Study on Collaboration Intentions and Behaviors of Public Participation in the Inheritance of ICH Based on an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is reported to be disappearing rapidly. Collaboration among different persons is critical to the preservation of ICH inheritance. Previous studies have focused mainly on the inheritance of ICH from the individual perspective, while ignoring the perspective of multi-subject collaboration. For this study, we developed and applied an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) to examine the effectiveness of the intentions and behaviors of public participation in the inheritance of ICH during the collaboration process in the inheritance of Regong art in Qinghai Province, China. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the strength of relationships among constructs, and a questionnaire (completed by 351 residents) was used to collect data. The results show that this extended theory of planned behavior can be applied in the evaluation of the collaboration process in the inheritance of ICH. We also introduce a novel construct to the TPB, ‘shared religious beliefs’, defined as uniformity of religion within a social group (in this case, an ethnic minority group), that is, a mono-religious community. Our results show that this construct has a significantly positive effect on collaboration intention among the general public.


Introduction
Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is defined as including oral traditions and expressions, performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe and traditional craftsmanship, as well as the sites and spaces in which culturally significant activities and events occur [1]. ICH is transmitted from generation to generation, and constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, providing them with a sense of identity and continuity [2]. ICH conservation is complex for it requires effective collaboration of all social forces [3]. Researchers have pointed out that the sustainability of ICH is not only closely related to the local residents' self-confidence with regard to their own national culture but also required local residents to participate in the inheritance collaboration [4,5]. Hence, the public are required to jointly protect and inherit ICH. But what is the formation mechanism behind ICH collaboration inheritance? What are the reasons for public participation in ICH collaboration inheritance? Further research is needed to answer the questions.
The basis of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) is that a person's actual behavior depends on their intention to perform the behavior [6]. The TPB is considered as one of the most useful frameworks for explaining human behavior in a wide range of fields [7]. It is often used to predict the behavior of a person who is participating in a particular public event [8,9]. For example, Corbett used TPB to study the motivations behind and behaviors of public participation during the Riparian Improvement Programs public event [10]. Park and Yang adopted the TPB as their research framework in their study of factors associated with online environmental community members' intentions to participate in environmental activities in the Chinese context [11]. Some researchers have used TPB to research the behavior of public participation in environmental impact assessments (EIAs) in order to distinguish various purposes for public participation in an EIA, and have discussed relevant implications for decision making [12].
ICH is an integral part of public cultural services, and the protection and inheritance of ICH is an important public affair. A person participates in the collaboration of ICH inheritance; this is essentially an individual behavior of involvement in public affairs. A few existing studies have noted the importance of ICH inheritance collaboration. For example, Kim et al. pointed out that the digitization of ICH required the collaboration of ICH authorities and digital companies [13]. Same studies regard communities as an important part in the protection of ICH, sharing heritage, shared power, and shared responsibility [14,15]. However, they seldom pay attention to the perspective of multi-subject collaboration in their exploration of the process of ICH inheritance collaboration. If applied to the study of public participation in ICH inheritance collaboration behavior, the TPB can be used to identify the significant influencing factors which promote ICH inheritance. Along with this, the TPB is based on the assumption that intention to perform the behavior is determined by attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control; however, other specific factors are not included in this model [16]. For instance, Aisyah et al. analyzed the level of community participation in ICH and concluded that there exists a positive correlation between religious belief and community public participation in ICH [17]. In other words, ICH is a spiritual belief identified by a specific group, and shared religious beliefs play an important role in maintaining the sustainability of ICH.
Therefore, from the perspective of multi-subject collaboration, this study takes Regong art in Qinghai Province, China as the research object, and extends the TPB framework by involving a new construct (shared religious beliefs) in the TPB in order to measure its impact on the public's collaboration intentions and behaviors of their participation in the inheritance of ICH in this particular Chinese cultural context. This article is organized as follows: Section 2 reviews the literature and develops an extended framework for illustrating collaboration intentions and behaviors of public participation in ICH inheritance. Section 3 describes the methodology issues. The discussion in Section 4 conducts a critical analysis of the empirical data, highlighting the applicability of the extended TPB model in the context of public participation in collaboration of ICH inheritance in an ethnic minority area of China. Section 5 provides conclusions, implications and limitations of the study.

