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The formation of citizens' intentions to purchase prefabricated housing in China: the integrating theory of planned behavior and norm activation model

Zhenzong Zhou (School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China)
Geoffrey Shen (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong)
Jin Xue (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong)
Chengshuang Sun (School of Economics and Management Engineering, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China)
Yongyue Liu (School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China)
Weiyi Cong (School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China)
Tao Yu (School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China)
Yaowu Wang (School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China)

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

ISSN: 0969-9988

Article publication date: 31 October 2023

177

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to develop an improved understanding of the formation of citizens' purchase intention to increase the adoption of prefabricated housing (PH).

Design/methodology/approach

An integrative model of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and norm activation model (NAM) was proposed based on previous studies. To verify the conceptual model, an analysis was conducted after data collection from a questionnaire survey. Lastly, findings were presented by explaining the formation of purchase intention in the egoistic and altruistic contexts. Practical implications were likewise discussed.

Findings

Findings manifest that citizens' purchase intention is influenced by egoistic and altruistic cognitions. An effective strategy is to show citizens the pro-environmental features of PH to promote its adoption because they value the environmental performance of housing. Meanwhile, consumers' social fitness also plays an essential role in decision-making, and the dual contradiction in the PH market is revealed.

Originality/value

This study extends the knowledge of psychological decision-making theories in the field of purchase intention toward PH by proposing an integrative framework of TPB and NAM. Results indicate a systematic and comprehensive understanding of consumers' decision-making in the PH domain. Moreover, results of this research contribute to specifying and refining the applicable contexts of TPB and NAM by adding two antecedents: subjective knowledge and environmental concern. This research contributes to the literature by being one of the first to investigate purchase intention toward a high-cost product with invisible technological innovation.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.71901082) and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (PolyU/RGC Project No. PolyU15225822).

Since acceptance of this article, the following author(s) have updated their affiliation(s): Jin Xue is at the School of Project Management, The University of Sydney.

Citation

Zhou, Z., Shen, G., Xue, J., Sun, C., Liu, Y., Cong, W., Yu, T. and Wang, Y. (2023), "The formation of citizens' intentions to purchase prefabricated housing in China: the integrating theory of planned behavior and norm activation model", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-05-2023-0473

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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