The impact of circular economy awareness on waste management by vendors in Hanoi, Vietnam

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The circular economy is increasingly recognized as a crucial solution to environmental and economic challenges, gaining significant attention from the government, businesses, and citizens in Vietnam. As urban waste management becomes urgent, understanding the factors influencing sustainable waste management practices is essential. This study aims to assess the impact of circular economy awareness on the actual waste management behavior of market vendors in Hanoi. A total of 324 valid responses were collected directly from vendors in 2024. The paper applies an extended version of the theory of planned behavior framework, incorporating key variables such as circular economy awareness, willingness to pay, government policies, and behavioral barriers. Using the PLS-SEM method, the findings indicate that circular economy awareness has a positive influence on vendors’ waste management behaviors, with significant effects through attitudes (β = 0.425), subjective norms (β = 0.473), perceived behavioral control (β = 0.539), and willingness to pay (β = 0.462). However, behavioral barriers negatively impact actual waste management behavior (β = –0.179). Notably, government policies, despite existing national strategies, do not appear to affect vendors’ behavioral intentions (β = 0.031; p-value = 0.520). This suggests that such policies have yet to effectively reach or influence the target group. These findings emphasize the necessity for more targeted policy interventions to enhance circular economy awareness and foster sustainable waste management behaviors among market vendors. Strengthening engagement with vendors and improving policy effectiveness will be critical in promoting long-term environmental sustainability in Vietnam.

Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam, grant number B2023-NTH-02.

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    • Figure 1. Theoretical framework
    • Table 1. Demographic profile of respondents
    • Table 2. Reliability and validity analysis
    • Table 3. Fornell-Larcker criterion
    • Table 4. Heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) ratio of correlation
    • Table 5. f² and R²
    • Table 6. Path coefficients and hypotheses testing
    • Table 7. Mediating effect analysis
    • Conceptualization
      Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen
    • Formal Analysis
      Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen
    • Methodology
      Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Dang Kim Ngan
    • Project administration
      Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Nguyen Cam Nhung
    • Visualization
      Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Chu Thuy Quynh
    • Writing – original draft
      Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Dang Kim Ngan, Chu Thuy Quynh, Nguyen Quy Duong, Nguyen Cam Nhung
    • Writing – review & editing
      Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Dang Kim Ngan
    • Data curation
      Dang Kim Ngan, Chu Thuy Quynh, Nguyen Quy Duong, Nguyen Cam Nhung
    • Investigation
      Dang Kim Ngan, Chu Thuy Quynh, Nguyen Quy Duong, Nguyen Cam Nhung
    • Software
      Dang Kim Ngan, Chu Thuy Quynh, Nguyen Cam Nhung
    • Resources
      Chu Thuy Quynh, Nguyen Quy Duong
    • Validation
      Chu Thuy Quynh, Nguyen Quy Duong, Nguyen Cam Nhung
    • Supervision
      Nguyen Quy Duong