EVALUATING RESPONSES RELATED TO THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOUR

The theory of planned behaviour concluded that human behaviour is guided by three kinds of considerations Ajzen (1991:181):

 Beliefs about the likely consequences of the behaviour (behavioural beliefs), that produce a favourable or unfavourable attitude towards the behaviour;

 Beliefs about the normative expectations of others (normative beliefs), resulting in perceived social pressure or subjective norm; and

 Beliefs about the presence of factors that may facilitate or impede performance of the behaviour (control beliefs), giving rise to perceived behavioural control.

Ajzen’s (1991:182) theory of planned behaviour model as described in Figure 4.13 has been used in various studies covering many subject fields.

Examples of these studies are:

 Pollution Reduction Preferences of US Environmental Managers: Applying Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior by Cordano and Frieze in 2000.

 Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Leisure Choice by Ajzen and Driver in 1992.

 Choice of Travel Mode in the Theory of Planned Behavior: The Roles of Past Behavior, Habit, and Reasoned Action by Bamberg, Ajzen and Schmidt in 2010.

 Understanding and Predicting Electronic Commerce Adoption: An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior by Pavlou and Fygenson in 2006.

 Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to green hotel choice: Testing the effect of environmental friendly activities by Hana, Hsub and Sheu in 2010.

It is thus clear that Ajzen’s (1991:182) theory of planned behaviour model has been used in various fields of study with significant success.

A combination of attitude towards the behaviour, subjective norm, and perception of behavioural control lead to the formation of a behavioural intention. Intention is assumed to be the immediate predecessor of behaviour. Many behaviours pose difficulties of execution that may limit unforced control and it is therefore useful to consider perceived behavioural control in addition to intention. Given a sufficient degree of actual control over the behaviour, people are expected to carry out their intentions when the opportunity arises (Ajzen, 1991:188). From Ajzen’s (1991) model, the latent variable measuring perceived behavioural control, indicated on the final explorative model in

Figure 6.11, was incorporated into the theoretical model. This section of the theoretical model is linked to the technology model and the remaining variables of Ajzen’s model are incorporated into the exploratory model through the technology model. The related questions are indicated in the red rectangles next to the latent variable in Figure 6.11.

Figure 6.11: Measuring perceived behavioural control in the exploratory model

Behavioural beliefs produce a favourable or unfavourable attitude towards the behaviour; normative beliefs result in perceived social pressure or subjective norm; and control beliefs give rise to perceived behavioural control. This study utilised the manual of constructing a questionnaire based on the theory of planned behaviour by Francis, Eccles, Johnston, Walker, Grimshaw, Foy, Kaner, Smith and Bonetti (2004:9).

Perceived behavioural control is the extent to which a person feels able to enact the behaviour. It has two aspects: how much a person has control over the behaviour (e.g., low control over measuring blood pressure (BP) if the BP machine often malfunctions); and how confident a person feels about being able to perform or not perform the behaviour (e.g., not sufficiently skilled in measuring blood pressure).

When using the manual from Francis et al. (2004), the perceived behavioural control questions relating to the WTP for green electricity and the extent to which a person feels able to enact the behaviour were created. The questions used in the questionnaire included the two aspects of how much a person has control over the behaviour and how confident a person feels about being able to perform or not perform the behaviour.

Perceived behavioural control is determined by control beliefs about the power of both situational and internal factors to inhibit or facilitate the performing of the behaviour. (Francis et al., 2004:9). By selecting the beliefs most often documented and converting these into a set of statements, these statements reflect the beliefs which make it difficult to perform (or not perform) the target behaviour (Francis et al., 2004:22).

Francis et al. (2004:23) used the measuring of blood pressure as an example to creating perceived behavioural control questions. His example said to imagine that the elicitation study has identified a control factor to do with patients being inappropriately dressed for BP measurement; another to do with feeling rushed when measuring BP in the consultation; another about uncomfortable cuffs on BP machines. When relating the control beliefs questions to the WTP a premium for green electricity, the questions used in the questionnaire included the two aspects of situational and internal factors which may inhibit or facilitate the performing of the behaviour as detailed in Table 6.13.

Table 6.13: Questions on perceived behavioural control Aspects of perceived behavioural control Item and question number Question in questionnaire Perceived behavioural control PBC1 Q15

For me to purchase green electricity is easy

PBC2 Q11

I can influence the decision to purchase green electricity within the company/organisation

Control beliefs CB1 Q19

A high price of green electricity would make my purchasing decision harder

CB2 Q12

To what extent will your decision to use premium green electricity be influenced by changes in the level of your company’s usage of electricity?