Theory of Planned Behavior
As a derivative of the theory of reasoned action (TRA), the theory of planned behavior (TPB) was initially developed by Ajzen and Fishbein [18]. Ajzen incorporated perceived behavioral control into the TRA framework so that it could be used to predict a person's behavior, and so the reformed TRA was termed TPB [19]. TPB emphasizes that a person's actual performance of a behavior is determined by his or her intention to perform that behavior. Intentions are affected by the combination of attitude (ATT), subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioral control (PBC). Collectively, the three lead to the formation of behavioral intentions, and ultimately affect the person's behavior (see Figure 1). In addition, behavioral beliefs consist of positive and negative attitudes affecting behavior, which in turn affects attitudes. The term normative belief refers to the perception of social pressure which affects subjective norms. Control belief refers to the perceived ease or difficulty of performing a behavior, which affects the perceived behavioral control [20]. attitudes affecting behavior, which in turn affects attitudes. The term normative belief refers to the perception of social pressure which affects subjective norms. Control belief refers to the perceived ease or difficulty of performing a behavior, which affects the perceived behavioral control [20].

Hypotheses
Some studies have shown that the sustainability of ICH is closely related to the collaboration among stakeholders [21,22]. A stakeholder is ''any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization's objectives'' [23]. The stakeholder theory stresses the significance of collaboration and partnership among actors for the accomplishment of common goals [24]. The local public, including inheritors, enterprises, governments, etc. are all stakeholders in the protection and inheritance of ICH. Therefore, this paper proposes the hypotheses of the collaboration intentions and behaviors of public participation in the inheritance of ICH based on an extended theory of planned behavior.
(1) Attitude toward a behavior is a term which refers to "the extent to which a person has a favorable or negative evaluation or appraisal of the behavior" [19]. Attitude is a key factor in ethical decision-making. Individuals' determination as to what is or is not moral is based on their beliefs and attitudes [25]. Many studies have indicated that attitudes affect collaboration intention. For example, Cheng and Chu studied students' online collaboration intention towards their group projects and found that attitude towards e-collaboration has a positive influence on students' e-collaboration intention [26]. In some studies, scholars have pointed out that the inheritance of ICH requires the collaboration of local government, people in the community, business organizations, academia and cultural institutions; that these subjects should jointly establish a collaboration governance mechanism. The attitude of different subjects to the inheritance of ICH is the key to the development of diversified collaboration [27]. Recently, Kim (2019) proposed a multilateral collaboration framework for inter-Korean ICH exchange [28]. Whether it is the establishment of a collaborative governance mechanism or multilateral collaboration framework, the active collaboration-leaning attitudes of various subjects contribute to the emergence of collaboration intention and behavior. In view of this, hypothesis 1 is proposed: Hypothesis 1. Attitude significantly and positively influences the public's collaboration intention in relation to the inheritance of ICH.
(2) The term subjective norms refers to a person's "perceived social pressure to perform or not to perform the behavior" [19]. It reflects the impact of other people or groups on personal behavior decisions. Subjective norms are divided into injunctive norms and descriptive norms, and the former refers to the perception of how other people behave in reality, while the latter refers to the perception of what is approved or disapproved of by others [29]. Although both of these norms have separate effects on behavior, this study focuses mainly on injunctive norms [30]. Researchers have demonstrated that peer-related (relatives, friends, etc.) variables and government policy variables have considerable influence on collaboration behavior. For example, a small sized study conducted among the members of 11 watershed partnerships in Ohio, USA revealed that subjective norms (how 'important others' expect an individual to behave) were significantly correlated with the extent of

