Do information publicity and moral norms trigger waste-sorting intention among households? A sequential mediation analysis

Yan Li; Muhammad Yaseen Bhutto; Chaojing Sun; Syed Muntazir Mehdi

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1193411

Do information publicity and moral norms trigger waste-sorting intention among households? A sequential mediation analysis

Front Psychol. 2023 Jun 15:14:1193411. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1193411. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yan Li^{1

2}, Muhammad Yaseen Bhutto³, Chaojing Sun⁴, Syed Muntazir Mehdi⁵

Affiliations

¹ Business School, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
² Postdoctoral Mobile Research Station of School of Politics and Public Management, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
³ Business School, Shandong Jianzhu University, Jinan, China.
⁴ Shandong Labor Vocational and Technical College, Jinan, China.
⁵ Institute of Health and Business Management, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan.

Abstract

Introduction: The quick pace of technological advancement and urbanization has led to a significant increase in waste production, severely damaging environmental quality and human health. The sorting of waste is a viable option to reduce environmental hazards and attain high recovery rates in the cities. This research extended the theory of planned behavior (TPB) by integrating information publicity (IP) and moral norms (MNs).

Methods: A conceptual model has been developed to explore the predictors of waste-sorting intention of households. The data from 361 Pakistani households have been collected using the purposive sampling method and analyzed via PLS-SEM.

Results and discussion: The study's results revealed that IP is important in creating awareness and establishing moral norms regarding waste sorting among households. The findings further confirm that MN, attitude (ATD), subjective norms (SNs), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) sequentially mediate between IP and WSI. The findings of the current study provides useful practical implications to the practitioners and academicians to combat environmental pollution.

Keywords: attitude; green norms; information publicity; moral norms; perceived behavioral control; subjective norms; waste sorting intention.

Grants and funding

This study received funding from Henan Postdoctoral Research Initiation Project: Research on the Relationship between Redundant Resources and Enterprise Innovation in the Digital Economy Era (based on data from regional and enterprise levels, Project No. 22120003).