Factors influencing the water conservation desire and behavior intention of urban households: a survey study in Hangzhou, China

ABSTRACT

Exploring the mediating role of water conservation desire between various factors and water conservation behavior intention helps to explore the formation mechanism of pro-environmental behavior intention. Drawing on the Model of Goal-directed Behavior and taking Hangzhou as a sample, we analyzed the influence of water conservation desire together with other factors on the water conservation behavior intention of Chinese urban households. Water conservation desire was proved to transmit the effects of other factors on water conservation behavior intention. This study showed that perceived behavior control and water conservation desire have the strongest effects on water conservation intention. Moreover, the emotional process was proved to be equally important as the motivational process for activating water conservation desire. This study provides valuable insights on how normative, emotional, and habitual processes relate to the urban household pro-environmental behavioral intentions.

KEYWORDS:

• Water conservation behavior intention
• water conservation desire
• MGB
• anticipated emotion
• perceived behavioral control

Acknowledgements

This study is supported by Key Projects of The National Social Science Fund of China (20ZDA087). We confirm that the data will eventually be deposited in Figshare (https://figshare.com/) by the time our article is accepted, and that the data is available in the supporting information uploaded separately for the purposes of peer review.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Notes

1. The main data bulletin of the Seventh Population Census in Hangzhou in 2020. http://www.hangzhou.gov.cn/art/2021/5/17/art_805865_59034996.html.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Major Project of The National Social Science Fund of China [20ZDA087].