Hypotheses
Some studies have shown that the sustainability of ICH is closely related to the collaboration among stakeholders [21,22]. A stakeholder is "any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization's objectives" [23]. The stakeholder theory stresses the significance of collaboration and partnership among actors for the accomplishment of common goals [24]. The local public, including inheritors, enterprises, governments, etc. are all stakeholders in the protection and inheritance of ICH. Therefore, this paper proposes the hypotheses of the collaboration intentions and behaviors of public participation in the inheritance of ICH based on an extended theory of planned behavior.
(1) Attitude toward a behavior is a term which refers to "the extent to which a person has a favorable or negative evaluation or appraisal of the behavior" [19]. Attitude is a key factor in ethical decision-making. Individuals' determination as to what is or is not moral is based on their beliefs and attitudes [25]. Many studies have indicated that attitudes affect collaboration intention. For example, Cheng and Chu studied students' online collaboration intention towards their group projects and found that attitude towards e-collaboration has a positive influence on students' e-collaboration intention [26]. In some studies, scholars have pointed out that the inheritance of ICH requires the collaboration of local government, people in the community, business organizations, academia and cultural institutions; that these subjects should jointly establish a collaboration governance mechanism. The attitude of different subjects to the inheritance of ICH is the key to the development of diversified collaboration [27]. Recently, Kim (2019) proposed a multilateral collaboration framework for inter-Korean ICH exchange [28]. Whether it is the establishment of a collaborative governance mechanism or multilateral collaboration framework, the active collaboration-leaning attitudes of various subjects contribute to the emergence of collaboration intention and behavior. In view of this, hypothesis 1 is proposed: Hypothesis 1. Attitude significantly and positively influences the public's collaboration intention in relation to the inheritance of ICH.
(2) The term subjective norms refers to a person's "perceived social pressure to perform or not to perform the behavior" [19]. It reflects the impact of other people or groups on personal behavior decisions. Subjective norms are divided into injunctive norms and descriptive norms, and the former refers to the perception of how other people behave in reality, while the latter refers to the perception of what is approved or disapproved of by others [29]. Although both of these norms have separate effects on behavior, this study focuses mainly on injunctive norms [30]. Researchers have demonstrated that peer-related (relatives, friends, etc.) variables and government policy variables have considerable influence on collaboration behavior. For example, a small sized study conducted among the members of 11 watershed partnerships in Ohio, USA revealed that subjective norms (how 'important others' expect an individual to behave) were significantly correlated with the extent of volunteer participation in collaboration watershed groups [31]. Wu studied the inheritance of ICH in the southeastern region of Guizhou Province, China, and concluded that the local government's policy support can promote the community's public participation and collaboration concerning ICH inheritance [27]. Aisyah et al.held that the responsibility of protecting ICH depends largely on the relevant community to which an ICH belongs [17]. Their results suggest that regional government's policies as well as the influence of peers will directly affect the individual's collaboration intention relating to ICH inheritance. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed: Subjective norms significantly and positively influence the public's collaboration intention in relation to the inheritance of ICH.
(3) Perceived behavioral control refers to the degree to which an individual perceives the ease or difficulty of performing an act [19]. In general, the perception of more resources and opportunities, and anticipation of less obstacles or impediments, correspond with higher perceived behavioral control [19]. Some researchers have suggested that the control of perceived behavior has a positive effect on the willingness and behavior of collaboration. For instance, Cheng and Chu used an extended version of the TPB to study students' online collaboration intentions for their group projects and found that perceived behavioral control has a positive influence on students' online collaboration intention [26]. In other areas, some studies have shown that perceived behavioral control has an effect on the repurchase intention of consumer making mobile payments [32]. In addition, Wu claimed that ICH should focus on resolving practical difficulties among the inheritors, such as capital problems and social status [27]. Perceived behavioral control is a sign that an individual is prepared to perform a particular behavior and it is considered a direct prerequisite for behavior [20]. The stronger the perceived behavioral control, the stronger the individual's willingness to act. At the same time, attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control in the whole attitude structure all have positive effects on collaboration intention. The stronger the collaboration intention, the more likely the collaboration action will occur. Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed:  (4) Recently, some researchers have produced increasing evidence necessitating the inclusion of new constructs in the TPB specific to various domains [33,34]. Some have argued that religion can sustain collaboration [35]. Therefore, in this study it is proposed that shared religious beliefs among ICH inheritors is another factor which determines the public's collaboration intention, that this should be appended to the TPB. Levy and Razin found that religious beliefs, religious participation and social collaboration were interrelated [36]. In a similar vein, integration among religious communities engenders trust, and religious diversity increases social trust [37]. Further, Addai studied the relationship between religious beliefs and trust in Ghana and concluded that there exists a significant positive correlation between them [38]. Richard studied the relationship between social trust and religious belief by means of multilevel analysis of 97 small-scale German regions, and concluded that religious belief is an important source of social trust [39]. An improvement in social trust can enhance the public's degree of collaboration intention and collaboration behavior. In other words, groups sharing shared religious beliefs are more likely to develop collaboration intention and behavior. Therefore, the following two hypotheses are proposed: Hypothesis 5. The existence of shared religious beliefs significantly and positively influences the public's collaboration intention in relation to the inheritance of ICH. Hypothesis 6. The existence of shared religious beliefs significantly and positively influences the public's collaboration behavior in relation to the inheritance of ICH.

