Since digital piracy has posed a significant threat to the development of the software industry and the growth of the digital media industry, it has, for the last decade, held considerable interest for researchers and practitioners. This article will propose an integrated model that combines the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and ethics theory, the two theories that are most often used in digital piracy studies. Data were obtained from university students in China, and the model (...) was examined using the structural equation model (SEM). The results show that moral obligation and justice, derived from ethics theories and TPB variables, such as attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, influence the behavioral intentions of individuals to commit digital piracy. The attitude of individuals toward digital piracy is also found to be influenced by perceived benefits, perceived risk, and habit. (shrink)

We extend the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for ethics in the workplace. Using a path modeling methodology, we find evidence that, for ethics, moral disengagement is an antecedent to the TPB predictors of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC). We show that the TPB predictors mediate the influence moral disengagement has on ethical behavioral intentions. Thus, to improve ethical behavior, reducing moral disengagement is critical. We find support for including both types of PBC (...) (self-efficacy and locus of control) when modeling ethical behavior. We use four ethics scenarios and international data to test this model. We also evaluate potential positive influences on ethics in the workplace and find that recency of ethics training interacts with religiosity and activates it to reduce moral disengagement. We also find that principles-based ethics training enhances professionals’ self-efficacy to behave ethically. Experience, including time as a member in a professional accounting organization, increases both locus of control and self-efficacy to behave ethically. These variables—recency of ethical training, religiosity, principles-based professional ethics training, and experience—influence parts of the core TPB model, which in turn lead to improved ethical behavioral intentions. (shrink)

This cross-sectional study investigated the efficacy of an extended theory of planned behavior in predicting academic dishonesty among students of higher education. The participants comprised 328 undergraduates drawn from Nigerian and Malaysian public universities. Existing measures were adapted and validated using Cronbach’s alpha statistics and confirmatory factor analysis approach. The fit statistics of the extended model (χ2/df = 2.08, CFI =.926, and RMSEA =.057) were adequate. Findings revealed that academic dishonesty, especially cheating, was common in the sampled (...) population. The key psychological factors contributing to this problem were positive attitude towards the conducts, lack of strict sanctions against the conducts, and a perceived self-confidence of some students to cheat successfully. Another strong factor was the belief that intellectual material is “public property.” The modified model was not gender-bias, suggesting that the underpinning factors were similar irrespective of the gender-type of the students. Hence, a unified, non-gender discriminating approach will be effective in planned actions towards reversing the trend. (shrink)

The study employs a sequential explanatory mixed-method design and aims to understand contract cheating behavior by conducting a survey of 1,081 undergraduate students in Indonesia and following up with five respondents to explore those results in more depth. In the first quantitative phase, we collected a variety of information from questionnaires about students’ practice with contract cheating. However, the interviews provided considerable depth of the students’ experiences, motivations, and attitudes toward contract cheating. Of the 1,081 participants, 73 students (6.75%) (...) reported engaging in contract cheating. The survey responses revealed preliminary insight into students’ experiences with contract cheating and the prevalence of this phenomenon in Indonesia. In the semi-structured interviews with a subsample of survey participants (n = 5), we applied the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to elicit attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral controls toward contract cheating. Our study revealed that students will have a higher chance of pursuing contract cheating when: (a) they believe that contract cheating provides various benefits (positive attitude toward contract cheating), (b) many of their friends are doing the same thing and expect them to do the same (subjective norms), and (c) they can control their contract cheating behavior to avoid being caught (perceived behavioral control). (shrink)

The current study used both Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (TPB) and Bandura’s social cognitive theory (SCT) to examine the intentions of business undergraduate students toward taking elective ethics courses and investigated the role of self-identity in this process. The study was prospective in design; data on predictors and intentions were obtained during the first collection of data, whereas the actual behavior was assessed 10 days later. Our results indicated that the TPB was a better (...) predictor of behavioral intentions than was SCT. As expected, self-identity served as a moderator in the relationship between perceived behavioral control and behavioral intentions posited by the TPB and in the relationship between outcome expectancy and behavioral intentions posited by SCT. Self-identity was a crucial factor in predicting actual behavior within both theoretical frameworks. (shrink)

The Theory of Planned Behavior predicts that a combination of attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control predict intentions, and that intentions ultimately predict behavior. Previous studies have found that the TPB can predict students’ engagement in plagiarism. Furthermore, the General Theory of Crime suggests that self-control is particularly important in predicting engagement in unethical behavior such as plagiarism. In Study 1, we incorporated self-control in a TPB model and tested whether norms, attitudes, and (...) self-control predicted intention to plagiarize and plagiarism behavior. The best statistical fit for the path-analytic model was achieved when a direct path from self-control to plagiarism engagement was specified. In Study 2, we added a measure of perceived behavioral control and split the measurement of norms into descriptive and injunctive components. This study found that both self-control and perceived-behavioral control additively contributed to the prediction of plagiarism and the path-analytic model achieved its best fit when direct paths from perceived norms to plagiarism behavior were specified. These studies suggest that setting strong anti-plagiarism norms, such as by the use of honor codes, and seeking to enhance students’ self-control may reduce engagement in plagiarism. (shrink)

