Integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Norm Activation Model to Investigate Organic Food Purchase Intention: Evidence from Vietnam

Ample research has been conducted in the organic food market and researchers have investigated factors affecting the purchase behavior of consumers in many countries. However, the studies on organic food that integrate the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Norm Activation Model (NAM) in a transition country like Vietnam are limited. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate factors affecting the organic food purchase intention in the Vietnamese context. We combined the TPB and the NAM to propose an integrated research framework with attitude and personal norms as two mediators. Through a self-administered questionnaire survey, we collected 611 valid responses from the three biggest cities in Vietnam. Data were put into SPSS 22.0 and SmartPLS 3.0 for analysis. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed to test both direct and indirect relationships among factors of TPB and NAM in the research model. Our findings indicated that attitude plays the most critical role in explaining the organic food purchase intention of Vietnamese consumers, followed by social norms and personal norms. Notably, attitude also remarkably mediated the impact of environmental awareness and knowledge of organic food on purchase intention. Meanwhile, personal norms played the mediating role in the NAM that intervene the connection between social norms and purchase intention. Based on our analysis, we suggested policymakers, manufacturers, marketers, and sellers of organic food change their actions for the growth of the organic food market in Vietnam.

Food Waste Reduction from Customers’ Plates: Applying the Norm Activation Model in South Korean Context

Researchers have pointed out the urgent need to tackle food waste from customers’ plates, considering its environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Nonetheless, little is known about reducing food waste from customers’ plates in the restaurant context. The present research successfully addressed how customers can reduce food waste by using the Norm Activation Model (NAM). A customer survey was employed to collect quantitative data to verify the hypotheses of this study. The NAM of this study involved awareness of environmental impact (of the restaurant industry), ascribed responsibility for food waste, and moral norm for food waste reduction as predictors for food waste reduction intention. In addition, this study adopted self-efficacy to food waste reduction as a moderator on the path from the moral norm for food waste reduction to food waste reduction intention. Our empirical results supported all the hypotheses suggested in the research model. Consequently, the findings of this study adequately explained how restaurant customers form their intention to reduce food waste and thus provided important clues about how it can be encouraged. For example, based on the findings, a nudging message may be displayed on the restaurant wall to raise customers’ self-efficacy, saying, “Saving the earth is as easy as finishing your food or taking it home”.

Současná podoba environmentální výchovy a její potenciál v ovlivňování environmentálního uvědomění žáků

Článek představuje výsledky výzkumu, který se zabýval analýzou environmentálního vzdělávání žáků středních škol s důrazem na prozkoumání faktorů ovlivňujících pro-environmentální chování. Výzkum využívá model sestavený na základě metody TPB (Theory of Planned Behavior) a metody NAM (Norm Activation Model). Z analýzy je patrné, že značná část žáků považuje současnou environmentální výchovu za nedostatečnou. Nejčastějším zdrojem informací se v oblasti environmentálního vzdělávání stává pro žáky internet a sociální sítě. Stěžejním determinantem pro-environmentálního chování jsou dle výsledků výzkumu postoje a normy respondentů, které je možné v rámci environmentálního vzdělávání ovlivnit skrze budování povědomí o důsledcích chování. Článek se také vzhledem k odlišným výsledkům jednotlivých zahraničních studií obdobného zaměření zamýšlí nad důležitostí lokálního výzkumu v oblasti rozvoje environmentálního vzdělávání, který je v oblasti analýzy determinantů environmentálního uvědomění stále na samém začátku.

Factors Influencing Urban Residents’ Intention of Garbage Sorting in China: An Extended TPB by Integrating Expectancy Theory and Norm Activation Model

With the deepening of the garbage classification policy strength, making urban household garbage sorting mandatory in China, it is imperative to clarify the key factors affecting the urban residents’ intention to behave in garbage classification. Though it has attracted the attention of researchers, there are still several aspects that need to be supplemented and improved. Thus, this study aims to investigate the critical factors affecting the urban residents’ intention of garbage sorting and develop an extended model of planned behavior by integrating expectancy theory (ET) and norm activation model (NAM). Given the positive externalities of urban residents’ garbage sorting behaviors, awareness of consequences and attribution of responsibility are correspondingly interpreted as environmental benefits (EB) and environmental concerns (EC). The sample data of 668 urban residents who lived in four pilot cities of garbage classification in China were collected and adopted to the structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapping estimation method to assess the causal relationship between variables. The results indicated that the expectation (Exp) was a significant positive predictor of garbage sorting intention. Attitude (AT), perceived behavior control (PBC) and subjective norm (SN) positively affected urban residents’ expectation of garbage sorting, with SN having the most significant direct impact. The results also found that the EB has significant influences EC, which strongly influences urban residents’ expectation of garbage sorting. Furthermore, the total effect of EC on Exp is higher than other paths, and the mediating effect of SN on Exp by AT and PBC is greater than other indirect paths, which accounted for about 27.1% of the total effect. Finally, we discuss both theoretical and practical implications, along with recommendations for future research.

Framing socio-political controversy: The 2012 Spanish labor reform as a case study of cascading activation

In February 2012, the Spanish Government approved an aggressive labor reform. Many political agents committed to emphasis framing, highlighting certain aspects of the topic to persuade their publics with their definitions of the situation. Some generic frames suggested an individualistic approach to the labor market, while some others called for collective action. Following the cascading activation model, this research attempted to identify the flows of frames from the elites to the media outfits. A content analysis was conducted with the materials disseminated in February 2012 by the government, the two main Spanish unions, the confederation of employers, and four print media. Differences and similarities were found through bivariate analyses between the categories of the codebook. Although clear cascades emerged from the unions to the online daily Público.es, and from the government to Larazón.es, generally the media frame building processes did not limit to just depicting the frames of an elite.