Understanding green IT practices among university students: a norm activation and attitude–behavior–context approach

Purpose This study aims to integrate the Norm Activation Model (NAM) and Attitude-Behavior-Context (ABC) theory, with green IT knowledge as a moderator, to examine factors influencing university students’ green IT practices. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional research design was employed using primary data collected from 307 university students in the Delhi - National Capital Region of India. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings The results indicate that personal norms are the strongest predictor of green IT practices, followed by green IT attitude and institutional context. Green IT knowledge positively moderates the relationship between attitude and green IT practices but does not moderate the relationship between personal norms and green IT practices. Originality/value By integrating NAM and ABC in the context of green IT practices among students, this study advances theoretical understanding of students’ green IT behavior as a multidimensional phenomenon which is driven by moral, cognitive and contextual factors.