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The role of personal norms in the choice of mode for commuting

Author

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  • Ababio-Donkor, Augustus
  • Saleh, Wafaa
  • Fonzone, Achille

Abstract

Research in travel behavioural studies have shown that social forces play a significant role in travel decision making like socio-economic factors. Several studies have tested models with different subjective variables to investigate their effects on travel behaviour. Understanding the influence of social norm and personal norm on travel mode choice preference is essential in promoting sustainable travel, considering the reported importance of these social forces in decision-making. This study draws upon the theories underpinning these sociological constructs and the integrated choice and latent variable (ICLV) framework to develop an ICLV model by incorporating social norm and personal norm as latent variables to investigate their impact on transport mode choice decisions. The results of the ICLV model is consistent with the findings in similar studies and extend the literature in transport mode choice modelling. The results indicate that internalised norms or personal norms have a significant influence on individual behaviour, and positively influence travel behaviour. This strengthens the claim that activated norms and pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) influence overt behaviour by inducing a sense of obligations to act. The results also suggest that individuals with pro-environmental attitude are likely to travel with sustainable travel modes. Thus, reinforcing the importance of sociological and psychological factors in decision-making. Unlike studies involving social norms and personal norms, this research is novel because it applies the ICLV framework to empirically investigate the impact of these sociological constructs on travel mode choice behaviour by incorporating them as latent variables in an ICLV model. The contribution of this study to the literature is that it shows that personal norm has a substantial positive impact on sustainable travel. The impact of this study could be situated in the framework of sustainable transport. The findings are relevant for policymaking, the development of policies meant to create awareness of the consequences of travel behaviour could promote the development of strong personal norms, and consequently influence travel decision making. This can be useful for promoting sustainable travel as the findings shed light on the characteristics of individuals most likely to travel by active modes or PT.

Suggested Citation

  • Ababio-Donkor, Augustus & Saleh, Wafaa & Fonzone, Achille, 2020. "The role of personal norms in the choice of mode for commuting," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:83:y:2020:i:c:s0739885920301645
    DOI: 10.1016/j.retrec.2020.100966
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nael Alsaleh & Bilal Farooq & Yixue Zhang & Steven Farber, 2021. "On-Demand Transit User Preference Analysis using Hybrid Choice Models," Papers 2102.08256, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2023.
    2. Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2023. "Pro-environment Attitudes and Worker Commuting Behavior," IZA Discussion Papers 16279, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Pot, Felix Johan & van Wee, Bert & Tillema, Taede, 2021. "Perceived accessibility: What it is and why it differs from calculated accessibility measures based on spatial data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Travel behaviour; Personal norms; ICLV; Behavioural economics; Travel mode choice;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities

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