As software piracy continues to be a threat to the growth of national and global economies, understanding why people continue to use pirated software and learning how to discourage the use of pirated software are urgent and important issues. In addition to applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB) perspective to capture behavioral intention to use pirated software, this paper considers perceived risk as a salient belief influencing attitude and intention toward using pirated software. Four perceived risk (...) components related to the use of pirated software (performance, social, prosecution and psychological risks) have been identified, measured and tested. Data were collected through an online survey of 305 participants. The results indicate that perceived prosecution risk has an impact on intention to use pirated software, and perceived psychological risk is a strong predictor of attitude toward using pirated software. In addition, attitude and perceived behavior control contribute significantly to the intended use of pirated software. However, the proposed direct relationship between subjective norm and intention to use pirated software is not supported. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (shrink)

The aim of this study was to investigate the applicability of the planned behavior theory model and TPB-6 model of enhanced physical exercise in college students, and to explore the role of exercise commitment in the relationship between exercise intention and behavior, so as to provide theoretical and empirical support for college students to promotion exercise. The study participants were 581 college students are investigated with Theory of Planned Behavior Scale, Exercise Commitment Scale, (...) and Physical Activity Rating Scale. Results showed that the explanatory power of the TPB to exercise intention and exercise behavior is 0.70 and 0.52, respectively, and exercise intention was the primary factor to predict exercise behavior of college students. The Model fit of TPB-6 model is acceptable, compared with TPB 5-factor model, the predictive power of TPB-6 on behavioral intention increases from 70.0 to 75.0%, and the predictive power towards behavior raises from 52.0 to 59.0%. Exercise commitment has a partial mediating effect between exercise intention and behavior, which accounts for 26.89% of the total effect, but it has no moderating effect. In conclusion, this research demonstrates the TPB-5 model has good applicability among the college students, with exercise commitment variables, exercise intention can better predict college students’ exercise behavior, which can be used as the theoretical basis for the intervention on their exercise behavior. (shrink)

The value–attitude–behavior and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) appear to provide limited explanation for consumer green purchase behavior. This study aims to examine the relationship between pro-environmental value, consumption value, and TPB toward green car purchasing intention among the young Chinese generation. A total of 541 student responses were collected, and the results showed that altruistic value positively influenced subjective norm (SN) and perceived behavioral control (PBC), but negatively influenced green purchase attitude (GPA). Biospheric (...) value positively influenced GPA and PBC. Function value and emotional value positively influenced GPA, respectively, and emotional value fully mediated the relationship between function value and GPA. Furthermore, GPA, SN, PBC positively influenced intention toward green car purchasing behavior, respectively, and SN mediated the relationship between GPA and intention. This study shows how pro-environmental value and consumption value can influence components of TPB in green car purchase intention. (shrink)

The objective of this study is to explore factors that affect the decisions single-child parents make when considering whether to have a second child applying the psychological theory of planned behaviour. Quantitative survey data from a sample of parents with a single child selected from a Slovak representative sample was used to perform regression analysis assessing effects of attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control on intention to have a second child within the next three years. Results largely confirm (...) the model captured in TPB. All three components of the TPB have a significant effect on intentions to have a second child. A particular set of liberal and conservative attitudes facilitate plans to have a second child. The strongest predictors, however, are the perceived pressure from the social environment and subjective desire to have a child. The study concludes that, along with demographic and sociological variables, psychological factors play a significant role in decision-making processes concerning reproductive planning. (shrink)

Background Nurses have an essential role in caring for end-of-life patients. Nevertheless, the nurse’s involvement in the passive euthanasia decision-making process is insufficient and lower than expected. Objectives To explore factors associated with nurses’ intention to be involved in non-treatment decisions (NTD) regarding passive euthanasia decision-making versus their involvement in the palliative care of patients requesting euthanasia, using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework. Design A cross-sectional study utilizing a random sample. Participants and research context The (...) study was conducted in one of the largest hospitals in Israel among 125 nurses employed in internal and surgical care wards. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews between March and April 2019. Method A closed structured questionnaire was developed according to TPB instructions. A paired sample t test and two multiple hierarchical regressions were conducted. Variance explained (R2) and the significance of F change were calculated for each regression. The study used the STROBE statement guideline. Ethical considerations The study was approved by the hospital’s Helsinki Committee (#20.11.2017). Findings A paired sample t test revealed that nurses’ involvement in the palliative care of patients requesting passive euthanasia was significantly higher than in NTD regarding euthanasia. Regression analyses revealed that nurses’ position and attitudes explain their intention to be involved in decision-making; attitudes and perceived behavioral control explain nurses’ intention to be involved in the care of patients requesting euthanasia. Conclusions According to the TPB, nurses’ attitudes explained their intention to participate in decision-making regarding passive euthanasia. It is recommended to enhance open discussion of this complex issue to encourage nurses’ willingness to participate in NTD decision-making regarding euthanasia. (shrink)

Healthcare workers in Pakistan are still fighting at the frontline to control the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 and have been identified as the earliest beneficiaries for COVID-19 vaccination by the health authorities of the country. Besides, the high vaccination rates of frontline healthcare workers are essential to overcome the ongoing pandemic and reduce the vaccines hesitancy among the general population. The current research employed the theory of planned behavior to investigate the COVID-19 vaccination (...) class='Hi'>behavior among FHWs in Pakistan as well as the predictors of such behavior. Following the epidemic control and prevention policies, a sample of 680 FHWs were accessed to fill in the questionnaire evaluating the components of the TPB. Moreover, the potential role of anticipated regret and perceived susceptibility on COVID-19 vaccination behavior was also assessed. The partial least square structural equation modeling results revealed that the TPB components, as well as the AR, have positive associations with the COVID-19 vaccination behavior. The results further confirmed that PS positively affects the anticipated regret, attitude, and subjective norm to vaccinate against SARS-CoV-2. The perceived susceptibility also has a positive association with COVID-19 vaccination behavior through the mediation of anticipated regret, ATT, and SN. Our findings highlighted the importance of COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare workers, which can be applied to reduce vaccine hesitancy among the general public. (shrink)

