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Determinants of customer decisions to pay utility water bills promptly

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journal contribution
posted on 2013-03-01, 14:07 authored by Josses Mugabi, Sam KayagaSam Kayaga, Ian Smout, Cyrus Njiru
Cost recovery is a prerequisite for sustainable water service provision. For water utilities, one of the key determinants of overall cost recovery efficiency is the ability to recover payment, within a reasonable timeframe, for all the water bills sent to customers. This study used empirical data, obtained through a cross-sectional survey in eight small urban centres in Uganda, to establish the determinants of customer decisions to pay utility water bills promptly. Regression analysis on the data showed that customer attitude towards prompt payment, perceived ease or difficulty of paying on time (perceived control), as well as social pressure, strongly influence intentions to pay, which in turn directly affects actual prompt bill payment behaviour. The results also show that attitudes towards prompt payment are informed by perceptions of benefits and sacrifices associated with the behaviour, while social pressure is perceived to come from family members, neighbours and the utility itself. Perceived control was found to reflect both internal and external impediments to prompt bill payment, many of which relate to service issues that are within the control of water utility managers.

History

School

  • Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering

Research Unit

  • Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)

Citation

MUGABI, J. ... et al., 2010. Determinants of customer decisions to pay utility water bills promptly. Water Policy, 12 (2), pp. 220-236.

Publisher

© IWA Publishing

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publication date

2010

Notes

© IWA Publishing 2010. The definitive peer-reviewed and edited version of this article is published in the journal Water Policy and is available at www.iwapublishing.com.

ISSN

1366-7017

Language

  • en

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