet’s popularity as a health resource (also referred to as e-health) for patients is impacting the doctor-patient relationship and health care overall. Many patients now tend to look on the Internet for the information they seek in order to avoid the hassle of going to the doctor. It is important to investigate how the doctors themselves feel about this impact and see what factors influence their behaviors toward patients with regards to e-health. This study used mediation behavior theory and the theory of reasoned action to assess the relationship between doctors’ beliefs/attitudes and their subjective norms about e-health and their mediation behavior toward patients. Results revealed that many factors, including perceived benefits of the effects of e-health, perceived concerns about possible negative effects, evaluations, positive experiences with patients and social norms indeed affect the type of mediation behavior doctors perform with patients when discussing e-health.

In public relations, minority public relations practitioners are feeling left behind by the profession (Ford & Appelbaum, 2005). Where do top executives stand on employment diversity within their organizations? An online survey of 20 top executives of small-sized public relations agencies explored how top executives’ perceptions of and normative beliefs about diversity practices were related to their future engagement in diversity practices at work. Based on the theory of reasoned action, this explanatory study found that executives’ perceptions of peer endorsement of diversity were associated with greater intention of organizational engagement in diversity practices. Neither perceived benefits of nor perceived concerns about diversity were related to future engagement. Recommendations for contacting this hard-to-reach audience, as well as suggestions for promoting diversity practices among top executives, were discussed.

As the mobile devices are popularized, the population of mobile Internet is increasing year by year. The mobile application service includes mobile information, mobile entertainment, mobile transaction, and mobile location service. The most growing market is the mobile game. According the prediction of Juniper¡¦s research, the output value of global mobile game industry will reach 9.7 billion dollars. To research the sunrise industry topic, the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) are integrated in this thesis. Contextual Effects in the Usage Intention of Mobile Games. The causal relationship of perceived playfulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, subjective norm, and intention is researched. The influence of location, task, and subjective norm on intention is also studied. According to the research and the result of PLS analysis, the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Technology Acceptance Model are verified in this thesis. Additionally, the assumptions proposed in this research are verified and proved. Some results are derived in this research. The perceived ease of use positively influences the perceived playfulness. The perceived playfulness and the perceived ease of use positively influence the attitude. The attitude and the subjective norm positively influence the intention. The interaction of the location and the subjective norm will regulate the intention. The interaction of the task and the subjective norm will not regulate the intention. Some further TAM Model results are derived in this research. The perceived playfulness and the perceived ease of use positively influence the intention. The influence of location, task, and perceived playfulness on intention is also studied. Finally, according to the result of the study, some suggestions are proposed for future research.

The purpose of this study is to further current theory-driven research in public relations by examining the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Specifically, CSR initiatives identified by Kotler and Lee (2005) were tested using Fishbein and Ajzen’s (1975, 2005) theory of reasoned action to determine their influences on individual’s belief, attitudes, and behavioral intentions toward an organization and its products. This area of inquiry is particularly relevant for public relations scholars and practitioners since creating awareness of CSR practices among key stakeholders requires accurate and timely communication. A controlled experiment utilizing a 1x6 factorial was conducted using stimulus materials based on the Starbucks Coffee Company. The stimulus materials consisted of four Starbucks CSR messages that coincided with four CSR initiatives identified by Kotler and Lee (2005), and one Starbucks message unrelated to CSR to control for CSR initiative type. The sixth condition contained no Starbucks message as an overall control condition. All six conditions contained the same self-administered instrument to measure the variables of interest. The results of the controlled experiment found that salient beliefs predict attitudes and that attitudes predict behavioral intentions. Thus, the predictions of the theory of reasoned action are supported. The findings indicate that CSR initiatives do influence individuals’ beliefs about organizations and their products, particularly beliefs about their contributions to the community and their trustworthiness. Specific findings of this study suggest that cause-related marketing may be the most beneficial to corporations in terms of its influence on consumers’ beliefs about the corporation, which in turn may have positive financial implications. However, this study found that CSR initiatives did not influence attitudes or behavioral intentions.

Background: Systembolaget is one of the distinctive features of Sweden. It is the only store allowed to sell alcohol above 3.5% of alcohol by volume. The aim of this government-owned company is to educate Swedish customers to engage into responsible drinking patterns. To do so, they make use of advertising strategies depicted on several channels with the purpose of increasing individuals’ knowledge and thus, enhance public health. Besides, Scandinavian cultures are associated with high-risk behaviours regarding the average amount of alcohol drunk. Several studies underlined that students regularly engage into binge drinking and other irresponsible behaviours. Purpose: The aim of this study is to emphasize the effect of Systembolaget’s communication strategy on the attitudes, intentions, and behaviour of Swedish students. To fill the research gap and fulfil the objectives, a combination of the Health-Belief Model and the Theory of Reasoned Action is an adequate mean. Method: To gather the material needed for the research and uncover new insights, we chose an exploratory design. The semi-inductive approach allows to investigate the theoretical concepts while being able to use induction and thus, use the theory to both collect and analyse the data. We conducted semi-structured personal interviews on a sample of 20 Swedish students since they are familiar with Systembolaget and considered as a high-risk population in the drinking habits. To distil the data, we selected content analysis allowing the categorisation of the information in the different theoretical concepts. Conclusion: Systembolaget’s communication has a notable effect on Swedish students. It has been uncovered that the messages create favourable attitudes and thus, intentions to reduce alcohol consumption. Nevertheless, individual experiences, beliefs, and other factors of influence imply that there is an important intention-behaviour gap. Systembolaget displays information and appeals to influence the beliefs and knowledge of individual to educate them and not directly triggers specific behaviours.

