Abstract
Increasing droughts, global warming, and water shortages are intensifying the need forvoluntary residential water conservation behaviours in the quest to achieve Sustainable
Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). In line with this, while supply-side approaches such as water
augmentation and infrastructure development have been identified as crucial in ensuring
longterm water supply in Australia, the driest inhabited continent in the world, the capital-intensive
nature of such approaches has intensified calls for demand-side approaches, specifically
voluntary residential water conservation behaviours. Despite such calls, drought occurrences,
and escalating water shortage concerns in the country, residents continue to engage in excessive
water consumption behaviours, further exacerbating water sustainability anxieties. To curb
such water consumption issues, many marketers and academic scholars emphasise the
importance of identifying and understanding the essential determinants of residential water
conservation intentions and behaviours to facilitate the enactment and implementation of
appropriate water demand-management policies.
Several studies, in response to this call, have examined the determinants of residential
water conservation intentions and behaviours across various Australian states and cities.
However, the Northern Territory has been notably overlooked in the discourse. This is
surprising, given that residents of the Northern Territory are widely recognised as Australia’s
most prominent water consumers. Furthermore, the few studies that have considered Northern
Territory residents were conducted over a decade ago, focused solely on residents in Darwin,
employed only quantitative methodologies, and did not incorporate theoretical frameworks,
which are essential for understanding consumer behaviours. In light of this, the present study
investigates the determinants of residential water conservation intention and behaviour across
the entire Northern Territory, aiming to identify the contextual factors that effectively
encourage residents to conserve water.
Drawing on an Extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (ETPB), the Protection
Motivation Theory (PMT), and an extensive review of relevant literature, this research utilises
an exploratory sequential mixed method consisting of Study 1, which uses a qualitative
approach, and Study 2, which uses a quantitative approach, to theorise and test a
comprehensive theoretical model that combines the emergent contextual factors of place
attachment and spirituality identified in Study 1 with ETPB and PMT constructs to explain
Northern Territory residents’ water conservation intentions and behaviours. In particular, an
initial research model was developed based on the gaps identified in the extensive review of
the water conservation literature. The results of the content analysis method used in Study 1,
which involved conducting semi-structured interviews with 18 residents in the Northern
Territory, confirmed the concepts of the initial research model and discovered the new
variables of place attachment and spirituality, which were then incorporated into the initial
research model to provide a contextualised understanding; this resulted in a comprehensive
theoretical model. The Study 1 findings served as inputs for developing the survey instruments,
which were utilised to gather quantitative data from 346 respondents in Study 2. This collected
data was analysed using the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM)
and the Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) methodologies.
The findings based on these methodologies provided support for 35 hypothesised
relationships while 12 lacked support, and hence were rejected. Specifically, the emergent
concept of place attachment was found to significantly correlate with all constructs of the ETPB
and PMT as well as residents’ spirituality. Interestingly, while place attachment’s direct
association with water conservation intention and behaviour were insignificant, its indirect
effects were found to be robustly significant. Residents’ spirituality was also found to
significantly drive water conservation behaviour in the unique context of the Northern
Territory. While the adopted theoretical models of ETPB and PMT were found to have strong
explanatory powers individually, the results showed that the comprehensive research model
incorporating place attachment and spirituality had the largest explanatory power of 64.4% and
70.2% for water conservation intention and behaviour, respectively. Except for response cost
and descriptive norm, all other components of the ETPB and PMT demonstrated significant
impacts on water conservation intention and behaviour. The NCA results also found that the
constructs in the comprehensive research model that were necessary conditions for achieving
water conservation intention and behaviour among Northern Territory residents were place
attachment, perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and
attitude. The NCA findings suggest that these necessary condition variables are ‘must have’
factors, without which water conservation cannot be achieved among residents. Hence, these
variables need careful attention from policymakers and local water authorities.
The theoretical, methodological and practical implications of this study are based on the
findings of Study 1 and Study 2. A significant theoretical contribution of this study is that it is
the first study in the residential water conservation literature, according to the researcher’s
knowledge, to reveal place attachment and spirituality as crucial contextual and antecedent
factors that significantly correlate with the constructs of the ETPB and PMT in the unique
context of the Northern Territory. This study further extends our understanding of how the
ETPB and PMT are crucial theoretical frameworks that can be integrated with contextual
factors to explain residents’ water conservation intentions and behaviours, which has not been
highlighted in past research. Methodologically, this study is the first to utilise the NCA
approach to investigate which variables in the comprehensive research model, consisting of
place attachment, spirituality, the ETPB, and PMT constructs, are necessary conditions for
achieving residential water conservation behaviour. Applying the NCA approach, this study
finds six necessary condition variables, or ‘must have’ factors, on which local water authorities
and policymakers can focus. Also, utilising an exploratory sequential mixed method, the study
provides a nuanced understanding of the determinants relevant in the Northern Territory
context, unlike the majority of past studies that have only utilised quantitative methodologies.
For policy-makers and water authorities, this study provides valuable insights into how
place attachment, spirituality, perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, response efficacy,
self-efficacy, and attitude are key variables that need attention in the quest to promote water
conservation intentions and behaviours among residents. Among these factors, the Importance
Performance Matrix Analysis (IPMA) further revealed that place attachment, self-efficacy,
perceived vulnerability, and building conservation intentions are very important yet
underperforming factors. Hence, policymakers and water authorities can make these factors a
priority in the Northern Territory context to ensure a water-secured future.
NOTE: Thesis document has 24 months embargo.
| Date of Award | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
|
| Supervisor | Muhammad A. Saleem (Supervisor), Emmanuel Tenakwah (Supervisor), Debajyoti Chakrabarty (Supervisor) & Steven Greenland (Supervisor) |
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