Greening the greenhouse grower. A behavioral analysis of a sector-initiated system to reduce the environmental load of greenhouses
2011
Staats, Henk | Jansen, Lilian | Thøgersen, John
Growing plants and flowers in greenhouses is a commercial activity that imposes a burden on the environment. Recently a system of registration, control, and licensing has been developed by the sector of greenhouse growers in the Netherlands, acknowledged by the state. The current study was executed to understand the achievements of the greenhouse growers within this system. We applied a social-cognitive model to understand intentions to reduce emissions and predict actual pesticide use. The social-cognitive concepts from the model were measured in a questionnaire that was completed by 743 greenhouse growers. Factual information on these growers’ pesticide use in 2004 and 2005 was provided by the agency responsible for the program, and could be linked to the questionnaire data. Using structural equation modeling we found that intention to reduce emission was primarily predicted by the attitude, descriptive norm, and self-efficacy. Actual pesticide use was predicted by the interaction of intention and response efficacy. Results can be used to improve communication with growers, focusing on the influential determinants of intention and behavior.
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