Why Attitudes Are Not Enough: A Meta-Analysis of Waste Management Behaviour in Asia

Prima Yustitia Nurul Islami; Nada Arina Romli

doi:10.19184/csi.v6i1.53698

Authors

Prima Yustitia Nurul Islami Natural Resource and Environmental Management Sains, Graduate School, IPB University, Indonesia
Nada Arina Romli Communication Studies, Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences, Jakarta State University, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19184/csi.v6i1.53698

Keywords:

meta-analysis, Theory of Planned Behavior, environmental attitude, waste management

Abstract

Waste management has emerged as a critical environmental challenge across Asia, driven by rapid urbanisation, population growth, and shifting consumption patterns. This article examines pro-environmental attitudes toward waste management in Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Iran, and Japan through a meta-analytic framework grounded in the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and argues that, while pro-environmental intention is statistically significant, it is not robust across contexts. Additionally, TPB’s linear attitude–intention–behaviour pathway is insufficient as a universal explanatory model because behavioural outcomes are fundamentally shaped by sociocultural norms, governance structures, and infrastructural capacity. Five primary studies were synthesised using a continuous random-effects model in OpenMEE, revealing a significant positive relationship between TPB constructs (r = 0.348, 95% CI: 0.263–0.434, p < 0.001), indicating a moderate association between intention and behaviour. Additionally, Comparative analysis using Cohen’s d shows a large overall effect size (d = 1.076), with Vietnam recording the highest environmental attitude score and Japan the lowest, and the greatest disparity observed between these two countries (d = 1.971). This divergence suggests that explicit pro-environmental attitudes do not consistently translate into behavioural outcomes, particularly in contexts where behaviour is governed by internalised normative compliance rather than expressed intention. The consistently high heterogeneity (I² > 97%) provides strong evidence that environmental behaviour is context-contingent rather than universally attitude-driven. Thus, effective waste management policies need to move beyond attitudinal interventions toward context-sensitive strategies aligned with country’s psychosocial and institutional realities.

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