This paper examines methodological issues associated with the theory of planned behaviour and explains that an alternative account of data used to support this theory can be provided by positioning theory. A case is presented that shows tests of the theory of planned behaviour fail to eliminate the possibility of alternative explanations for co-variation in its data. An agency or person-centered alternative shows how a causal interpretation can be reinterpreted as evidence of the actions (...) of a person. Unlike the conceptualisation of the individual as behaving in keeping with postulated underlying cognitive laws or rules we assume that the person has, through socialisation, acquired the skills necessary to initiate and manage their own actions. Unlike the interest in TPB data as a causal explanation of action we draw attention to the interpretation of patterns in these data as an aggregate of each person using a common mode of explanation to justify and explain their intentions. (shrink)

As organizations place greater emphasis on environmental objectives, business educators must produce the next set of leaders who can champion corporate environmental sustainability initiatives. However, environmental sustainability represents a polarizing topic with some students dismissing its importance and legitimacy. Limited research exists to understand student behavioral influences on sustainability education, especially as it translates to environmental sustainability behavior in the workplace. This gap challenges our ability as educators to understand how to best teach environmental sustainability in order to reach (...) diverse student mindsets. We apply the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to address this gap, investigating the influence of student attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control on environmental sustainability intention and behavior. A structural model tested with student survey data finds that student attitude represents the strongest influence on environmental sustainability intention. The model also validates that subjective norm affects sustainability intention with students considering professors along with business leaders and politicians as valid references for sustainability knowledge. To tie the results to effective educational interventions, we use the TPB to organize an extensive review of the sustainability pedagogy literature and identify specific teaching recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of environmental sustainability education. (shrink)

Building on the modified theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study examined the underlying psychological motives for academic dishonesty in a sample of 250 undergraduates drawn from three selected Malaysian public universities. The results yielded additional supports for usefulness of modified TPB model in predicting academic misconduct. All components of the model exerted statistically significant effects on intention towards academic misconduct, and intention itself exerted a statistically significant impact on academic dishonesty. This suggests that students’ academic misconducts (...) could be addressed effectively if proper attention is given to the underpinning factors. Further, the findings revealed that the hypothesized relationships among variables of the modified model were all statistically significant. The uniqueness of this study lies in the large amount of variance (69 % and 75 %) explained by components of the model (in the prediction of intention and academic dishonesty respectively). These variances have rarely been accounted for in the previous studies. Implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions advanced for future studies. (shrink)

In light of the growing interest in "ethically questionable" consumer behavior, this study explores possible explanations of the occurrence of such behaviour, and subsequently develops a theoretical framework. The study is based upon data collected from 72 U.K. consumers, acquired from a projective approach with scenarios. Taking the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as an initial analytical framework, attitude, social influence, opportunity(as perceived behavioral control in TPB) and perceived unfairnessare identified as the antecedents of ethically questionable (...) behavior (EQB). Social influenceis extended to include a broader range of external influences from subjective norm in TPB. Opportunityis considered to represent an aspect of perceived behavioral control as available resource to engage in EQB. Perceived unfairnessis presented as an additional component and refers to the extent to which an actor is motivated to redress an imbalance that is perceived as unfair. Binary logistic models suggest that attitudeand social influenceconsistently impact on EQB, as TPB would predict. Analysis of variance suggests that perceived unfairnessand opportunity, though context specific, also show signs of significant influence on the acceptance and practice of this behavior. Additional to the construct of TPB, this study develops the dimension of perceived unfairnessin the context of EQB decision-making. In the context of TPB, it provides further insight into our understanding of EQB, helping to provide a theoretical framework. (shrink)

Based on evidence from press articles covering 39 corporate fraud cases that went public during the period 1992-2005, the objective of this article is to examine the role of managers' behavior in the commitment of the fraud. This study integrates the fraud triangle (FT) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to gain a better understanding of fraud cases. The results of the analysis suggest that personality traits appear to be a major fraud-risk factor. The analysis (...) was further validated through a quantitative analysis of keywords which confirmed that keywords associated with the attitudes/rationalizations component of the integrated theory were predominately found in fraud firms as opposed to a sample of control firms. The results of the study suggest that auditors should evaluate the ethics of management through the components of the TPB: the assessment of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and moral obligation. Therefore, it is potentially important that the professional standards that are related to fraud detection strengthen the emphasis on managers' behavior that may be associated with unethical behavior. (shrink)

Due to the development of information technology, music piracy has become an escalating problem. This study attempts to employ the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the social identity theory to investigate the antecedents of downloading pop music illegally from the Internet, the relationship between the intention to illegally download music and the intention to buy music, and the moderating effects of idolatry. Data were collected from 350 teenagers in Northern Taiwan through questionnaire interviews conducted in (...) city centers where teenagers gather. The results of partial least squares (PLS) analyses reconfirm the explanatory power of the TPB model with regard to the pop music illegal downloading behavior. However, it is interesting to note that the intention to illegally download music does not have a significant influence on the intention to buy music. This finding contradicts our common intuitions. Further analyses also reveal that idolatry moderates the relationship between the intention to illegally download music and the intention to buy music. For teenagers with high idolatry, a higher music downloading intention results in a lower buying intention. One possible explanation is the price of music CDs. Several interviews were also held to verify our results. Implications and a discussion are then provided. (shrink)

