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Public behavior in reducing urban air pollution: an application of the theory of planned behavior in Lahore

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Abstract

The present study has tried to investigate how the intentions of people to consume green and clean products, that create less air pollution, can affect their actual behavior in reducing urban air pollution. In this regard, the intentions to use green and clean products and behavior has been estimated using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in this study. The targeted population of the current study is the faculty of different public and private educational institutions in Lahore. The results of the study showed that attitude, perceived behavior control (PBC), and knowledge of people about using green products in reducing urban air pollution significantly affect their behavior. The core finding of this study was that subjective norms do not play a significant role in determining the intentions and behaviors with respect to clean and green products. The analysis has been done using IBM SPSS statistics 20 applying PCA (principal component analysis), linear regression model, and AMOS path analysis to analyze the TPB. This research can contribute for a direction in the marketing industry of green products. Moreover, it can provide a guide for the policy makers to target attitude, awareness, the intentions, and behavior of people for reducing air pollution with respect to clean and green products.

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Abbreviations

AMOS:

Analysis of moment structure

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

AQM:

Air quality management

BI:

Behavioral intentions

CFI:

Comparative fit index

CO:

Carbon monoxide

GDP:

Gross domestic product

GFI:

Goodness of fit index

IIT:

Information integration theory

KMO:

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin

MLRM:

Multiple linear regression model

NOx:

Nitrogen oxides

PA:

Path analysis

PAQI:

Pakistan Air Quality Initiative

PBC:

Perceived behavioral control

PCA:

Principal component analysis

PEPA:

Pakistan Environmental Protection Act

PEPC:

Pakistan Environmental Protection Council

PM:

Particulate matters

RMSE:

Root mean square error

RMSEA:

Root mean square error of approximation

SN:

Subjective norms

SO2 :

Sulfur dioxide

SPSS:

Statistical package for social sciences

TPB:

Theory of planned behavior

TRA:

Theory of reasoned action

VIF:

Variance inflation factor

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to all of those with whom I have had the pleasure to work during this and other related projects. I would specially like to thank Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad, the supervisor of my research. As my teacher and mentor, he has taught me more than I could ever give him credit for here. I would also like to thank all the participants who participated actively in the survey and made this research valuable and helped me get results of better quality.

Nobody has been more important to me in the pursuit of this project than the members of my family. I would like to thank my mother, sisters and my brother, whose love and guidance are with me in whatever I pursue. They are the ultimate role model for me.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, GC Women University Sialkot, Kutchehry Road, Sialkot, Punjab, 51310, Pakistan

    Rashada Parveen & Ashfaq Ahmad

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  1. Rashada Parveen
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  2. Ashfaq Ahmad
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Correspondence to Rashada Parveen.

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Parveen, R., Ahmad, A. Public behavior in reducing urban air pollution: an application of the theory of planned behavior in Lahore. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 17815–17830 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08235-z

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