Theoretical Framework
Using the extant TPB model, an extended model is therefore proposed in order to investigate the collaboration behaviors of people participating in the inheritance of ICH. We integrate the novel factor of shared religious beliefs into the TPB model. Conceptualization of the theoretical model is depicted in Figure 2. First, in this model, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and shared religious beliefs are exogenous variables that significantly and positively influence the public collaboration intention to the inheritance of ICH. Second, when collaboration intention is intermediate variable and collaboration behavior is endogenous variable, the public collaboration intention to the inheritance of ICH significantly and positively influences their actual collaboration behavior. The exogenous variables indirectly affect the endogenous variables of collaboration behavior by acting through the intermediary variables of collaboration intention. Third, the novel factor of shared religious beliefs significantly and positively influences the public's collaboration behavior in relation to the inheritance of ICH.

In-Depth Interview
Regong art mainly includes Buddhist plastic art such as Tangka, murals, pile embroidery, sculpture, etc., which is an important art of Tibetan Buddhism and a world-class intangible cultural heritage. Originating in the 13th century, Regong art is mainly distributed in Wutun, Niandouhu, Guomari, and Gashari villages along the Longwu River in Tongren County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Regong art is mainly based on Buddhist stories, historical figures and myths, which are loved by the monks and other people of various ethnic groups who follow Tibetan Buddhism. It is integral to the historical development of Regong culture and is an important part of the production and lifestyle of the people in the relevant communities. Regong art is an important representative of Chinese minority heritage culture. The inheritance of and preservation of Regong art requires public collaboration.
This study employed semi-structured in-depth interviews, a relatively flexible and adaptable qualitative method, in which respondents are free to express their views and provide possible new ideas. The purpose of the in-depth interview is to get ready for the questionnaire survey. For example, in-depth interviews helped to find that shared religious belief was an important factor affecting public participation in ICH collaboration inheritance. In addition, it also helped to understand the reality and background of ICH inheritance and provided the basis for the explanation of the conclusions of the study.