Using a purposive sample with an even distribution of 299 non-Hispanic Whites, 294 African Americans, 292 Asian Americans and 295 Hispanics, we test a moderated mediation model that examines the relationship between self-reported news media consumption (e.g., non-conservative and conservative) and environmental behavioural intentions. Our study found evidence supporting the mainstreaming hypothesis (converging attitudes) across key variables within the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Our results also reveal non-conservative outlets to be associated with more favourable environmental attitudes, subjective (...) norms and perceived behavioural control, while conservative outlets are associated with less favourable levels for two of these three variables. Results also indicate conditional indirect relationships between non-conservative news use on behavioural intentions through our TPB variables, which vary by race/ethnicity. (shrink)

The study extends the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in a cross-cultural setting, incorporating ethical judgments and locus of control in a comparison of Taiwanese and US businesspersons. A self-administered survey of 698 businesspersons from the US and Taiwan examined several hypothesized differences. Results indicate that while Taiwanese respondents have a more favorable attitude toward a requested bribe than US counterparts, and are less likely to view it as an ethical issue, their higher locus externality causes ethical (...) judgments and behavioral intentions to conform to normative influences of in groups and superiors. In the Taiwanese sample, locus externality effectively functions as a countervailing pressure against the unethical behavior in the scenario. No such effect is found in the US sample. A path model fitted to the data shows that locus internals exhibit more consistency among attitudes, judgments, and behavioral intentions than locus externals. Implications for managers and researchers are discussed, and suggestions and precautions for development of efficacy-enhancement programs are offered. (shrink)

In this research we apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to study decisions related to information privacy protection. A TPB-based model was proposed to investigate whether organization-based self-esteem and perceived deindividuation can be employed to measure the strength of the perceived behavioral control construct. In addition, we examined if the addition of a causal path linking subjective norms to attitudes and another causal path linking organization-based self-esteem to subjective norms enhanced our research model's predicting power. Our (...) study shows that information systems (IS) professionals' intentions to protect personal information privacy are influenced by their attitudes, subjective norms, perceived deindividuation, and organization-based self-esteem. It further shows that attitudes are influenced by subjective norms, which, in turn, are influenced by organization-based self-esteem. (shrink)

This study examines the influence of environmental values on consumer intentions to participate in agritourism through the theory of planned behaviour and value-belief-norm theory. It proposes an integrative model by adding two variables, i.e., environmental benefits and the human-nature coordination concept, to the TPB. The study employs a questionnaire survey method and a sample of 640, which was statistically analysed through structural equation modeling. The results reveal that the “environmental values-attitudes-behavioural intentions” framework has scientific applicability in agritourism. (...) Environmental values, measured through the variables environmental benefits and the human-nature coordination concept, are positively correlated directly or indirectly with agritourism consumption intentions, while attitudes and subjective norms serve as mediators. However, the mediating effect of perceived behavioural control is not statistically significant, indicating making efforts to influence attitudes and subjective norms is more useful for and effective in stimulating the public’s intentions towards agritourism. As this study tests the hypotheses with empirical data, it provides practical implications for policy-makers and programme managers. (shrink)

This study focuses on one of the newer forms of software piracy, known as digital piracy, and uses the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a framework to attempt to determine factors that influence digital piracy (the illegal copying/downloading of copyrighted software and media files). This study examines factors, which could determine an individual’s intention to pirate digital material (software, media, etc.). Past piracy behavior and moral obligation, in addition to the prevailing theories of behavior (...) (Theory of Planned Behavior), were studied to determine the influence on digital piracy intention. Based on the results of this study, planned behavioral factors in addition to past piracy behavior and moral obligation were found to influence an individual’s intention to pirate digital material. Attitude, past piracy behavior, perceived behavior control, and moral obligation explained 71 percent of the intention to pirate variance. Using these results, a better understanding of why individuals pirate is presented and can be used to help combat digital piracy. (shrink)

The literature regarding social and environmental sustainability of business focuses primarily on rationales for adopting sustainability strategies and operational practices in support of that goal. In contrast, we examine sustainability from a perspective that has received far less research attention—attitudes that inform managerial decision-making. We develop a conceptual model that identifies six elemental categories of attitudes that can be held independently or aggregated to yield a meta-attitude representing the legitimacy of sustainability. Our model distinguishes among three types of internally held (...) attitudes and externally perceived subjective norms: pragmatic, moral, and cognitive. We propose a refinement of Ajzen's (In: Kuhl J, Beckmann J (eds) Action control: from cognition to behavior, 1985; Organ Behav Hum Decis Process 50:179-211, 1991) Theory of planned behavior (TPB) that incorporates these sub-categories of personal attitudes and subjective norms. Practical implications are discussed including how organizations considering adopting sustainability programs might use the model as a conceptual tool to help achieve and assess program success. (shrink)

Few studies have examined the relationship between personality traits and social networking sites (SNSs) with a dominant concentration on the personality alterations under SNSs influence. The relationship between personality and privacy control was less focused and discussed. In order to figure out the internal mechanism of such link among youth SNSs users, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was extended by including Five-Factor Model of Personality to explore how personality traits interact with privacy control behavior on (...) SNSs. The investigation using the theoretical method mentioned led to several hypotheses which were later assessed by an online study conducted within randomly chosen college students (N = 201) from two randomly chosen universities in China. This sampling strategy was designed to mimic the situation of targeted research population in the most reasonable way. The results suggested neuroticism and openness predicted SNSs privacy. Neuroticism and openness predicted “networked privacy” was also found. Theoretical implications of these findings were addressed. (shrink)

