Applying Social Cognitive Theory to the Determinants of Employees' Pro-environmental Behaviour Towards Renovation Waste Minimization: In Pursuit of a Circular Economy

Purpose: With China’s rapid urbanization and pressure to realize carbon neutrality, renovation waste minimization has become a vital issue. There have been a considerable number of studies focusing on renovation waste in terms of quantification, framework, and management problems, but few empirical studies have focused on the behavioural aspects of employees towards renovation waste minimization. This study aims to identify the critical factors determining employees' pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) towards renovation waste minimization (RWM). Methods: A conceptual model based on social cognitive theory was firstly developed. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to the employees of renovation projects in the city of Nanjing, China. 258 valid questionnaire was collected, representing a valid response rate of 32.3%. SPSS 25.0 was employed to conduct factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis to test the proposed model. Results: The result of descriptive analysis showed that employees' altruistic value and PEB towards RWM held the highest scores among all the variables, while financial rewards and outcome expectations were ranked as the lowest. The analysis reveals that altruistic values, outcome expectations, and interpersonal influence are the critical factors in predicting employees' PEB towards RWM. Conclusion: The findings identified the significant determinants of PEB towards RWM and provide a valuable reference for renovation organizations and policymakers when designing guidelines and policies to promote renovation employees' PEB towards RWM. The moderating and mediating effect of financial rewards are suggested for further research. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]