In-Depth Interview
Regong art mainly includes Buddhist plastic art such as Tangka, murals, pile embroidery, sculpture, etc., which is an important art of Tibetan Buddhism and a world-class intangible cultural heritage. Originating in the 13th century, Regong art is mainly distributed in Wutun, Niandouhu, Guomari, and Gashari villages along the Longwu River in Tongren County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Regong art is mainly based on Buddhist stories, historical figures and myths, which are loved by the monks and other people of various ethnic groups who follow Tibetan Buddhism. It is integral to the historical development of Regong culture and is an important part of the production and lifestyle of the people in the relevant communities. Regong art is an important representative of Chinese minority heritage culture. The inheritance of and preservation of Regong art requires public collaboration.
This study employed semi-structured in-depth interviews, a relatively flexible and adaptable qualitative method, in which respondents are free to express their views and provide possible new ideas. The purpose of the in-depth interview is to get ready for the questionnaire survey. For example, in-depth interviews helped to find that shared religious belief was an important factor affecting public participation in ICH collaboration inheritance. In addition, it also helped to understand the reality and background of ICH inheritance and provided the basis for the explanation of the conclusions of the study. The semi-structured interview included three open-end questions: Q1 -"Are you are willing to participate in the collaboration of preserving Regong art heritage, and what are the reasons for your willingness or unwillingness?" Q2 -"Do you have any experience in the collaboration of the Regong art heritage, and why do you participate or not participate?" Q3 -"What do you think should be done for preserving the inheritance of Regong art?" We interviewed nine respondents, including five inheritors of ICH, two entrepreneurs who are inheritors of ICH, and two government officials responsible for the development of ICH. All respondents were ICH stakeholders, and had the ability or motivation to participate in the heritage collaboration.

Instruments of Measurement
There are many factors affecting public participation in the collaboration of ICH inheritance, so for this study we identified relevant factors of public participation in collaboration behavior via a comprehensive literature review and multiple semi-structured interviews. The literature review informed the questionnaire design, which included measurements of the constructs (attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC), shared religious beliefs (SRB), collaboration intention (CI) and collaboration behavior (CB)). The questionnaire contained two parts. The first part investigated respondents' demographic characteristics, including their gender, age, educational level, annual household income and occupation. The second part of the questionnaire contained 19 questions which were grouped into six categories for measuring ATT, SN, PBC, SRB, CI and CB. The second part of the questionnaire used a seven-point Likert scale (ranging from "strongly disagree" (1) to "strongly agree" (7)), as "scales with small numbers of response categories yield scores that were generally less valid and less discriminating than those with six or more response categories" [40].
ATT was measured on a seven-point semantic differential scale adopting four items from Han et al. [41] (e.g., "Participation in collaboration on the inheritance of ICH": strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7)). SN was measured using two items adopted from Han et al. [42] and Chen et al. [43] (e.g., "Most people who are important to me would want me to participate in collaboration on the inheritance of ICH"). PBC was measured using three items adopted from Yadav et al. [44] (e.g., "Whether or not I participate in collaboration on the inheritance of ICH is completely up to me"). SRB was measured using four items adopted from Anderson et al. [35], Kim et al. [45] and during the semi-structured interviews (e.g., "I participate in collaboration on the inheritance of ICH with people of common religious beliefs": strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7)). CI was measured by adopting three items from Cheon et al. [46]. (e.g., "I am willing to participate in collaboration on the inheritance of ICH"). CB was measured using three items sourced from Wan et al. [47] (e.g., "I have been participating in collaboration on the inheritance of ICH on a regular basis"). The questionnaire with its scales is provided in Appendix A. It should be noted that this case study was preceded by a small-scale pilot study, and that validity and reliability tests have been applied for the purpose of scale purification.

Data Collection
The survey was conducted from January 6 to March 31, 2020. On the one hand, 160 questionnaires were distributed door-to-door by local residents in each village. On the other hand, a network-based survey was conducted on Questionnaire Star, a professional questionnaire survey platform in China. Residents of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture were screened via the preliminary questions. A total of 443 questionnaires were collected, of which 351 were considered valid (complete responses), thus the valid questionnaire feedback rate was 79.2%. The respondents' demographic information indicate that a relatively high number of respondents were directly associated with ICH (65.3%); inheritors of ICH constituted 52.7%, inheritors of ICH who were entrepreneurs constituted 10.3%, and ICH-related government officials constituted 2.3%. Male respondents outnumbered the female respondents (53.6% male, compared with 46.4% female). In terms of age, the majority were under 40 years of age; those aged under 30 constituted 32.8%, and those aged 31-40 comprised 30.2% of the respondents. Full demographic details are provided in Table 1 below.

Statistical Analysis
The data were analyzed using SPSS 20 and AMOS 21. Following the guidelines of Anderson and Gerbing [48] a two-step model was used: a measurement model was estimated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in order to the reliability and validity among items and constructs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the model fit and for hypothesis testing.

