Motivation to pangolin conservation among Gen Z: applying the extended Theory of Planned Behavior
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/jeelm.2025.25118Abstract
The study explores the factors influencing pangolin conservation intentions among Gen Z using the extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Despite ongoing conservation efforts, pangolins remain one of the most trafficked animals globally, facing severe threats from illegal wildlife trade. To address this, the research investigates the roles of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, along with knowledge and experience, in shaping conservation behaviors. A quantitative approach was employed, utilizing a structured questionnaire to gather data from 377 respondents. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied for data analysis.
The results show that subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are the most significant predictors of behavioral intentions, whereas attitudes, knowledge, and past experiences related to wildlife conservation or pangolins have a relatively weak influence. While they still have a positive effect, these factors do not influence the intention to engage in pangolin conservation behavior as strongly. These findings suggest that conservation campaigns should focus on leveraging social influences and enhancing individuals’ perceived control over their actions rather than solely increasing factual knowledge.
Keywords:
pangolin, wildlife conservation, Gen Z, the extended of Theory of Planned Behavior, behavioral intentionsHow to Cite
Share
License
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Aipanjiguly, S., Jacobson, S. K., & Flamm, R. (2003). Conserving manatees: Knowledge, attitudes, and intentions of boaters in Tampa Bay, Florida. Conservation Biology, 17(4), 1098–1105. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.01452.x
Ajzen, I. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Prentice-Hall.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Ajzen, I. (2020). The theory of planned behavior: Frequently asked questions. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2(4), 314–324. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.195
Alves, R. R., & Rosa, I. L. (2005). Why study the use of animal products in traditional medicines? Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 1(1), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-1-5
Asare, M. (2015). Using the theory of planned behavior to determine the condom use behavior among college students. American Journal of Health Studies, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.47779/ajhs.2015.168
Bhandari, A. K., & Heshmati, A. (2010). Willingness to pay for biodiversity conservation. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 27(6), 612–623. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2010.507156
Challender, D. W. S., Waterman, C., & Baillie, J. E. M. (2014). Scaling up pangolin conservation. Zoological Society of London (ZSL), IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC), Pangolin Specialist Group.
Cialdini, R. B., Kallgren, C. A., & Reno, R. R. (1991). A focus theory of normative conduct: A theoretical refinement and reevaluation of the role of norms in human behavior. In Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 24, pp. 201–234). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60330-5
Clark, L., Van Thai, N., & Phuong, T. Q. (2009). A long way from home: The health status of Asian pangolins confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade in Viet Nam. In S. Pantel & S. Y. Chin (Eds.), Proceedings of the Workshop on Trade and Conservation of Pangolins Native to South and Southeast Asia (pp. 111–118), Singapore Zoo, Singapore.
Conner, M., & Armitage, C. J. (1998). Extending the theory of planned behavior: A review and avenues for further research. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28(15), 1429–1464. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1998.tb01685.x
Dybsand, H. N. H., & Stensland, S. (2022). Centrality to life and the theory of planned behavior: The case of musk ox safaris in Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, Norway. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 27(1), 32–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2021.1876187
Donnelly, D. (2024). Endangered species conservation in Vietnam. https://www.academia.edu/119014172/Endangered_Species_Conservation_in_Vietnam
Fischer, H. A., Bernard, M. L., Kemppinen, K., & Gerber, L. R. (2023). Conservation awareness through social media. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 13(1), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-022-00795-5
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
Gray, R. J., Le, D., Nguyen, H. T. T., Cao, L. N., Nguyen, T., Pham, T., Willcox, D., Chen, T., & Nguyen, T. (2022). Home ranges and activity patterns of Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) in Vietnam. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1848435/v1
Greenspan, E., Giordano, A. J., Nielsen, C. K., Sun, N. C.-M., & Pei, K. J.-C. (2020). Taiwanese attitudes toward the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) and its potential reintroduction. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 25(4), 301–323. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2020.1728789
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Harrison, D. A. (1995). Volunteer motivation and attendance decisions: Competitive theory testing in multiple samples from a homeless shelter. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80(3), Article 371. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.80.3.371
Heighton, S. P., & Gaubert, P. (2021). A timely systematic review on pangolin research, commercialization, and popularization to identify knowledge gaps and produce conservation guidelines. Biological Conservation, 256, Article 109042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109042
Yan, Y. (2014). A review on the origins and development of the theory of planned behavior. Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication, 36(7), 113–129.
