Waste Mobile Phones Recycling Intention among University Students

Abstract

Objective - The research aims to investigate Malaysian tertiary students’ intention towards waste mobile phone recycling in the context of an integrated model. Methodology/Technique –Awareness of consequences, attitude, subjective norm, perceived convenience, and perceived knowledge were hypothesised to investigate mobile phone recycling intention among university students. For this study, 294 university students were recruited using convenience sampling. Data were gathered using a series of self- administered questionnaires. All instruments for the variables were adopted from past studies. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted to evaluate the measurements’ validity and examine the relationship among variables. Findings – Convergent validity and discriminant validity evaluated using the measurement model were satisfactory. The R-squared value obtained was 0.363, which suggests that the model explained 36.3% of students' intention towards mobile phone recycling. The results suggest that attitude is the important determinant of e-waste recycling intention. Perceived convenience, subjective norm, and awareness of consequences also emerge as significant variables affecting waste mobile phones recycling intention. Interestingly, perceived knowledge is not a significant factor in this analysis. Novelty – This study provides an insight into the complex relationships that affect the waste mobile phones recycling intentions of users as well as well-founded suggestions for the policymakers in the future. Type of Paper: Empirical JEL Classification: A1, Q53.