Organizations have long struggled to find ways to reduce the occurrence of unethical behaviors by employees. Unfortunately, time theft, a common and costly form of ethical misconduct at work, has been understudied by ethics researchers. In order to remedy this gap in the literature, we used the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate the antecedents of time theft, which includes behaviors such as arriving later to or leaving earlier from work than scheduled, taking additional or longer (...) breaks than is acceptable, and on-the-job daydreaming. We surveyed 135 employed undergraduate business students regarding the TPB variables at Time 1. Two months later, participants reported the frequency they engaged in time theft since Time 1. Results indicate that behavioral, normative, and control beliefs significantly predicted attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, respectively. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, in turn, were significantly related to time theft intentions, which predicted later enactment of time theft. Thus, employers can decrease time theft by primarily focusing on altering employees’ attitudes toward time theft, followed by reducing social pressures to engage in it, and lastly, by implementing organizational practices that make it difficult to commit time theft. (shrink)

Rooted in theory of planned behavior (TPB) supplemented with self-determination theory (SDT), this study explores determinants of willingness to receive and provide resources in Europe's non-remunerated and remunerated collaborative consumption (CC). The exploration was conducted within a single research model by assessing the role of (a) TPB constructs reflecting attitude towards participation in CC, perceived social pressure to engage, and perceived level of difficulty that engagement requires and (b) SDT constructs of environmental, social, and economic motives (...) for participation. The data were collected through an online questionnaire, and the structural relationships were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Willingness to consume in non-remunerated and remunerated CC was positively directly influenced by social pressure to engage in CC and participation being perceived as pleasant, negatively by the level of difficulty that engagement requires, as well as positively indirectly influenced by environmental concern and sociability. Additionally, environmental concern had positive direct effect on willingness to consume only in the remunerated context. Willingness to provide in non-remunerated CC was positively directly influenced by perceiving participation as pleasant and indirectly by environmental concern and sociability. Resource provision in remunerated CC was not explained by any of the determinants. (shrink)

To remain competitive, organizations need an engaged workforce. Although ample research has been carried out on the antecedents of employee work engagement, a comprehensive understanding of how and when voice climate is associated with employee work engagement is currently lacking. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study examines the pathway by which voice climate affects employee work engagement. Two studies were conducted to test the proposed linkages. More specifically, in field and experimental studies, we (...) find evidence that voice climate reduces employees’ intention to engage in counterproductive work behavior (CWB), which, in turn, fosters their engagement in their work. In addition, ethical leadership and religiosity were found to act as boundary conditions in the relationship between voice climate and intention to CWB and work engagement. (shrink)

An online world exists in which businesses have become burdened with managerial and legal duties regarding the seeking of informed consent and the protection of privacy and personal data, while growing public cynicism regarding personal data collection threatens the healthy development of marketing and e-commerce. This research seeks to address such cynicism by assisting organisations to devise ethical consent management processes that consider an individual’s attitudes, their subjective norms and their perceived sense of control during the elicitation of consent. It (...) does so by developing an original conceptual model for online informed consent, argued through logical reasoning, and supported by an illustrative example, which brings together the autonomous authorisation (AA) model of informed consent and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Accordingly, it constructs a model for online informed consent, rooted in the ethic of autonomy, which employs behavioural theory to facilitate a mode of consent elicitation that prioritises users’ interests and supports ethical information management and marketing practices. The model also introduces a novel concept, the informed attitude, which must be present for informed consent to be valid. It also reveals that, under certain tolerated conditions, it is possible for informed consent to be provided unwillingly and to remain valid: this has significant ethical, information management and marketing implications. (shrink)

This study explored the correlation between mental toughness and physical activity, and the moderation role between PA intention and subsequent behavior among college students and wage earners. Five hundred ninety-one college students aged from 19 to 24 and 285 wage earners aged from 27 to 58 recruited from seven colleges and five cities in China. A Theory of Planned Behavior questionnaire, MT Inventory, and the International PA Questionnaire was completed online. Results showed that attitudes, subjective norms, (...) and perceived behavioral control explained 46.5 and 38.3% variance in PA intention among college students and wage earners separately. Intention predicted PA behavior significantly among college students and wage earners. Structural equation modeling indicated that the TPB model and the moderation model have an adequate to good fit except the TPB model among wage earners. MT was positively correlated with PA among college students and wage earners and had a significant moderation role in intention-behavior gap among college students and partially affected the transfer of PA intention to behavior among college students. Individuals with high MT had high levels of PA regardless of intention, while PA of those with low MT was low and unstable. Future research should further explore the correlation between intention and PA and the moderation role of MT in different populations using a longitudinal study in order to better understand the correlation between intention and PA, and the transition from intention to PA and better guidance PA intervention to promote PA. (shrink)

