The United Nations has announced serious global water crises at the beginning of the 21st century. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the problem of water shortage is more significant than in other parts of the world, due to lack of the natural freshwater resources and extremely harsh weather. All of this compounded with the highest individual water consumption in the world; the average consumption per capita is 500 L a day, around 82% above the global average.
Focus of the Article
The main objectives of this study were to gain insights about factors that might impact residents water consumption behavior and open more avenues for using social marketing to influence residents’ behaviors.
Research question
The research questions are: RQ1: What beliefs are held about the UAEs current water situation? RQ2: What are the current water consumption behaviors of UoS residents? RQ3: What would facilitate lower water consumption?
Importance to the Social Marketing Field
The importance of this study is to develop a model which may be employed to change individual water consumption behavior using social marketing principles
Method
A case study methodology was applied to collect data from the University of Sharjah for this study, using the focus groups method. A convenience sample of six focus groups with a total of 39 participants of students, faculty members, administrative staff, and other stakeholders formed the basis of the current study.
Results
This study revealed that the residents lacked accurate knowledge about the water situation inside the country. In addition, consumers showed mismatch between their religious beliefs and actual consumption behaviors.
Recommendations for research/or practice
More studies and research should take place in this field, especially in connection with personal behavior issues where individuals need encouragement and incentives to change underlying habits, such as over-consumption of water, obesity, and road accidents.
AbdelrahmanR. M.KhamisS. E.RizkZ. E. (2020). Public attitude toward expanding the reuse of treated wastewater in the United Arab Emirates. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 22(8), 7887–7908. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-019-00551-w
2.
AhmedV.SaadA.SalehH.SaboorS.KasianovN.AlnaqbiT. (2020). Implementation of water demand forecasting model to aid sustainable water supply chain management in UAE
3.
Al-RashedM. F.SherifM. M. (2000). Water resources in the GCC countries: An overview. Water Resources Management, 14(1), 59–75. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1008127027743
4.
AlibeliM.NairS. (2021). Joining the global environmental protection movement: An exploration of public environmental concern in the UAE. Perspectives on Global Development and Technology, 19(5–6), 676–697. https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341576
AsakawaT. (2004). List of factors (suggested and proven) that influence consumer behavior in relation to water consumption. Appendix to” literature and research review of the factors affecting consumerbehaviour in relation to domestic water consumption for the FIRMA Model”-working paper of the EU project” freshwater integrated resource management with agents. In.
BateniI. (2013). Preservation of environment in Islamic teachings. Hekmat Quarterly Journal, 33.
9.
BaxterP.JackS. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544–559. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2008.1573
10.
BoyatzisR. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Sage.
11.
BrymanA. (2008). Why do researchers integrate/combine/mesh/blend/mix/merge/fuse quantitative and qualitative research. Advances in Mixed Methods Research, 1, 87–100. https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857024329.d9
12.
CooleyS. W.RyanJ. C.SmithL. C. (2021). Human alteration of global surface water storage variability. Nature, 591(7848), 78–81. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03262-3
13.
CreswellJ. W. (2003). Research design. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches.
14.
CreswellJ. W. (2012). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage.
15.
CretchleyJ.RooneyD.GalloisC. (2010). Mapping a 40-year history with Leximancer: Themes and concepts in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 41(3), 318–328. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022110366105
EspositoN. (2001). From meaning to meaning: The influence of translation techniques on non-English focus group research. Qualitative Health Research, 11(4), 568–579. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973201129119217
19.
FanL.WangF.LiuG.YangX.QinW. (2014). Public perception of water consumption and its effects on water conservation behavior. Water, 6(6), 1771–1784. https://doi.org/10.3390/w6061771
20.
GhneimA. (2010). Wastewater reuse and management in the Middle East and North Africa: A case study of Jordan. Univerlagtuberlin.
21.
GlaserB. G.StraussA. L. (2009). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Transaction Publishers.
GrimmP. (2010). Social desirability bias. Wiley International Encyclopedia of Marketing.
24.
HeadL.MuirP. (2007). Changing cultures of water in Eastern Australian backyard gardens. Social & Cultural Geography, 8(6), 889–905. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649360701712651
25.
HubermanM.MilesM. B. (2002). The qualitative researcher’s companion. Sage.
26.
KeanC. (2021). Policy study of desalination in Sharjah, UAE.
LaucknerH.PatersonM.KrupaT. (2012). Using constructivist case study methodology to understand community development processes: Proposed methodological questions to guide the research process. Qualitative Report, 17(13), 25.
29.
LincolnY. S. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry (Vol. 75). Sage.
30.
LoweB.LynchD.LoweJ. (2015). Reducing household water consumption: A social marketing approach. Journal of Marketing Management, 31(3–4), 378–408. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257x.2014.971044
31.
MeinckG.LeathersichM. (2003). Demand management: Western Australia’s experience. Paper presented at the Paper, Ozwater2003 Convention, Perth, Australia, Australian Water Association, CD-Rom, oz331.
32.
MeredithJ. (1998). Building operations management theory through case and field research. Journal of Operations Management, 16(4), 441–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0272-6963(98)00023-0
33.
MerriamS. B. (2002). Qualitative research in practice: Examples for discussion and analysis. Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.
34.
MilesM. B.HubermanA. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Sage.
35.
MorganD. L. (1997) Focus groups as qualitative research (Vol. 16). Sage.
36.
PattonM. Q. (2002). Two decades of developments in qualitative inquiry a personal, experiential perspective. Qualitative Social Work, 1(3), 261–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325002001003636
PerryC. (1998). Processes of a case study methodology for postgraduate research in marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 32(9/10), 785–802. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569810232237
RietmannH. (2021). Ecological Modernization in the United Arab Emirates? In Ecological modernization in the United Arab Emirates?De Gruyter.
41.
SaldañaJ. (2012). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.
42.
SmithHumphreysM. S. (2006). Evaluation of unsupervised semantic mapping of natural language with Leximancer concept mapping. Behavior Research Methods, 38(2), 262–279. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03192778
SpezialeH. S.StreubertH. J.CarpenterD. R. (2011). Qualitative research in nursing: Advancing the humanistic imperative. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
45.
StakeR. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Sage.
46.
StuartI.McCutcheonD.HandfieldR.McLachlinR.SamsonD. (2002). Effective case research in operations management: A process perspective. Journal of Operations Management, 20(5), 419–433. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0272-6963(02)00022-0
47.
SzaboS. (2011). The water challenge in the UAE.
48.
TortajadaC. (2021). Water reuse to address water security. Taylor & Francis.
49.
TracyS. J. (2012). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. John Wiley & Sons.
50.
TrawickP. (2003). Against the privatization of water: An indigenous model for improving existing laws and successfully governing the commons. World Development, 31(6), 977–996. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0305-750x(03)00049-4
Van KleefE.van TrijpH.LuningP. (2005). Consumer research in the early stages of new product development: A critical review of methods and techniques. Food Quality and Preference, 16(3), 181–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2004.05.012
53.
WillisR. M.StewartR. A.GiurcoD. P.TalebpourM. R.MousavinejadA. (2013). End use water consumption in households: Impact of socio-demographic factors and efficient devices. Journal of Cleaner Production, 60, 107–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.08.006
54.
WilsonV. (1997). Focus groups: A useful qualitative method for educational research?British Educational Research Journal, 23(2), 209–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192970230207
55.
YaghiA.YaghiI. (2013). Human resource diversity in the United Arab Emirates: Empirical study. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 6(1), 15–30. https://doi.org/10.1108/17537981311314682
56.
YinR. K. (2012). Case study methods.
57.
YinR. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage publications.
