Application of the Planned Behavior Theory in Ethical Analysis of Water Conservation Behavior

Efficient use of water resources is an undeniable necessity in agricultural sector. The purpose of the present study was ethical analysis of farmers' water conservation behavior in West Azerbaijan Province. In this descriptive-correlational research, the study population included the farmers residing in the West Azerbaijan province in 2017. 380 farmers were selected as a sample using Krejcie and Morgan's sample size table and stratified random sampling method. Research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire which its validity and reliability was confirmed. SPSS 22 and AMOS 22 soft-wares were used to analyze the data. Findings: Water conservation intention (p<0.01, r=0.559) and perceived behavioral control (p<0.01, r=0.433) had positive and significant correlation with water conservation behavior. Furthermore, the moral norm of water conservation (p<0.01, r=0.598), subjective norm of water conservation (p<0.01, r=0.510), and perceived behavioral control (p<0.01, r=0.329) had also positive and significant correlation with water conservation intention. The independent variables of the study framework accounted for 43.1 percent of water conservation intention's change and 41.9 percent of water conservation behavior's change, respectively. It can be concluded that Planned Behavior Theory can be applied to analyze farmers' moral behavior of the water conservation. Using the proposed theoretical framework leads to development and extension of existing understanding, regarding complex interactions of socio-psychological variables of water resources conservation.