Imari, I., Wardana, E. T. D. R. W., Mintarti, S. U., & Haryono, A. (2020). The effect of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control on students’ intention to choose sharia economics study programs. Management Science Letters, 10, 3119–3126. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2020.5.011
Johnson, M. (2015). Developing College students’ civic identity: The role of social perspective taking and sociocultural issues discussions. Journal of College Student Development, 56(7), 687–704. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2015.0074
Kaiser, F. G., & Gutscher, H. (2003). The proposition of a general version of the theory of planned behavior: Predicting ecological behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33(3), 586–603. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2003.tb01914.x
Kamrowski, R. L., Sutton, S. G., Tobin, R. C., & Hamann, M. (2014). Potential applicability of persuasive communication to light-glow reduction efforts: A case study of marine turtle conservation. Environmental Management, 54(3), 583–595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0308-9
Kuphanga, D. (2024). Questionnaires in research: Their role, advantages, and main aspects. Preprint. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.15334.64325
Lo, A. Y., Chow, A. T., & Cheung, S. M. (2012). Significance of perceived social expectation and implications to conservation education: Turtle conservation as a case study. Environmental Management, 50(5), 900–913. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9926-2
Lowry, P. B., & Gaskin, J. (2014). Partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) for building and testing behavioral causal theory: When to choose it and how to use it. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 57(2), 123–146. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPC.2014.2312452
Malikova, I. (2021). Perception of global issues of environment and circular economy by generation Z. SHS Web of Conferences, 92, Article 05018. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20219205018
Miller, Z. D. (2017). The enduring use of the theory of planned behavior. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 22(6), 583–590. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2017.1347967
Nguyen, M.-H. (2023). Investigating urban residents’ involvement in biodiversity conservation in protected areas: Empirical evidence from Vietnam. https://doi.org/10.31237/osf.io/z2hjv
Pasquariello, R., Donizzetti, A. R., Curcio, C., Capasso, M., & Caso, D. (2025). From values to action: The roles of green self-identity, self-efficacy, and eco-anxiety in predicting pro-environmental behaviours in the Italian context. Sustainability, 17(15), Article 6838. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17156838
Popa, B., Niță, M. D., & Hălălișan, A. F. (2019). Intentions to engage in forest law enforcement in Romania: An application of the theory of planned behavior. Forest Policy and Economics, 100, 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2018.11.005
Roscoe, J. T. (1969). Fundamental research statistics for the behavioral sciences (2 ed.). Holt Rinehart & Winston.
Schlegel, J., & Rupf, R. (2010). Attitudes towards potential animal flagship species in nature conservation: A survey among students of different educational institutions. Journal for Nature Conservation, 18(4), 278–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2009.12.002
Sekaran, U. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Shibaike, T. (2022). Small NGOs and agenda-setting in global conservation governance: The case of pangolin conservation. Global Environmental Politics, 22(2), 45–69. https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00623
Siemer, W. F., Lauber, T. B., Kretser, H. E., Schuler, K. L., Verant, M., Herzog, C. J., & McComas, K. A. (2021). Predictors of intentions to conserve bats among New York property owners. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 26(3), 275–292. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2020.1817628
Sommer, L. (2011). The theory of planned behaviour and the impact of past behaviour. International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER), 10(1). https://doi.org/10.19030/iber.v10i1.930
Stern, P. C. (2000). New environmental theories: Toward a coherent theory of environmentally significant behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 407–424. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00175
Zhang, X., Hu, Y., Zhang, Z., Fu, Y., & Xie, Y. (2021). Chinese public willingness of international wildlife conservation: A case study of African elephant. Biodiversity Science, 29(10), 1358–1368. https://doi.org/10.17520/biods.2021082
Zhang, Z., Yang, T., Hu, Y., Cirella, G. T., & Xie, Y. (2022). Behavioral intention to resist the consumption of wild animals in China: Netizen survey. Diversity, 14(5), Article 343. https://doi.org/10.3390/d14050343
View article in other formats
CrossMark check
Published
Issue
Section
Copyright
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.