Background: Due to increasing environmental issues, the social marketing efforts from organisations are increasing with the aim to push for more sustainable behaviour. One recurring issue in these campaigns is palm oil production. Generally, social marketing relies on negative emotional appeals, such as fear, shame, and guilt, to generate desired responses to the message. This paper focuses on the use of both positive and negative emotional appeals in social marketing within the area of environmental sustainability.   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between the elements of the theory of planned behaviour with the addition of the social marketing appeal and how it, in turn, affects the intention to avoid palm oil. Further, the research aims to study the effects of positive emotional appeals within pro-environmental social marketing.   Method: To conduct this study, a quantitative approach was taken. Two questionnaires were made with the aim to measure respondents’ motivational factors leading to an intention to behavioural change based on the marketing appeal. One questionnaire included an advertisement using a positive appeal whereas the other utilised a negative appeal.   Conclusion: Both marketing appeals show positive relationships between the elements in the adapted theoretical framework, with perceived behavioural control being the strongest predictor of the intention to behavioural change. Further, it was discovered that the financial factor can be important to consider when it comes to sustainable consumption.

The primary aim of the investigation was to explore the entrepreneurship intent (EI) of South African TVET students by applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Additional factors (demographics, community valuation, prior exposure to entrepreneurship and COVID-19 perceptions) were included as control variables within the model to assess the utility of the TPB. Student participants (N = 128) completed an online survey administered through two institutions in the Western Cape and made available by a Facebook link. The application of the TPB model scales was strongly supported by the results of the exploratory factor analyses (EFA) conducted as well as reliability analyses. Regression analyses indicated that the Theory of Planned Behaviour explained approximately 80% of the variance in entrepreneurial intention (p < .001). However, only attitudes were a significant determinant of entrepreneurial intention, whereas subjective norms and perceived behavioural control were not significant determinants of EI. Moreover, the control variables (demographic factors, community valuation, prior exposure to entrepreneurship) did not explain significant variance in EI, with the exception of COVID-19 perception, which was a significant determinant (β = .259, t = 3.159, p < .05). Hayes (2018) PROCESS macro was thereby used to investigate the moderation effect of COVID-19 perceptions, which were found to significantly moderate the relationship between perceived behavioural control and entrepreneurial intention. The contributions of the investigation are discussed and recommendations for future research are presented.

Background: In our world of growing consumption and waste generation, shopping at packaging-free stores can be a step towards sustainable consumption and minimizing our environmental impact. Purpose: The aim of this paper is to evaluate the main predictors of Hungarian consumers’ intention to shop at packaging-free stores using a TBP approach. Method: A quantitative, descriptive study was conducted, during which primary data were collected through an online survey with 208 responses and analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multiple regression. Conclusion: The empirical findings suggest that Attitude and Perceived Behavioural Control are strong predictors of purchase intention in the context of shopping at packaging-free stores.

Purpose: This study aims to inform readers whether greenwashing in the Chinese electrical appliance market impacts consumers' green purchase intention. Methods: This study uses theory of planned behaviour as the theoretical basis to construct a structural equation model. An online questionnaire survey was conducted on 521 participants. Results: Our analysis shows that greenwashing has indirectly positively correlated with green purchase intention; green attitude and green perceived value play an intermediary role between greenwashing and green purchase intention. Conclusion: This study concluded that in the Chinese electrical appliance market, greenwashing has positively affected green attitudes and green perceived value, then green attitudes and green perceived value positively affected green purchase intention, and green attitudes positively affected green perceived value. Structure: In this study, after the introduction, the model and related proprietary definitions involved in the research are explained, and hypotheses are proposed. Next are the research methods and research results, and then the discussion of the research results. Finally, the possible directions of future research are discussed.

This study aimed to investigate the behaviour of lecture attendance amongst undergraduate students at the University of Cape Town (UCT) by applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). A total of 169 respondents completed either a hard copy or online survey whilst meeting the inclusion criteria. The sample consisted of students from a first-year mathematics course (which had compulsory lecture attendance for registered students) and from a first-year organisational psychology course (which had voluntary lecture attendance for registered students). The study aimed to broaden the limited knowledge which exists around the perceptions of students regarding lecture attendance specifically in a South African context. Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis and reliability analyses strongly supported the application of the TPB model scales and role-identity scale. Regression analysis showed that only attitudes help to predict intention towards lecture attendance behaviour where subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and role-identity were not significant predictors. Intentions were also seen to be highly correlated to actual attendance behaviour as well as helping to predict actual attendance behaviour. Actual behavioural control (ABC) was not seen as a moderator between intention and actual lecture attendance. Practical and theoretical implications were discussed. The information generated by this study can be used to further understand the occurrence of, and students’ perceptions of lecture attendance.

