article · Frontiers in Environmental Science
This research investigates the factors influencing the adoption of ecological sanitation, or ecosan, toilets among residents in Arba Minch City, Ethiopia. By combining the diffusion of innovation framework with the theory of planned behaviour, the study evaluates how technological perceptions and behavioural drivers interact. Using structural equation modelling and bootstrapping techniques, the analysis examines direct and indirect effects on community intentions to adopt these facilities. The findings reveal that individual attitude and perceived behavioural control play a central role in driving intentions to use ecosan toilets. Furthermore, attitude serves as a vital bridge linking technological characteristics, such as compatibility, relative advantage, and trialability, to user intentions. These contextual factors display distinct patterns that deviate from standard adoption models, highlighting the need for context-specific planning in urban sanitation.
Expanding sustainable sanitation in rapidly growing urban areas requires community acceptance alongside infrastructure delivery. By clarifying how residents form intentions to use ecological toilets, this work helps practitioners and development organisations design targeted behavioural interventions that address specific local attitudes and practical control factors, improving the long-term success of urban sanitation programmes.
This applied research provides behavioural insights that municipal authorities, sanitation project developers, and development organisations can use to design better ecosan deployment strategies. While the study itself delivers behavioural modelling rather than a direct commercial product, the findings can directly inform marketing, user onboarding, and toilet design choices for sustainable sanitation initiatives in urban settings.
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This study explores the adoption of ecological sanitation (ecosan) toilets in Arba Minch City, Ethiopia, using an integrated approach combining the diffusion of innovation (DOI) model and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The research aims to understand the complex associations between DOI variables (relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, trialability, and observability) and TPB constructs (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) in predicting residents’ behavioral attitudes and intentions. Applying Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and bootstrapping techniques, the study investigates direct and indirect effects, offering a comprehensive analysis of the adoption process. The objectives include examining the influence of TPB and DOI constructs on residents’ intentions, unraveling direct and indirect effects on these intentions, and investigating variations among users of different toilet types in the city. The result of the study shows that attitude and perceived behavioral control are central to shaping intentions, aligning with TPB principles. Contextual factors like compatibility, relative advantage, and trayability reveal nuanced insights, deviating from conventional patterns. The study identifies attitude as a key moderator between DOI constructs and behavioral intention, enriching our understanding of the adoption process. In conclusion, the integrated DOI and TPB model provides nuanced perspectives on factors influencing behavioral attitudes and intentions toward ecosan toilet adoption. The crucial roles of perceived behavioral control and attitude underscore the importance of tailored interventions. The study’s insights are relevant for policymakers, practitioners, and development organizations working on sustainable sanitation practices in urban areas, contributing to broader sustainable development objectives.
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DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1371659
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