Investigating Rural Domestic Waste Sorting Intentions Based on an Integrative Framework of Planned Behavior Theory and Normative Activation Models: Evidence from Guanzhong Basin, China

Jing Shen, Donghui Zheng, Xiaoning Zhang and Mei Qu
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Jing Shen: College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, 3 Taicheng Road, Yangling 712100, China
Donghui Zheng: College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, 3 Taicheng Road, Yangling 712100, China
Xiaoning Zhang: College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, 3 Taicheng Road, Yangling 712100, China
Mei Qu: College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, 3 Taicheng Road, Yangling 712100, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-14

Abstract: The sorting of domestic waste is the most effective way to alleviate the problem of mass garbage accumulation around the villages of rural China. Farmers are the creators of rural domestic waste as well as the direct beneficiaries of effective waste management. However, few studies have been conducted on the psychological determinants of farmers’ intentions to sort domestic waste. This paper applies planned behavior theory (TPB) and normative activation theory (NAM), to analyze the domestic waste sorting intentions of rural residents in Guanzhong, China. Based on the micro-data of 327 rural households in Guanzhong, structural equation models of the factors influencing farmers’ domestic waste sorting intentions were estimated. The results demonstrate the following. (1) Farmers’ attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and personal norms have significant positive direct impacts on their domestic waste sorting intentions, with personal norms having the greatest direct impact. (2) Subjective norms have no direct impact on farmers’ domestic waste sorting intentions but do have an indirect impact on them through personal norms, behavioral attitudes, and perceived behavior control. This article increases scholarly understanding of the psychosocial determinants of the environmentally friendly behavioral intention to sort domestic waste. The study also provides academic and theoretical support to policy makers in implementing relevant policy recommendations.

Keywords: planned behavior theory; normative activation theory; farmer; domestic waste sorting; Guanzhong Basin; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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