Perceived Behavioural Control in the Theory of Planned Behaviour: Variability of Conceptualization and Operationalization and Implications for Measurement

Ajzen (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50:179–211, 1991, Annual Review of Psychology 52:27–58, 2001) argued that according to the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), a model widely applied in consumer behaviour research, people act in accordance with their intentions and perceptions of control over the behavior. Intentions are determined by attitude towards the behavior, a personal factor, and a social factor, subjective norm, perceived social pressures from significant referents to perform the behavior and the actors’ motivation to comply with the referents. Attitude and subjective norm are in turn determined by the salient beliefs people hold about the behavior. The TPB extends the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) by including a third determinant of intention and behavior, perceived behavioral control (PBC). PBC is assumed to reflect past experience with the performance of the behavior and anticipated obstacles that could inhibit behavior. It seems that the concept of PBC is not defined in a way that is acceptable by every researcher. There has been a variety of operationalisations among researchers and different labeling of the measures used in the literature. It is proposed that factors internal to the individual could be phrased and assessed in terms of ability and factors external to the individual in terms of control. This clarification of the dimensions of PBC would be helpful in consumer behaviour research, as it is expected to enhance the reliability and validity of the definition of the concept of PBC and accordingly enhance the predictive accuracy of both the variable of PBC and the model of the TPB.