Behavioral intention to participate in a public program: Examining the roles of motivational and policy design factors

Abstract

In light of practical and theoretical callings for an ex ante needs assessment of target groups, the primary goals of this study are to identify, articulate, and explore what influences and shapes target groups’ behavioral intentions to participate in a public program. Drawing on the literature concerning policy design and the theory of planned behavior, as well as the literature on expectation, attitude, and satisfaction, we propose that target groups’ intentions to participate in the program depend highly on their evaluations of the policy design, as well as motivational factors, such as attitude toward the behavior. The data used in this study were collected from 659 Korean teaching artists. The findings indicate that the level of intention to participate in the program increases as individuals strongly agree with the program rationale, expect positive educational effects, and perceive that it will be beneficial to the individual.

Keywords:

• Behavioral intention
• target group
• policy design
• participation