Moral issues have been included in the studies of consumer misbehavior research, but little is known about the joint moderating effect of moral intensity and moral judgment on the consumer’s use intention of pirated software. This study aims to understand the consumer’s use intention of pirated software in Taiwan based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) proposed by Ajzen (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179, 1991). In addition, moral intensity and moral judgment are (...) adopted as a joint moderator to examine their combined influence on the proposed research framework. The results obtained from this Taiwan case reveal that the antecedent constructs proposed in the TPB model–an individual’s attitude and subjective norms toward using pirated software, and perceived behavioral control to use pirated software–indeed have positive impacts on the consumer’s use intention of pirated software. In addition, the joint moderating effect of moral intensity and moral judgment is manifested in the consumer’s use intention of pirated software. The results of this study not only could substantiate the results of consumer misbehavior research, but also could provide some managerial suggestions for Taiwanese government authorities concerned and the related software industries devoted to fighting pirated software. (shrink)

Social entrepreneurship (SE) enables business consolidation, combined with the production of positive impact and improvements in society. Aligned with 2030 Agenda for the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, it is important to clarify the role of social entrepreneurs, as they are making visible the impact of their creative ideas in several areas, from civic engagement to the environment, health and learning. The main purpose of this study is to specify a model of social entrepreneurial intention (SEI) and (...) explore it by country, based on the dimensions of the Theory of Planned Behavior and how these are mediated by spirituality and optimism. With a convenience sample of 1476 Portuguese and Spanish students, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used. For a deeply understanding, variables within the model were compared by country usingt-rest, and multivariate analysis was done by each one separately. The mean comparison between countries, demonstrated that there are differences only between perceived behavioral control (PBC), Spirituality, Optimism and SEI, with Portuguese students scoring the highest values, in all variables except Optimism. A mediation path was carried out, and Spirituality mediate a significant effect between the three TPB dimensions in Portuguese students, but not in students from Spain. Finally, after discussing the results, theoretical and practical contributions are analyzed, with regard to the field of SE in Portugal and Spain, and alternatives are pointed out for a more social and sustainable entrepreneurial future. (shrink)

This study examines the theory of planned behavior and the multidimensional ethics scale. Variables from both are included to determine which ones significantly correlate with student ethical behavioral intention in an academic setting. Using a survey, responses are collected from undergraduate business students from two southwestern universities in the United States using a scenario-based approach, looking at individual situations and group situations. SmartPLS was used to assess the results for four scenarios. From the theory of (...) class='Hi'>planned behavior, attitude was a significant predictor of behavioral intention across all four scenarios while subjective norm was significant in one scenario. From the multidimensional ethics scale, moral equity and relativism were significant in one group scenario while moral equity and utilitarianism were each significant in an individual scenario. The findings indicate support for the use of the TPB and the MES when exploring ethics in an academic setting and for the need to study both individual and group situations. A discussion of the findings and implications is given. (shrink)

Business ethics are the moral principles that apply to all aspects of the business environment at an individual and organizational level. This study addresses the basic perceptions regarding the teaching of business ethics and examines university lecturers’ intentions to teach an ethics course. For the present research, the authors conducted a cross study to evaluate whether three variations of the theory of planned behavior, namely, TPB, decomposed TPB (DTPB), and the revised theory of planned (...) class='Hi'>behavior (RTPB), could adequately predict teaching of ethics course (TEC) behaviors. The participants were from southern, middle, and northern Taiwan. A structural equation model applied to a final sample of 200 usable questionnaires demonstrated that individual attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and teacher self-efficacy (TSE) influence intentions, but do not influence report behavior of those involved in teaching an ethics course. Among the three variations of TPB-based models, RTPB provided better explanation of variance in intentions to TEC. The present research highlights the importance of TSE, especially because TSE plays a key role in RTPB. The theoretical implications of this study relate to the application of TPB to TEC. (shrink)

The use of bicycles for active commuting is an important target to reach because of the importance of increasing physical activity among the population and improving the air quality in cities. Among the models that have been utilized in previous studies, the Theory of Planned Behavior has shown good results in terms of the total variance obtained. However, establishing the relative importance of the TPB variables is difficult. In the present study, which was carried out in the (...) Italian context, the authors sought to establish the weight of the proposed variables based on the dominance analysis approach. Considering the initiatives, which the Italian government carries out, and the particular period in which the study was developed, the authors included two variables in addition to the classical factors: financial incentives and daily commuting habits. A survey was administered to 294 Italians through social networks from July to September 2020. The results have shown how the main predictor of bicycle use was use habits, followed almost at the same level by financial incentives and attitude, while norms and perceived behavioral control present low relative importance among the variables considered. Limits of the study have been discussed, and suggestions for future research have been proposed. (shrink)

The theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour have fundamentally changed the view that attitudes directly translate into behaviour by introducing intentions as a crucial intervening stage. Much research across numerous ethical contexts has drawn on these theories to offer a better understanding of how consumers form intentions to act in an ethical way. Persistently, researchers have suggested and discussed the existence of an intention–behaviour gap in ethical consumption. Yet, the factors that influence the extent of this gap and (...) its magnitude have not been systematically examined. We, therefore, contribute to the debate on the intention–behaviour gap by reviewing the empirical TRA/tpb studies that have assessed both intention and behaviour in ethical contexts. The findings from our review show that few studies assessed the intention–behaviour relationship and as a result, there is limited empirical evidence to date to quantify more accurately the intention–behaviour gap in ethical consumption. Our second contribution aims to provide an empirical case study which assesses the magnitude of the intention–behaviour gap in the context of avoidance of sweatshop clothing and to assess the roles of planning and actual behavioural control in potentially reducing the intention–behaviour gap. The findings of our case study suggest that there is indeed a large gap between intention and behaviour, and we conclude by calling for more empirical longitudinal studies to assess the complex nature of the relationship between intention and behaviour. (shrink)

