The formation of citizens' intentions to purchase prefabricated housing in China: the integrating theory of planned behavior and norm activation model

Purpose This study aims to develop an improved understanding of the formation of citizens' purchase intention to increase the adoption of prefabricated housing (PH). Design/methodology/approach An integrative model of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and norm activation model (NAM) was proposed based on previous studies. To verify the conceptual model, an analysis was conducted after data collection from a questionnaire survey. Lastly, findings were presented by explaining the formation of purchase intention in the egoistic and altruistic contexts. Practical implications were likewise discussed. Findings Findings manifest that citizens' purchase intention is influenced by egoistic and altruistic cognitions. An effective strategy is to show citizens the pro-environmental features of PH to promote its adoption because they value the environmental performance of housing. Meanwhile, consumers' social fitness also plays an essential role in decision-making, and the dual contradiction in the PH market is revealed. Originality/value This study extends the knowledge of psychological decision-making theories in the field of purchase intention toward PH by proposing an integrative framework of TPB and NAM. Results indicate a systematic and comprehensive understanding of consumers' decision-making in the PH domain. Moreover, results of this research contribute to specifying and refining the applicable contexts of TPB and NAM by adding two antecedents: subjective knowledge and environmental concern. This research contributes to the literature by being one of the first to investigate purchase intention toward a high-cost product with invisible technological innovation.