Source: Adapted from Fishbein and Ajzen, 2010:458, utilising Francis et al., 2004.

The average score for question 19 is significantly higher than the other averages. This question related to the price of green electricity and how it will influence the respondents’ willingness to procure premium green electricity. This supports previous studies which indicated that the price of electricity has a significant influence on the respondents’ WTP. The amount of green electricity usage had a minor impact on the purchasing decision, especially for the agricultural sector and the top 19 users. It is not possible to make any conclusion from the agricultural sector score as there were only two respondents. For the top 19 users, this outcome may indicate that their electricity consumption is so substantial that the respondents believe a change in the consumption will not make a difference to their purchasing decision.

For question 11 the respondents were requested to indicate whether they can influence the decision to purchase green electricity within the company/organisation. The average score for this question was high, indicating that they have an influence on the decision to purchase green electricity or not. Only 11 of the respondents indicated that they believe to have a low influence on the decision. The agricultural sector respondents (two) had a low score and the top 19 consumers’ score was marginally lower. This is an indication that some of the very large electricity consumers limit the individual decisions relating to the purchasing of electricity. This may be due to the significant value of over R500 million per month spent on electricity.

The respondents’ average score for question 15 was low. This question tested the respondents’ behaviour control relating to the purchasing of green electricity. This indicated that the respondents find it difficult or outside their control to purchase green electricity. The commercial sector responses were an outlier responding with higher than the average. Due to this sector having only two respondents, this abnormality will not influence the average and cannot be analysed. The top 19 electricity users have a lower than average score indicating that the larger consumers find it more difficult to purchase green electricity. The results from these questions are indicated in Table 6.14 and Table 6.15.

Table 6.14: Perceived behavioural control analyses per sector

PBC CB

Number Avg. PBC Q11 Q15 Avg. CB Q12 Q19

Mining 74 3.595 3.932 3.257 4.446 3.608 5.284 Industrial 46 3.533 4.043 3.022 4.598 3.783 5.413 Municipal 53 3.519 3.906 3.132 4.585 3.868 5.302 Commercial 2 4.250 4.500 4.000 4.750 4.500 5.000 Agriculture 2 3.000 3.000 3.000 3.500 2.500 4.500 Traction / Rail 2 3.500 4.500 2.500 4.500 3.500 5.500 Bulk Distributors 7 3.786 4.000 3.571 4.000 3.429 4.571 Other 11 3.273 3.636 2.909 4.409 4.091 4.727 Average 3.557 3.940 3.174 4.348 3.660 5.037 Total 197 All sectors 3.548 3.939 3.157 4.495 3.736 5.254 All Other 24 3.500 3.833 3.167 4.250 3.750 4.750

Table 6.15: Perceived behavioural control analyses per level of consumption

PBC CB

Number Avg. PBC Q11 Q15 Avg. CB Q12 Q19

Up to 100k 17 3.824 4.353 3.294 4.559 4.059 5.059 >100k-300k 31 3.677 3.903 3.452 4.306 3.581 5.032 >300k to 600k 25 3.380 3.720 3.040 4.400 3.640 5.160 >600k to 1000k 20 3.575 3.700 3.450 4.550 3.550 5.550 >1m to 4m 46 3.728 4.152 3.304 4.674 4.000 5.348 >4m to 200m 39 3.462 4.000 2.923 4.654 3.872 5.436 >200m to 500m 11 3.045 3.636 2.455 4.136 3.000 5.273 >500m to 6000m 8 3.000 3.375 2.625 4.188 3.250 5.125 Average 3.461 3.855 3.068 4.433 3.619 5.248 Total 197 All users 3.548 3.939 3.157 4.505 3.736 5.274 Mega users 19 3.026 3.526 2.526 4.158 3.105 5.211

The respondents’ perceived behavioural control relating to the purchase of green electricity is low supporting the outcome of the technology model. The price of green electricity in question 19 indicates significance influence with high average scores. It is essential to establish the reliability and validity of these questions. The content validity of the questions was insured by confirming the questions were compiled based on comprehensive theory. The outcomes on the results are consistent with literature explored during this study. The reverse-worded questions as indicated for CB in Appendix D were corrected during the refinement process as they were not reverse-worded. The outcome from the data analyses supports the literature confirming the exploratory model’s content validity.

6.9 EVALUATING RESPONSES RELATED TO THE SUPPORT FOR GREEN