Corruption involves greed, money, and risky decision-making. We explore the love of money, pay satisfaction, probability of risk, and dishonesty across cultures. Avaricious monetary aspiration breeds unethicality. Prospect theory frames decisions in the gains-losses domain and high-low probability. Pay dissatisfaction (in the losses domain) incites dishonesty in the name of justice at the individual level. The Corruption Perceptions Index, CPI, signals a high-low probability of getting caught for dishonesty at the country level. We theorize that decision-makers adopt avaricious love-of-money (...) aspiration as a lens and frame dishonesty in the gains-losses domain (pay satisfaction-dissatisfaction, Level 1) and high-low probability (CPI, Level 2) to maximize expected utility and ultimate serenity. We challenge the myth: Pay satisfaction mitigates dishonesty across nations consistently. Based on 6500 managers in 32 countries, our cross-level three-dimensional visualization offers the following discoveries. Under high aspiration conditions, pay dissatisfaction excites the highest- (third-highest) avaricious justice-seeking dishonesty in high (medium) CPI nations, supporting the certainty effect. However, pay satisfaction provokes the second-highest avaricious opportunity-seizing dishonesty in low CPI entities, sustaining the possibility effect—maximizing expected utility. Under low aspiration conditions, high pay satisfaction consistently leads to low dishonesty, demonstrating risk aversion—achieving ultimate serenity. We expand prospect theory from a micro and individual-level theory to a cross-level theory of monetary wisdom across 32 nations. We enhance the S-shaped Curve to three 3-D corruption surfaces across three levels of the global economic pyramid, providing novel insights into behavioral economics, business ethics, the environment, and responsibility. (shrink)

It can be a great challenge for second language learners to comprehend meanings that are implied in utterances rather than the surface meaning of what was said. Moreover, L2 learners’ attitudes toward pragmatic learning are unknown. This mixed-methods study investigates L2 learners’ ability to comprehend conversational implicatures. It also explores their beliefs about and intentions to develop this ability using Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior. A total of 498 freshmen from a public university in China participated in (...) the study. Data were collected using a web-based test, stimulated recall tasks and semi-structured interviews. Results show that the participants differed in recognizing the intended meanings. Complicated factors account for the variations. In addition to the types of implicature, learners’ beliefs about developing pragmatic comprehension also influence their learning intention, and subsequent performance. These beliefs include learners’ multi-layered, complex attitudes toward the outcomes of pragmatic learning, perceived self-efficacy beliefs regarding language proficiency and L2 cultural knowledge, actual behavioral control over opportunities and resources for pragmatic learning, and perceptions of less social pressure on pragmatic learning. The use of TPB may help language teachers and test designers to understand learners’ beliefs about L2 pragmatic learning in the English as a foreign language context. Understanding the factors influencing learners’ intention will help design more effective teaching curricula that may integrate pragmatic instruction and testing in the future. (shrink)

Climate change has increasingly been recognised and associated with consumer behaviour: Practitioners are developing their strategies to reduce environmental degradation while increasing the management of sustainable consumption; it needs to better understand consumer attitudes and eco-friendly factors about the issue. Therefore, the current study focused to understand the effects of pro-environmental factors on individuals’ environmental attitudes through the lens of theory of planned behaviour in a cross-cultural setting. Moreover, present research focuses on the moderating role that religiosity plays (...) in causal pathways between certain determinants and intentions in this context. A multi-wave time-lagged research design was employed in this study, and university students from two developing countries were surveyed. The findings revealed pronounced similarities between the two examined countries. Overwhelmingly, pro-environmental factors examined were found to be positively related to attitude formation. Further results showed that attitude and subjective norms are significant predictors of the intention to purchase products with recycled packaging. Moreover, with the exception of perceived behavioural control, religiosity moderates the relationships between all the determinants of TPB and intention to purchase recycled packaged products. Present study offers insightful implications to management of these emerging and/or similar cultural markets regarding customer value for green products. Using TPB, present study broadened and deepen extant stream of literature on consumption of recycled packaged products in two highly emerging markets; Pakistan and Malaysia. (shrink)

Entrepreneurship is a tool for driving economic and social progress. Especially in Hong Kong, the government has recently taken steps to encourage young people to engage in entrepreneurship. However, Hong Kong youths’ entrepreneurial intentions are still low. The objective of this study is to empirically explore the impacts of personality traits on start-up preparation among Hong Kong youths through the constructs of the theory of planned behavior. Through a multi-channel survey, we finally collected 230 valid respondents aged (...) 18 to 40. In addition, this study used SmartPLS software to conduct confirmatory factor analysis for the measurement model as well as path analysis for the structural model. This study’s results suggested that creativity, risk-taking propensity, need for achievement, and internal locus of control influence TPB models’ components and indirectly influence start-up preparation through TPB models’ components. Also, attitude and perceived behavioral control influence intention, and intention influences preparation. Furthermore, prior entrepreneurial experience and entrepreneurship education positively influence preparation. In conclusion, this study revealed the mediating effects of TPB components between four personality traits and start-up preparation. Finally, this study had theoretical implications by providing the influence of six personality traits on youths’ entrepreneurial intention and preparation through the TPB model and the human capital theory. This study also had practical implications by providing suggestions for the government and higher education institutions. (shrink)

