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.