Sustainable Behavior Change Interventions for Women in Water Consumption Management: Urban Water Experts' Insights

Women are key agents in driving sustainable behavior change in households and communities, particularly in managing water consumption. However, their specific role and the perceptions of executive authorities regarding effective interventions remain underexplored. This study employed a Grounded Theory approach and interviewed 27 urban water managers and experts in Karaj, Iran. The resulting paradigmatic model-based on expert perceptions, not observed behaviors-outlines the causal, contextual, and intervening conditions, strategies, and consequences influencing women's sustainable water-use behaviors. Key intervening conditions include intrinsic motivation and creativity, mutual empowerment between educator and learner, children's influence on mothers, creativity in message design and the educational process, household opposition (husbands and children), and the counterproductive effects of delegating roles without adequate infrastructure. Core strategies comprise participatory governance, persuasion-scientific, emotional, and nudge-based-and infrastructure provision prior to any responsibility delegation. Interpreting the findings through the COM-B (capability, opportunity, motivation, and behavior) model revealed that the opportunity component is the most significant contributor, relative to capability and motivation. This model assists policymakers, urban managers, and environmental educators in aligning their strategic objectives.