Background: Upper limb functional exercise has a positive effect on promoting the rehabilitation of upper limb function. However, little is known, about what drives postoperative patients to engage in and even maintain the advised exercises. This study integrated the health action process approach and the theory of planned behavior theory to investigate the psychosocial determinants on the initiation and maintenance of ULFE in breast cancer patients. In addition, this study also tests key hypotheses relating to reasoned (...) and implicit pathways to ULFE and its maintenance among postoperative patients with breast cancer.Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit patients from two breast cancer wards in a provincial hospital in Jiangsu, China. Patients completed self-reported questionnaire about constructs from integrated theories concerning ULFE at an initial time point : task self-efficacy, positive outcome expectations, negative outcome expectations, risk perception, attitude behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention, and ULFE-in hospital. Three months later, patients self-reported: maintenance self-efficacy, action planning, coping planning, recovery self-efficacy, and ULFE-maintenance.Results: The model has a good fit. For behavioral intention of ULFE, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control were positively directly related to behavioral intention. Regarding the initiation of ULFE, perceived behavioral control and behavioral intention had a direct positive relation to ULFE-IH. In the maintenance of ULFE, action planning, coping planning, maintenance self-efficacy, and recovery self-efficacy all had significant positive relation on ULFE-M. In addition, maintenance self-efficacy had a significant positive association on action planning, coping planning, and recovery self-efficacy. Coping planning was significantly predicted by behavioral intention. Additionally, behavioral intention is a mediator of subjective norm and perceived behavioral control to ULFE-IH. Action planning, coping planning, and recovery self-efficacy are mediators of maintaining self-efficacy to ULFE-M.Conclusions: This study presents the first attempt to integrate the health behavior model in ULFE in postoperative patients with breast cancer. The study has shown that the HAPA-TPB integrated model has good applicability and effectiveness to explain and predict ULFE initiation and maintenance. Future work can be considered to develop appropriate intervention strategies based on this integrated behavioral theory. (shrink)

Individual actions designed to address issues of public concern is a common theme in the discourse on how to mobilize resources and target efforts toward sustainable practices. We contribute to this area by developing and empirically validating a multidimensional scale for civic engagement; synthesizing and testing the adequacy of the theory of planned behavior and the value–belief–norm theory in explaining civic engagement; and considering how an individual’s orientation, identity, and beliefs motivate moral thinking and action. The (...) focus is on the important social issues of global warming and climate change, income inequality, and world poverty, and hunger. We follow both correlational and configurational approaches to examine symmetric and asymmetric causal relationships, respectively. The findings from a sample of 819 US citizens reveal that the TPB and VBN theory can adequately explain civic engagement, after we control for the influence of past experience. In addition, while belief in a just world inhibits the occurrence of adverse consequences and the formation of positive attitudes, social value orientation, and moral identity facilitate them. Notably, at least two causal conditions need to be present for adverse confsequences to emerge, while moral identity is almost a necessary condition for the development of positive attitudes. We conclude with a discussion of important implications for researchers and practitioners. (shrink)

Online financial service is an essential part of consumption services provided by companies in modern society. It is vital to figure out the underlying mechanisms that influence online financial service use of college students in China, which is seldom explored. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior, this study explores the effect of personality traits and its joint effect with attitude on online financial service use of college students. Moreover, we examined the interaction effects of key variables (...) in TPB in the context of online financial services. The results indicated that the materialism value of Chinese college students has no direct effect on their intention to use online financial services but exerts an indirect effect through their attitude toward online financial services. College students' attitudes and perceived behavioral control are associated with their subjective norms, and in turn, affect their use intention of online financial services. In addition, perceived risk and perceived usefulness of online financial services also affect use intention through attitude and perceived behavioral control. The discussion of key findings, implications, and conclusions are provided. (shrink)

This research examined factors predicting university students' intentions to enroll in a philosophy of life course. One hundred and ninety subjects participated in two surveys. The first was qualitative, identifying factors students considered in forming intentions, but without ranking the factors. The second study used a quantitative model to predict student intentions from their beliefs about the course, themselves, and other people. The model was based on Ajzen's theory of planned behavior, a theory that successfully predicts (...) many different behaviors. Analysis was done using partial least squares, a robust structural equation modeling technique. The results show that students focused primarily on personal outcomes from the course. They wanted the course to help them understand life and themselves. To a lesser extent, students' perceptions of other people's views affected their intentions, especially the opinions of parents, friends, and religious people. Some students thought all beliefs are subjective, and discussing them would be pointless. Recommendations are given for designing and promoting philosophy of life courses. (shrink)

The global progress empowers the development of new business and expansion of existing business. The availability of sufficient accounting professional are necessary to manage and document the business activities. However, youth are less inclined to purse accounting as profession to keep the progress of global and local economic development. The current study aimed to explore the formation of the intention to pursue Certified Professional Accountancy Qualification with factor of capabilities, career opportunities, job security with respect to the extended theory (...) of planned behavior, i.e., attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. The study adopted a cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data from a total of 339 accounting students from Malaysia using an online survey. The finding revealed that capabilities and career opportunities influenced the students’ intention to pursue CPAQ. Meanwhile, perceived behavioral control had significantly affect the students’ decision to pursue CPAQ, which is in line with the TPB. The study concentrated on the importance of these factors in influencing the students’ intention and decision to pursue CPAQ. The study offered vital implications for accounting educators and educational institutions to promote the accounting profession as choice and students engage in pursuing CPAQ. The Malaysian government should encourage and support accounting students financially for pursuing CPAQ by providing job security and enhancing subjective norms that may enable these students to complete the required professional qualifications. The study’s limitations and future research opportunities are documented at the end of this article. (shrink)