Explaining consumer engagement with deposit-refund systems through the three-component attitude model: A circular economy perspective from Hungary

Deposit-refund systems (DRS) are widely recognized as effective instruments of the circular economy, however, their long-term success depends not only on technical design and financial incentives but also on consumer engagement. Empirical research on the psychological drivers of DRS participation remains limited, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, creating a need to understand how attitudes shape behavioral adoption in early-stage systems. This study applies the three-component attitude model, distinguishing cognitive, affective, and conative dimensions, to explain consumer participation in Hungary’s newly introduced national DRS, the REpont scheme. Unlike most previous applications, the model was identified inductively from empirical data through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, providing a data-driven theoretical contribution to behavior research. A large-scale survey (n = 2,665) was conducted and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that affective and conative attitudes are strong predictors of system use, while cognitive evaluations exert a moderate but significant effect. For the latter, however, demographic and cluster analyses revealed subgroups (urban, highly educated) with reduced usage despite higher awareness. Emotional commitment strengthens favorable evaluations, which in turn encourage behavioral intentions and routines, confirming the sequential pathway from affect to cognition to conation. From a theoretical perspective, the study extends the attitude model to a novel circular economy context, while from a policy and managerial perspective, it highlights that addressing infrastructural barriers and contextual challenges and strengthening emotional engagement are essential to ensure the long-term effectiveness of DRS.