# Published research: why students keep buying bottled water

> A co-authored paper in Jurnal Lentera Bisnis (January 2026): 183 private-university students in Tangerang show that convenience and risk perception drive bottled water, while knowledge and refill stations reduce it.

**TL;DR** A paper I co-wrote with four colleagues from the Master of Management in New Ventures Innovation at Universitas Prasetiya Mulya, published in Jurnal Lentera Bisnis (SINTA 4) in January 2026: a survey of 183 private-university undergraduates in Tangerang shows that convenience and risk perception push students towards bottled water, while knowledge and refill infrastructure pull them away.

## The question

Single-use bottled water stays popular on campus even as the health risks of microplastics become better known. We wanted to know what actually drives a student to buy another bottle: what they know, how convenient it is, whether they trust the alternatives, what their friends do, or whether a refill station is within reach.

The model combines the Theory of Planned Behavior with the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices model, and tests five factors against drinking-water consumption behaviour.

*The research model: five hypotheses, from environmental and health knowledge to behavioural control.*

## How we measured it

- **183 respondents**: active undergraduates at private universities in Tangerang who drink water on campus, chosen by purposive sampling.
- **An online questionnaire** on a five-point Likert scale.
- **Structural equation modelling (SEM-PLS)** in SmartPLS, after validity and reliability tests.

## What we found

- **183** respondents
- **0.590** R², behaviour explained by the five factors
- **4 of 5** factors with a significant effect

*Hypothesis tests (significant when p < 0.05 and T > 1.96)*

| Factor | Direction | p | T | Result |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Environmental and health knowledge | Negative | 0.004 | 2.888 | Significant |
| Convenience | Positive | 0.008 | 2.650 | Significant |
| Risk perception of other water sources | Positive | 0.037 | 2.089 | Significant |
| Social norms | Positive | 0.084 | 1.729 | Not significant |
| Behavioural control (refill stations, own bottle) | Negative | 0.033 | 2.135 | Significant |

Students who know more about the health and environmental cost buy less bottled water, and a reachable refill station lowers consumption as well. Convenience and doubts about the safety of other water sources push the other way. What friends do made no significant difference: the decision turned out to be a rational one, not a social one.

## What campuses can do

- **Put the facts where the water is**: health education about microplastics at the refill machines themselves.
- **More refill points**, so a station is always closer than a vending machine.
- **Machines that compete on convenience**: fast and easy to use, with water-quality readings such as TDS and pH shown in real time.

## Limits

The study is cross-sectional, covers private universities only and relies on self-reported behaviour, and 41 percent of the variation is left to other factors. A field experiment with refill stations and a look at price sensitivity are the natural next steps.

**The paper**
- Title: Analisa Perilaku Konsumsi Air Minum dan Kepedulian terhadap Keberlanjutan pada Mahasiswa Universitas Swasta Strata 1 di Kabupaten Tangerang
- Journal: Jurnal Lentera Bisnis, vol. 15 no. 1, January 2026, pages 610 to 624
- Publisher: Politeknik LP3I Jakarta
- Accreditation: SINTA 4
- Authors: Andrian, Gasza Ariatedya Bawono, Nugraha Labib Mujaddid, Muhammad Akbar Rafsanjhani, Parhimpunan Simatupang
- Affiliation: Master of Management in New Ventures Innovation, Universitas Prasetiya Mulya
- DOI: 10.34127/jrlab.v15i1.2009

**Read the paper**
- [The paper on the journal site](https://plj.ac.id/ojs/index.php/jrlab/article/view/2009): Jurnal Lentera Bisnis, vol. 15 no. 1
- [PDF](https://plj.ac.id/ojs/index.php/jrlab/article/download/2009/1402): 15 pages, in Indonesian
- [DOI 10.34127/jrlab.v15i1.2009](https://doi.org/10.34127/jrlab.v15i1.2009): Permanent link

Source: https://nugrahalabib.com/writing/bottled-water-sustainability-study
Author: Nugraha Labib Mujaddid (https://nugrahalabib.com)
Published: 2026-01-20. Updated: 2026-09-25.