Internships provide students with the unique opportunity to experience what working for a particular organisation will entail, while simultaneously giving the organisation a chance to evaluate the students' work capabilities and cultural fit before offering them a full-time employment contract. As a result, internships have necessitated deeper understanding, from researchers and employers alike, of what impacts intern conversion rates within host organisations. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) this study explored the intention toward conversion into full-time employment within host organisations of the South African intern. The study employed a quantitative design to test the hypotheses that behavioural beliefs (attitudinal beliefs, subjective normative beliefs, and perceived behavioural control beliefs) would influence the intention to convert. A total of 210 respondents completed an online survey. The sample consisted of interns from three South African organisations. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of the measurement and structural models found that the hypothesised models fit the data moderately well. Results of the regression analysis showed that both attitudes and subjective norms were significant in determining intention towards converting into full-time employment, however, perceived behavioural control and perceptions of COVID-19 were not significant determinants of conversion behaviour. The study makes three contributions to the literature. First, TPB can be a useful framework to explain interns' intention to convert. Second, the utility of the TPB framework for conversion intentions was established. Third, this study contributes to limited research on the topic and the findings call for longer-term research on intern conversion in the South African context with larger sample groups.

Much work has been done in communicating environmental messages about climate change to promote pro-environmental beliefs and behaviours, yet individual-level behavioural changes are not occurring rapidly enough to make meaningful reductions in environmental harm. Studies have shown that although information-based and scientific means of communicating about climate change are the most common strategies, they are largely ineffective in encouraging pro-environmental behaviour. As an alternative to these fact-based narratives, stories are proposed as effective tools for environmental communication and promoting behavioural change. To determine the impact of the narrative structure of climate change communication on behaviour, this study examined how exposure to fact-based and story-based narrative structures of environmental messages differentially influence the extent of engagement in pro-environmental consumption behaviour. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was used as a framework to examine the attitudinal and behavioural responses to the story-based and fact-based communication conditions. Specifically, we examined the relationship between non-consumption attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, behavioural intentions, and non-consumption behaviour, and explored how narrative structure influences the TPB processes for non-consumption. Participants (n=291) were randomly assigned to read a story or factsheet about the environmental consequences of overconsumption of material goods, or a non-relevant text. Pre- and post-test measures of pro-environmental consumption behaviour were conducted 14 days apart. Post-test attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and behavioural intentions towards practicing non-consumption were also measured. Results demonstrated that both story-based and fact-based narratives were effective tools for promoting pro-environmental consumption behaviour, providing some support for the information deficit theory. Four domains of pro-environmental consumption behaviour were determined as non-consumption, reuse, activism, and green shopping behaviour. The story-based narrative was more effective than the fact-based narrative and the control narrative in increasing non-consumption and green shopping practices, while activism and reuse behaviour were not influenced differently by narrative structure. The TPB was found to be a useful model for assessing non-consumption, such that non-consumption behaviour was predicted by attitudes, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms through the mediating role of behavioural intentions. Non-consumption attitude was the strongest predictor of intentions, and subjective norm was the weakest predictor of intentions. Narrative structures did not have significant effects on the participants’ reported non-consumption attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control or intentions, nor on the relationships between the TPB constructs. The findings suggest that story-based narrative structures are effective tools for delivering climate change information to broad audiences and encouraging pro-environmental behaviour. However, the role of information-based communication should not be discounted. The findings also contribute to the body of research on pro-environmental consumption behaviour by providing a deeper understanding of the psychological mechanisms of non-consumption, an essential yet understudied domain of sustainable behaviour. / Graduate / 2023-01-12

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka på vilket sätt miljömedvetenhet och socialt värde påverkar Generation Z och Millennials attityd mot hållbart mode och hur det återspeglas i köpintentionen när de handlar mode online. Vidare är avsikten att undersöka skillnader och likheter mellan dessa generationskohorter i denna inom kontext.   Metod: En kvantitativ metod har utförts där en surveyundersökning framställdes utifrån ett bekvämlighetsurval.   Slutsats: Resultatet för denna studie visar att miljömedvetenhet och socialt värde har en positiv påverkan på konsumenternas attityd mot hållbart mode. Vidare uppvisade miljömedvetenhet och attityd i sin tur stark påverkan på den hållbara köpintentionen. Däremot visade sig socialt värde inte ha någon direkt påverkan på den hållbara köpintentionen, trots dess starka påverkan på attityden. Attityden visar sig ha störst betydelse vid köpintention av hållbart mode online, vilket är en indikation på att attityd agerar som en medierande variabel genom att föra över påverkan från socialt värde till den hållbara köpintentionen. Det framkom inga signifikanta samband mellan generationskohort och hållbar köpintention.

