Exploring household water conservation behaviors in Saudi Arabia: A structural equation modeling approach
Water conservation is crucial for human sustainable development, particularly in the face of increasing global challenges such as freshwater scarcity, rapid urbanization, and climate change. This study employs structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate water conservation behaviors among house...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2199853125000216 |
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| author | Abdulaziz I. Almulhim Ismaila Rimi Abubakar |
| author_facet | Abdulaziz I. Almulhim Ismaila Rimi Abubakar |
| author_sort | Abdulaziz I. Almulhim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water conservation is crucial for human sustainable development, particularly in the face of increasing global challenges such as freshwater scarcity, rapid urbanization, and climate change. This study employs structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate water conservation behaviors among households in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, it examines the influence of household socioeconomic factors, sources of information, and government policies and programs on water conservation behaviors. A questionnaire survey was conducted among representative sample of households in Dammam city (n = 618). The collected data were analyzed using SEM to explore the relationships between variables and identify significant predictors of water conservation behaviors. Socioeconomic factors were found to have a significant influence on garden management practices (p = 0.001, β = 0.343), but not other water conservation practices. Public lectures and workshops were identified as the most preferred sources of information about water conservation practices (factor loading [λ] = 0.788). Participants indicate their support for public awareness campaigns for promoting water conservation, but they showed resistance to the idea of raising water tariffs (λ = 0.435) and implementing water conservation laws with fines for violators (λ = 0.318) as water conservation policies. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the socioeconomic, informational, and policy factors influencing household water conservation in Saudi Arabia, offering actionable insights to design targeted, culturally sensitive, and sustainable water conservation strategies in arid regions, thereby contributing to the broader understanding of effective water resource management under challenging climatic and socioeconomic conditions. The study can help city administrators to promote sustainable water consumption behaviors and enlighten the public to adopt water conservation practices at home. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d9b427f5e20740bea4b35f7596182e9f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2199-8531 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity |
| spelling | doaj-art-d9b427f5e20740bea4b35f7596182e9f2025-01-27T04:21:52ZengElsevierJournal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity2199-85312025-03-01111100486Exploring household water conservation behaviors in Saudi Arabia: A structural equation modeling approachAbdulaziz I. Almulhim0Ismaila Rimi Abubakar1Department of Urban and Regional Planning, College of Architecture and Planning, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O, Box 1982, Dammam 31451, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author.College of Architecture and Planning, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi ArabiaWater conservation is crucial for human sustainable development, particularly in the face of increasing global challenges such as freshwater scarcity, rapid urbanization, and climate change. This study employs structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate water conservation behaviors among households in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, it examines the influence of household socioeconomic factors, sources of information, and government policies and programs on water conservation behaviors. A questionnaire survey was conducted among representative sample of households in Dammam city (n = 618). The collected data were analyzed using SEM to explore the relationships between variables and identify significant predictors of water conservation behaviors. Socioeconomic factors were found to have a significant influence on garden management practices (p = 0.001, β = 0.343), but not other water conservation practices. Public lectures and workshops were identified as the most preferred sources of information about water conservation practices (factor loading [λ] = 0.788). Participants indicate their support for public awareness campaigns for promoting water conservation, but they showed resistance to the idea of raising water tariffs (λ = 0.435) and implementing water conservation laws with fines for violators (λ = 0.318) as water conservation policies. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the socioeconomic, informational, and policy factors influencing household water conservation in Saudi Arabia, offering actionable insights to design targeted, culturally sensitive, and sustainable water conservation strategies in arid regions, thereby contributing to the broader understanding of effective water resource management under challenging climatic and socioeconomic conditions. The study can help city administrators to promote sustainable water consumption behaviors and enlighten the public to adopt water conservation practices at home.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2199853125000216Water conservationSustainable water practicesBehaviors and policiesSociocultural factorsHousehold awarenessStructural equation modeling |
| spellingShingle | Abdulaziz I. Almulhim Ismaila Rimi Abubakar Exploring household water conservation behaviors in Saudi Arabia: A structural equation modeling approach Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity Water conservation Sustainable water practices Behaviors and policies Sociocultural factors Household awareness Structural equation modeling |
| title | Exploring household water conservation behaviors in Saudi Arabia: A structural equation modeling approach |
| title_full | Exploring household water conservation behaviors in Saudi Arabia: A structural equation modeling approach |
| title_fullStr | Exploring household water conservation behaviors in Saudi Arabia: A structural equation modeling approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring household water conservation behaviors in Saudi Arabia: A structural equation modeling approach |
| title_short | Exploring household water conservation behaviors in Saudi Arabia: A structural equation modeling approach |
| title_sort | exploring household water conservation behaviors in saudi arabia a structural equation modeling approach |
| topic | Water conservation Sustainable water practices Behaviors and policies Sociocultural factors Household awareness Structural equation modeling |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2199853125000216 |
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