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Recycling Intentions Among Karachi's University Students: An Extended Theory of Planned Behavior Approach Considering Convenience and Consumer Innovativeness
Summary
Despite its title referencing packaging and recycling, this paper studies consumer recycling behavior among university students in Karachi, Pakistan — not microplastic pollution. It applies the Theory of Planned Behavior and Diffusion of Innovation theory to understand what drives recycling intentions, and is not directly relevant to microplastics or human health.
Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan is facing the challenge of urban waste disposal. This makes academicians study the reasons for poor recycling culture and behaviour in Pakistan. The objective of this study is to analyse the factors impacting consumer recycling behaviour in urban households. This study integrates the extended TPB model with the Diffusion of innovation theory to investigate the influence of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, environmental concern, and packaging attributes on consumer recycling intention. Additionally, it also seeks to check the moderating role of convenience and consumer innovativeness between recycling intention and recycling behaviour. The hypothetico-deductive approach was used to test the conceptualized hypotheses based on TPB and DOI theory. Non-probability convenience sampling method was used and data was collected via internet-administered questionnaire from 639 participants comprising of university students in Karachi. The data has been analysed using Smart PLS version 4. Path analysis and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) have been further used to analyse the direct and moderating relationship between the variables. The results of this study confirmed a strong influence of the determinants of the extended TPB model on consumer recycle intention. Consumer innovativeness was found to have a positive significant impact on the relationship between recycling intention and behaviour, while convenience was found to insignificantly moderate the relationship between recycling intention and behaviour. The research findings can be used by the government in making policies relating to waste collection and creating awareness campaigns highlighting the advantages of recycling and sustainable consumption behaviour, with same can be applied to educational institutions for curriculum designing. Moreover, marketers can enhance recycling behaviour through innovative sustainable packaging and proper recycling mechanisms. Certain initiatives on a public and private level relating to environmental awareness can greatly enhance the frequency of household recycling waste.
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