Happy Easter everyone!
Today I would like to talk a little bit more about my volunteer marketing project. The basis for my project is a theory called “Theory of Planned Behavior”, created by Icek Ajzen in 1991. The theory is quite complex to describe, but very useful for my project as it focuses on the motivations, intentions and attitudes. It was created on the basis of Ajzen’s “Theory of Reasoned Action”.
Basically, this theory tries to explain why people show certain behavior in certain situations. The main focus is on the intentions to behave in a certain way, such as a volunteer’s intention to start volunteering. (Ajzen 1991)
For my project, I am using Warburton and Terry’s test of the Theory of Planned Behavior (2000), as they divided their study into different useful sections:
- Intention (Will I volunteer next month?)
- Attitude towards volunteering (Do I consider volunteering as fun? Boring? Interesting?)
- Subjective norm (Does my family support my volunteer commitment?)
- Perceived behavioral control (Can external events easily stop me from volunteering?)
- Moral obligation (Am I obligated to volunteer?)
- Behavioral norm (Do my friends volunteer as well?)
- Behavior (Did I volunteer last month?)
My questions for the focus group considered a similar approach and tried to cover the above mentioned sections. I will write about the results of my research in a few weeks, once my marketing project is completed.
Enjoy the rest of your week,
Bettina
References:
Ajzen, I. (1991). ‘The Theory of Planned Behavior.’ Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 50, 179-211
Warburton, J., Terry, D.J. (2000). ‘Volunteer Decision Making By Older People: A Test of a Revised Theory of Planned Behavior.’ Basic and Applied Social Psychology. 22 (3), 245-257
