What Are Your Intentions: An Empirical Analysis of the Distinction between Behavioral Intentions and Behavioral Goals?

This study analyzes the distinction, both conceptually and operationally, between behavioral intentions and behavioral goals. This paper recognizes the importance of time orientation in the measurement of behavioral intentions as defined by Fishbein and Ajzen. Literature is reviewed that shows this conceptual definition is often misused in information systems (IS) research because behavioral intention is sometimes operationalized with a long-term time orientation (i.e., continued use). This paper offers an empirical assessment of the discriminant validity between behavioral intentions and behavioral goals. Theoretical implications are that long-term oriented behavioral intentions actually represents behavioral goals and thus have less conceptual implications for predicting actual behavior.