Data Screening and Measurement Model
Prior to testing the measurement model, the data were screened for normality to fulfill the assumption of the general linear model. The skewness and kurtosis values were calculated in order to test the normality (they should be below ±3 and ±10, respectively) [49]. The skewness value of the data ranges from -0.554 to +0.205, and the kurtosis value ranges from -0.863 to +0.029. Finally, the data from the 351 valid cases was processed in order to assess the underlying structure of the variables in the model.
The CFA results indicate that the model fits the data well: chi square (χ 2 ) equals 202.286 (p = 0.000), χ 2 /df equals 1.477, goodness-of-fit index (GFI) equals 0.943 (>0.9), adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) equals 0.921 (>0.9), normalized fix index (NFI) equals 0.944 (>0.9), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) equals 0.976 (>0.9), comparative fit index (CFI) equals 0.981 (>0.9), incremental fit index (IFI) equals 0.981 (>0.9), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) equals 0.037 (<0.08). Cronbach's α was used to measure the reliability among items of each construct. The Cronbach's α value ranges from 0.799 to 0.897, which meets the cutoff value of 0.7 and higher. Convergent and discriminant validity were also assessed. Convergent validity was assessed using the following tests: factor loading (standardized estimates), average variance extracted (AVE) and composite reliability (CR). The factor loading value of all construct ranges (0.625 to 0.936) were above the recommended level of 0.6. Composite reliability (CR) ranges from 0.806 to 0.900, which meets the suggested criterion of 0.6 and higher. The AVE of each construct (0.512 to 0.752) also meets the suggested criterion of 0.5. Table 2 details the reliability and validity results. To ensure discriminant validity, the square root of AVE of each construct was compared with the correlation value of each construct. In order for an evaluation of discriminant validity to be successful, AVE value of a variable should be higher than correlation of that variable with other variables. As shown in Table 3, the square root of AVE of each construct is higher than its correlation's value.

Structural Model: Model Fit and Hypothesis Testing
The reliability and validity test results for the criteria of the measurement model have been proved satisfactory. The goodness of fit indices of the theoretical framework were assessed using the structural model. The output of the structural equation modeling shows that the proposed theoretical framework represents a good data fit. As shown in Table 4, chi square (χ 2 ) equals 205.446, χ 2 /df equals 1.467, GFI equals 0.943, AGFI equals 0.922, RMSEA equals 0.037, NFI equals 0.943, RFI equals 0.930, IFI equals 0.981, TLI equals 0.977, CFI equals 0.981, PGFI equals 0.695, and PNFI equals 0.772. The observed root mean square error approximation (RMSEA) value equals 0.037, which justifies the criterion of <0.08. The other absolute fit indices (such as GFI, AGFI) were above the recommended criterion of 0.9. The incremental fit indices (such as NFI, RFI, IFI TLI, CFI) were also above the recommended criterion of 0.9. The parsimonious fit indices (such as PGFI, PNFI) were above the recommended criterion of 0.5. The goodness of fit indices are also provided in Table 4. Note: Goodness-of-fit index = GFI; adjusted goodness-of-fit index = AGFI; root mean square error of approximation = RMSEA; normalized fix index = NFI; relative fit index = RFI; incremental fit index = IFI; Tucker-Lewis index = TLI; comparative fit index = CFI; parsimonious goodness-of-fit index = PGFI; parsimonious normalized fit index = PNFI. Table 5 and Figure 3 detail the hypotheses testing regression results. The regression pathways of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control to collaboration intention were found to be significantly positive, which supports H1, H2 and H3. H4 is supported as collaboration intention was found to have a significantly positive influence on collaboration behavior. The new construct of 'shared religious beliefs' has a significantly positive effect on collaboration intention, a finding which supports H5. However, the regression results do not lend support to H6.  Table 5 and Figure 3 detail the hypotheses testing regression results. The regression pathways of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control to collaboration intention were found to be significantly positive, which support H1, H2 and H3. H4 is supported as collaboration intention was found to have a significantly positive influence on collaboration behavior. The new construct of 'shared religious beliefs' has a significantly positive effect on collaboration intention, a finding which supports H5. However, the regression results do not lend support to H6.

