Pro-Environmental Behaviours among Agricultural Students: An Examination of the Value-Belief-Norm Theory

Abstract

The present study attempted to understand pro-environmental behaviours among university students in the developing country of Iran. The Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theoretical framework was used in this study. Data were obtained from 295 agricultural students at BuAli Sina University using a self-administered survey. The data were then analyzed using the Partial Least Squares approach. The structural equation modelling findings showed that the VBN theory model could effectively be applied for the prediction of pro-environmental behaviour among university students in non-Western and developing countries, which in turn affirmed the validity of this theory in intercultural settings. The variables’ causal order in the VBN theory likewise was affirmed, i.e. each individual variable had a significant relationship with the next variable throughout the causal chain. Furthermore, as hypothesized, variables mediated relationships between their antecedent and outcome variables in the causal chain.

These results suggest that the VBN theory is a useful framework for understanding proenvironmental behaviours in a non-Western developing country.

Keywords: Agricultural students, Causal chain, Intercultural settings, Iran

JEL Classification: Q56