A bibliometric and qualitative review of the theory of planned behaviour in waste management research

Household waste management is a cornerstone of sustainability, making it essential to understand its behavioural drivers and barriers. This study maps and synthesises the literature applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to household and individual-level waste-related behaviour, focusing on research trends, methodological characteristics, target groups, waste types, and extensions of the TPB framework. A combined bibliometric and qualitative literature review was conducted using publications indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) between 1975 and 2023. After category-based filtering and manual screening, 111 publications were included in the final analysis. Bibliometric analysis identified major publication trends, influential journals, authors, citation patterns, country-level contributions, and thematic developments, while the qualitative review examined waste types, target groups, additional theoretical models, statistical methods, and TPB extensions. The findings reveal increasing scholarly attention after 2017 and a shift from general household waste management towards specific waste streams and population groups. Among the reviewed studies, 64% extended the original TPB with additional variables, 39% integrated TPB with other behavioural theories, and 24% combined both approaches, indicating increasing theoretical hybridisation. TPB was most frequently integrated with the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory and the Norm Activation Model (NAM), while moral-normative, habitual, and contextual factors represented the most common extensions. Methodologically, structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied in 41 studies (39%), while partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used in 20 studies (19%). The review demonstrates that TPB-based waste-management research has evolved through increasing behavioural specialisation and theoretical hybridisation, while identifying priorities for methodological diversification, more consistent operationalisation of TPB extensions, and the integration of sustainability-oriented and digital approaches.