Healthy snacks consumption and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The role of anticipated regret

Two empirical studies explored the role of anticipated regret (AR) within the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework (Ajzen, 1991), applied to the case of healthy snacks consumption. AR captures affective reactions and it can be defined as an unpleasant emotion experienced when people realize or imagine that the present situation would be better if they had made a different decision. In this research AR refers to the expected negative feelings for not having consumed healthy snacks (i.e., inaction regret). The aims were: a) to test whether AR improves the TPB predictive power; b) to analyze whether it acts as moderator within the TPB model relationships. Two longitudinal studies were conducted. Target behaviors were: consumption of fruit and vegetables as snacks (Study 1); consumption of fruit as snacks (Study 2). At time 1, the questionnaire included measures of intention and its antecedents, according to the TPB. Both the affective and evaluative components of attitude were assessed. At time 2, self-reported consumption behaviors were surveyed. Two convenience samples of Italian adults were recruited. In hierarchical regressions, the TPB variables were added at the first step; AR was added at the second step, and the interactions at the last step. Results showed that AR significantly improved the TPB ability to predict both intentions and behaviours, also after controlling for intention. In both studies AR moderated the effect of affective attitude on intention: affective attitude was significant only for people low in AR

The Love of Money and Pay Level Satisfaction: Measurement and Functional Equivalence in 29 Geopolitical Entities around the World

Demonstrating the equivalence of constructs is a key requirement for cross-cultural empirical research. The major purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how to assess measurement and functional equivalence or invariance using the 9-item, 3-factor Love of Money Scale (LOMS, a second-order factor model) and the 4-item, 1-factor Pay Level Satisfaction Scale (PLSS, a first-order factor model) across 29 samples in six continents (N = 5973). In step 1, we tested the configural, metric and scalar invariance of the LOMS and 17 samples achieved measurement invariance. In step 2, we applied the same procedures to the PLSS and nine samples achieved measurement invariance. Five samples (Brazil, China, South Africa, Spain and the USA) passed the measurement invariance criteria for both measures. In step 3, we found that for these two measures, common method variance was non-significant. In step 4, we tested the functional equivalence between the Love of Money Scale and Pay Level Satisfaction Scale. We achieved functional equivalence for these two scales in all five samples. The results of this study suggest the critical importance of evaluating and establishing measurement equivalence in cross-cultural studies. Suggestions for remedying measurement non-equivalence are offered

Il risparmio di energia in ambienti di lavoro. Il ruolo dell\u2019abitudine nella Teoria del Comportamento Pianificato (TPB)

La ricerca si propone di analizzare le determinanti di due comportamenti di risparmio energetico negli ambienti di lavoro, prendendo a riferimento il modello della TPB (Ajzen, 1991) estesa con la forza dell\u2019abitudine. I comportamenti sono: spegnere le luci quando non sono indispensabili nell\u2019ambiente di lavoro e spegnere completamente gli apparecchi elettronici senza lasciarli in stand-by alla fine di una giornata di lavoro. Gli obiettivi sono: a) testare la TPB considerando come target due comportamenti di risparmio energetico sul luogo di lavoro; b) valutare gli effetti diretti e indiretti dell\u2019abitudine sull\u2019intenzione e sul comportamento; c) analizzare gli effetti di moderazione dell\u2019abitudine sulle relazioni previste nella TPB. \uc8 stato condotto uno studio longitudinale. Al Tempo 1, i questionari contenevano misure dell'intenzione, dei suoi antecedenti e dell\u2019abitudine misurata con il Self-report Habit Index, Verplanken e Orbell (2003); al Tempo 2, i due comportamenti di risparmio energetico auto-riferiti. \uc8 stato coinvolto un campione di convenienza composto da 295 lavoratori (et\ue0 media 40.27 anni). Nelle analisi di regressione gerarchica al primo step sono stati inseriti i costrutti della TPB; al secondo \ue8 stata inserita l\u2019abitudine; al terzo, le interazioni tra l\u2019abitudine e i costrutti della TPB. I risultati mostrano che la TPB risulta confermata per entrambi i comportamenti; l\u2019abitudine incrementa il suo potere predittivo (del 5-9% per l'intenzione e dell\u20191% per il comportamento) ed ha effetti indipendenti sull\u2019intenzione, per entrambi i comportamenti, e sul comportamento di spegnere le luci. Poche interazioni sono risultate significative: l\u2019abitudine modera la relazione tra controllo comportamentale percepito e intenzione di spegnere le luci, tra atteggiamento valutativo, norma soggettiva e intenzione di spegnere gli apparecchi. L\u2019abitudine ha un ruolo importante nel prevedere le intenzioni di risparmiare energia e agisce sia come moderatore sia come predittore aggiuntivo

Buying organic food: The role of trust in the theory of planned behaviour

Four empirical studies explored the role of consumer trust in the genuineness of organic products within the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework (Ajzen, 1991). In the case of organic food consumption, consumer trust is an important issue since even after consumption consumers cannot verify whether a product is organic (Janssen & Hamm, 2012), i.e. it complies with the rules on organic production. Some studies have showed that trust is an critical predictor of consumer attitude, intention and buying decisions, also in the organic products domain (Angulo, Gifford & Bernard, 2006; Gil & Tamburo, 2005; Teng & Wang, 2015). The aims were: a) to test the TPB model applied considering four behavioural targets, namely the organic products purchase in general (Study 1), fresh organic fruit and vegetables (Study 2), processed organic fruit and vegetables (Study 3) and organic baking products (Study 4); b) to test whether trust in genuineness improves the TPB predictive power; c) to analyze whether it acts as further predictor in the TPB model. Four longitudinal studies were conducted. At time 1, the questionnaire included measures of trust in the genuineness of organic products, intention and its antecedents, according to the TPB. At time 2, self-reported purchase behaviours were surveyed. Four convenience samples of Italian adults were recruited. In hierarchical regressions, the trust was introduced at the first step; TPB variables were added at the next step. Trust significantly predicts both intentions and behaviours and alone explained 22-33% of intention variance and 7-12% of behavior variance; however it predicted the purchase intention, also after controlling for TPB antecedents which had significant effects on intention. Trust in the genuineness of organic products has direct effects on behavior only in the case of organic products in general and organic bakery products. Intention is the most important predictor of all purchase behaviours considered. Overall results support also the efficacy of original TPB in predicting the four behavioural targets considered

Using eco-friendly reusable bottle. The role of beliefs in the Theory of planned behavior

The study aimed to predict the use of reusable bottles with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and to identify the most relevant beliefs about this behavior. The research comprised an elicitation study and a main study. The first study aimed to identify behavioral, normative and control beliefs. The main study adopted a two-wave prospective online survey design with 257 participants. At t1, self-report measures of TPB constructs and beliefs were obtained. Behavior was measured at t2. Results of SEM proved that TPB model accounted for 73% of the intention variance and 49% of the behavior variance. Intention was significantly associated with Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC) and attitude. Behavior was predicted by intention, PBC and age (younger people use these bottles more than older people do). The links between the beliefs composites (computed in accordance with the expectancy-value model) and the respective measures of TPB constructs were all significant. The most relevant behavioral beliefs regarded practicality, healthy and concern for the environment. The most important control belief was to have practical and convenient reusable bottles. The examination of the effects of the specific beliefs may have several implications for designing behavior-change interventions