Fostering pro-environmental behavior of university students through goal framing theory: the mediating role of environmental knowledge

Purpose This study aims to examine the associations between the three goals (hedonic, gain and normative) and university students’ proenvironmental behavior. After that, the authors investigate how environmental knowledge acts as a mediator between three goals (hedonic, gain and normative) and proenvironmental behavior. Design/methodology/approach The study used the quantitative approach adopting the goal framing theory (GFT) as the theoretical framework, for analyzing behavior of university students toward environment including both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The data was gathered through the distribution of a structured questionnaire to private universities in Chattogram and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings Hedonic and gain goals have positive effects on students’ proenvironmental behavior while the normative goal has insignificant association. In addition, all the three goals are significantly linked with students’ environmental knowledge. Besides, environmental knowledge significantly mediates the association between three goals and proenvironmental behavior. Practical implications The findings can provide valuable insights for integrating sustainability and environmental education into the formulation and planning of curricular and extra-curricular activities, with an emphasis on students’ intrinsic motivation. Originality/value The mediating role of environmental knowledge between three goals and proenvironmental behavior is the unique contribution of this study.