What causes people to change their primary transportation mode and sustain the change in the absence of an incentive? Shifting towards sustainable modes is a vision shared by many municipal, regional, national and international bodies around the world, but it is difficult to change individuals’ behaviour, especially when there is no incentive to do so. Through understanding how individuals make decisions about their planned behaviour and determining what are opportune moments to re- learn travel habits, it may serve as a key opportunity to influence sustainable mode share. This study focuses on residential relocation to understand if the act of relocating serves as a catalyst to change transport behaviour. It further studies if car-lite developments under the Stockholm Green Parking Guidelines have impacted changes in travel behaviour towards more sustainable modes. By using surveys and interviews based on behavioural theory, it is possible to understand how individuals change their transport mode. The data collected also show how individuals may have a bias towards a particular transport mode and how policies can work to persuade them to choose another. The findings recommend measures to target programs for mode shift to the right people, at the right time to maximise effectiveness. They further recommend that proactive notification from information available in official databases can be used to implement this within the capabilities that currently exist in many jurisdictions. / Vad är det som får människor att ändra sitt primära transportsätt och upprätthålla förändringen trots avsaknad av incitament? Att övergå till mer hållbara transportsätt är en vision som delas av många kommunala, regionala, nationella och internationella organ runt om i världen men det är svårt att ändra individers beteende, särskilt när det inte finns något incitament till en förändring. Genom att förstå hur individer fattar beslut om sitt planerade beteende och att fastställa vilka tillfällen man som individ är mer öppen för att ta till sig nya resvanor, öppnas möjligheter för att påverka resvanor i en mer hållbar riktning. Denna studie fokuserar på individer som har bytt bostad, i syfte att förstå om flytten fungerar som en katalysator för ett förändrat transportbeteende. Den studerar vidare om utvecklingen mot ett minskat bilanvändande enligt riktlinjerna för Stockholms Gröna parkeringstal har skapat en förändring mot mer hållbara transportsätt. Genom att använda undersökningar och intervjuer baserade på beteendeteori är det möjligt att förstå hur individer ändrar sitt transportsätt. Uppgifterna som samlas in visar också hur individer kan ha en preferens för ett visst transportsätt och hur policyer kan arbeta för att övertyga dem att välja ett annat. Resultaten rekommenderar att man identifierar åtgärder för ett mer hållbart transportsätt och riktar in dessa till rätt personer vid rätt tidpunkt, i syfte att maximera effekten. De rekommenderar vidare att information tillgänglig i officiella databaser, och som är tillåten att användas inom dagens regelverk, kan användas för att implementera detta.

Mental health challenges among Canadian post-secondary students have been on a steep upward trend in recent years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, many students do not reach out to the mental health services available to them. To lessen or remove actual and perceived barriers, research has been exploring how to predict their intentions to seek help for their personal mental health challenges. Much of this work applies the widely used Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1980) which posits that behavioural intentions are best predicted by attitudes toward the behaviour; perceived normative expectations; and perceived behavioural control. Though the theory also posits that beliefs underlie and are formative of these three predictors, studies have largely neglected their measurement. This is problematic as it deviates from the TPB and frustrates efforts toward the development of interventions to enhance behaviours towards seeking help for mental health challenges. If they are to be effective, such interventions must be directed at changing salient beliefs. This research addresses this gap through a mixed-method sequential design. It provides a unique and valuable contribution to scholarship and practice by identifying and examining the role of students’ attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs with respect to their intentions to seek help. This is examined separately and together with the more traditionally studied direct predictors of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control (i.e., the formative constructs defined by the beliefs). Students relied on six salient beliefs concerning their intentions to seek mental health help: two behavioural, two normative, and two control beliefs. Student attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC mediated the links between salient beliefs and intentions, with PBC being the strongest predictor of intentions to help-seek. The findings help inform interventions to change the beliefs most associated with low intentions to get mental health support. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation aims to advance the understanding of student intentions or—lack thereof—to seek mental health help following the onset of COVID-19. Salient beliefs that underlie student attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control are examined, using a Theory of Planned Behaviour approach. The research provides valuable theoretical and practical contribution. It identifies the beliefs held by post-secondary students post COVID-19, which can inform interventions intended to increase mental health service use. In Phase 1 of this study, students’ salient beliefs were examined through survey and interview methods. In Phase 2, I assessed these beliefs as direct predictors of their attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behaviour control, and as indirect predictors of mental health help-seeking intentions. Six beliefs were identified as relevant to student intentions to seek help, and findings lend support for the applied and scholarly value of the TPB to this area of study.