Determinants of Intention to Adopt Recycled Water: Evidence from Four High-Water-Stress Provinces in China

Lin Liu (), Weidong Wang and Yahya Njie
Additional contact information
Lin Liu: School of Economics and Finance, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Weidong Wang: School of Economics and Finance, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Yahya Njie: School of Economics and Finance, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 14, 1-21

Abstract: Promoting the use of recycled water is essential for environmental sustainability. A key part of promoting the use of recycled water is effectively increasing the public’s intention to adopt it. This research attempts to explore the factors that influence the public’s intention to adopt recycled water. It therefore introduces the baseline water stress indicator and extends the survey area to areas of high water stress. Based on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI), a new research model is developed from the perspective of “information disclosure (knowledge)–psychological factors (persuasion)–adoption intention (decision)”, and the moderating role of policy instruments is considered. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis are used to empirically analyze 724 valid questionnaires. The results indicate that psychological factors (trust, awareness of water environment protection, herd mentality) have multiple parallel mediating effects between recycled water information disclosure and adoption intention, and herd mentality is the key factor influencing the public’s intention to adopt recycled water. Command-and-control policy instruments inhibit adoption intention, while economic incentives and publicity-and-guidance policy instruments promote adoption intention. These findings can help policymakers seek and adopt effective policy measures and provide a reference for popularizing and promoting recycled water in areas with high water stress.

Keywords: recycled water adoption; diffusion of innovation; baseline water stress; policy instruments; structural equation modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/14/6158/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/14/6158/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:14:p:6158-:d:1438081

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().