Theory of Planned Behaviour
A theory in which a person's intention to act is predicted from their attitude toward the act, the social pressure they feel and their perceived control, with intention and perceived control then predicting behaviour.
What it is
Icek Ajzen reviewed the research in 1991. A 2001 meta-analysis of 185 studies found it explained 39 per cent of the differences in intention and 27 per cent of the differences in behaviour, with perceived control adding to both and social pressure generally a weak predictor of intention. On this site it is read alongside Perceived Behavioural Control, Intention and Intention-Behaviour Gap.
In effect
If customers say they intend to buy but do not, the theory points to whether the price, the booking process or the delivery window makes the act feel within reach.
What it does not say
It is not the same thing as Perceived Behavioural Control, which sits close to it on this site but describes a different part of how people decide. It also does not say that the finding reaches every product, buyer or setting; where this page goes beyond the cited research, the step is an inference and is labelled as one.
Sources
- Author of the 1991 review The theory of planned behavior in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, which sets out how intentions are predicted from attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control.