Software piracy, the illegal and unauthorized duplication, sale, or distribution of software, is a widespread and costly phenomenon. According to the Business Software Alliance, more than one third of the PC software packages installed worldwide in 2006 were unauthorized copies. This behavior costs the software industry billions of lost dollars in revenue annually. Software piracy behavior has been investigated for more than thirty years. However, there are two voids in the literature: lack of studies in Non-Western countries and scarcity of process studies. As such, this study contributes to the literature by developing a software piracy model to understand the decision making process that underlies this illegal behavior among Jordanian university students. Based on a literature review in various disciplines, including social psychology, psychology, and criminology, several important variables have been incorporated into the proposed model. The model was tested using data collected from a sample of 323 undergraduate business students. The resulting data was analyzed by two main statistical techniques, structural equation modeling (SEM) and hierarchical multiple regression. The results indicated that the model was useful in predicting students' intention to pirate software. Seven out of eight hypotheses were supported. Consistent with The Theory of Reasoned Action, attitudes toward software piracy and subjective norms were significant predictors of intention to pirate software. However, our findings are inconsistent with previous studies with regard to the relative importance of attitude and subjective norms; subjective norms had a stronger effect. Also, the results suggested that ethical ideology, public self-consciousness, and low self-control moderated the effect of these variables on intention to pirate software. Lastly, the results indicated that the effect of subjective norms on afintention to pirate software was both direct and indirect through attitudes. The results have important practical implications for the software industry and governments to curtail software piracy. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future studies are discussed as well.

Today, intrauterine devices (IUDs) are used by over 100 million women worldwide, making it the most popular reversible method of birth control. Approximately only 2% of American women, however, choose to use this method of birth control. The purpose of this study was to explore clinical services providers' (CSP) behavioral intention to provide the IUD. An instrument based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) surveyed National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH). A total of 695 participants appropriately completed the survey, resulting in approximately a 30% response rate. Pearson Product Moment Correlations assessed the linear relationship(s) among summed scales and individual instrument items. Hierarchical regression identified the level of variance accounted for by TRA scales and the knowledge scale. Consistent with TRA tenets, statistically significant associations were found among TRA constructs and behavioral intention; whereas knowledge, while a statistically significantly correlated variable with behavioral intention, was not a predictor of behavioral intention. Future research should continue to explore factors of IUDs use, including those not a part of TRA. Health educators should plan programs to assist in health information delivery, and develop social marketing campaigns to help women seeking family planning services become effective consumers of health information about IUDs.

Purpose – This thesis aimed at investigating students’ beliefs influencing their personal attitudes and subjective norms not to choose the accounting profession by using the simplified Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) model. Theoretical framework – This study used the simplified TRA model to investigate the beliefs that influence students not to choose the accounting profession. From an accounting context, prior research has indicated that, there are intrinsic and extrinsic factors that determine the behavioural beliefs of students about the accounting profession. Likewise, normative beliefs are another construct of the simplified TRA model that influences students’ intentions towards the accounting profession. Methodology – Through a quantitative approach, questionnaires were sent electronically to first and second year students at five major universities in Sweden. In total, 323 students replied to the questionnaire. Since this study focused on students intending to choose business administration, non-business administration students were deleted from the sample giving an actual sample size of 228. The data collected was analyzed in two steps using multiple regression analysis. Findings – The findings of the study confirmed the simplified TRA model. The results showed that both behavioural and normative beliefs influenced students’ intentions not to choose the accounting profession. For behavioral beliefs, no personal interest in accounting, the belief that accounting is boring and the belief that other occupations (for instance, marketing and management) negatively influenced students’ attitudes not to choose the accounting profession. Similarly, for normative beliefs, teachers and peers influenced students’ subjective norms not to choose the accounting profession. Practical implications – The practical implications of this study are two-folded. Firstly, program directors at universities should engage in hiring qualified teachers in accounting, organize supportive activities to encourage students about the accounting profession. Also, program directors should include compulsory internships in the curriculum so that students can learn about the accounting profession. Secondly, former accounting students should get involved in the process of encouraging students about the accounting profession. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the beliefs influencing the personal attitudes and subjective norms of students not to choose the accounting profession. Therefore, the thesis provides an up-to-date theory about the TRA in the accounting profession in Sweden.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management & Dietetics / Ki-Joon Back / Understanding association members’ meeting participation behaviors is the key to the well-attended meeting, which is a common goal of both associations and host destinations. However, little research has contributed to theoretical development in this area, and the lack of a theoretical framework has negatively influenced the validity of existing research. Thus, this study attempted to explain association members’ meeting participation behaviors, using a conceptually sound model of meeting participation, which was developed based on existing human behavior theories: the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Another main objective of this study was to test the validity of the meeting participation model (MPM). By comparing the utility of three competing models (TRA, TPB, and MPM), this study confirmed the effectiveness of the meeting participation model (MPM) in explaining association members’ intentions to attend the annual meeting. The proposed meeting participation model was empirically examined using the data collected from 245 members of the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE). The results of model development revealed that the MPM fits the data very well, providing a systematic view of the decision-making process of association meeting participation. In addition, the findings of the model comparison using the structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that all three competing models successfully provide a theoretical base for understanding association members’ meeting participation behaviors. Specifically, the MPM provided a fuller understanding of meeting participation intention by adding two predictor variables (destination image and past meeting participation experience) to the TPB. This study is the first research effort to investigate what makes association members attend, or not attend, association meetings based on theoretical frameworks. TRA and TPB provided the necessary theoretical ground to develop the meeting participation model (MPM). By adding a domain specific predictor variable (destination image) and a non-volitional habitual construct (past experience) to the original latent constructs conceptualized in pure TRA/TPB models, the MPM emerged as a theoretically strong and parsimonious framework for understanding association members’ meeting participation behaviors. The results of the current study present a strong step toward providing practical as well as theoretical implications for future convention research.

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