EDUCATION AS A MODERATOR IN PREDICTING ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC WASTE DISPOSAL BEHAVIOUR IN A TYPICAL EMERGING ECONOMY CONTEXT: THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Abstract

This study centers on developing a robust conceptual framework for predicting 
electrical/electronic waste disposal behaviour in a typical emerging market while using 
education as a moderator. Although extant literature on pro-environmental behaviour abounds 
in the mainstream literature, studies that focus on developing conceptual framework on the 
predictors of waste disposal behaviour among youths in a typical emerging market like Nigeria 
is scarcely researched and under-reported. It is expedient to develop a robust conceptual 
framework that is suitable to a typical emerging market with huge informality like Nigeria. The 
theory of planned behaviour was extended. This study concludes that by incorporating 
education as a moderator in the relationship between extended variables like environmental 
knowledge and personal responsibility and key psychological constructs like attitude, 
subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, the study offers a thorough understanding 
of the behavioral aspects supporting e-waste management in a typical emerging economy 
setting. The study's propositions have several important implications for theory, policy, and 
practice in the broader discourse on sustainable waste management in poor nations. The 
addition of education as a moderating variable to the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) gives 
a more comprehensive framework for analyzing e-waste disposal behavior among youths. From 
a theoretical aspect, the study adds to the richness of TPB by including education as a crucial 
moderator. Traditional TPB models focus on psychological determinants such as attitudes, 
subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, without appropriately accounting for 
environmental and structural elements.