Discussion
In this study we introduce and test an extended TPB model, which focuses on attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, collaboration intention and collaboration behavior in the context of public participation in the collaboration of ICH inheritance in an ethnic minority area, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. We further incorporated what we consider to be another important construct, 'shared religious beliefs', into the TPB model in an effort to widen understanding of people's behavior towards collaboration in regard to ICH. The results above reveal that the constructs of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control significantly and positively influence the publicʹs collaboration intention, and that shared religious beliefs could also have a significantly positive influence upon the same.
The most intriguing findings of this study are as follows: first, the construct of attitude significantly and positively influences the public's collaboration intention. Among all the variables it is the strongest predictor of intention, which indicates that personal attitude is the most important

Discussion
In this study we introduced and tested an extended TPB model, which focused on attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, collaboration intention and collaboration behavior in the context of public participation in the collaboration of ICH inheritance in an ethnic minority area, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. We further incorporated what we consider to be another important construct, 'shared religious beliefs', into the TPB model in an effort to widen understanding of people's behavior towards collaboration in regard to ICH. The results above reveal that the constructs of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control significantly and positively influence the public's collaboration intention, and that shared religious beliefs could also have a significantly positive influence upon the same.
The most intriguing findings of this study are as follows: First, the construct of attitude significantly and positively influences the public's collaboration intention. Among all the variables it is the strongest predictor of intention, which indicates that personal attitude is the most important determinant of an individual's behavioral intention in the context of ICH inheritance in this specific location in China. This lends support to findings in some earlier studies, which reported that a positive collaboration attitude among residents towards participating in ICH preservation is conducive to the protection of ICH [4]. In the interviews, respondents believed that increasing personal income, the promotion of social status and the improved development of Regong art heritage sites were important factors influencing their attitude towards collaboration to ICH. This result supports previous findings, which pointed that inheritors' cognitions of the value of ICH, including economic value, social value, spiritual value, aesthetic value, historical value and symbolic value will affect their attitudes and behaviors [50]. The local people were stakeholders of ICH protection and inheritance, whose awareness level and expected benefits influenced the establishment of collaboration [51]. In addition, some respondents indicated that the resources of different stakeholders depended on each other, and resources can be complementary through collaboration. These resources refer to the various types of resources held by different people, such as capital, technology, reputation, etc. For example, some people benefited financially through collaboration, and some people's social status was improved through collaboration. Some studies have also confirmed that resource interdependence and reciprocity were important factors affecting stakeholder collaboration [52].
Second, the construct of subjective norm significantly and positively influences the public's collaboration intention. In particular, the attitude of relatives and friends is an important factor that affects their intention towards collaboration. If relatives and friends exhibit a supportive attitude, it means they can get more material support, spiritual support or intellectual support from them, which increases the possibility of their participation in ICH inheritance. The government's attitude towards collaboration regarding ICH is also an important factor which affects the public's intention towards collaboration, especially the government's support in terms of economic and political aspects. This result supports those of previous findings, which found that supportive attitude and policies of local governments have a positive effect on the community's participation in collaboration on the inheritance of ICH [27]. Government and community support play an important role in stakeholder collaboration in protecting ICH [53,54]. In other words, when the groups around an individual participate in the collaboration of ICH inheritance, his or her collaboration intention will also become stronger.
Third, perceived behavioral control has a significant positive influence on the willingness of the public to collaborate in ICH inheritance, but its influence is lower than that of attitude and subjective norm. This may be because attitude and subjective norm are the most important factors affecting individuals' decisions in the context of ethnic minority groups in China. If they decide to do something, they will create the conditions to do it, which renders restrictive factors ineffectual upon public collaboration intention. Especially in closed ethnic minority groups, people helping each other is the traditional local social custom, and so individuals within that group attach great importance to the views of relatives and friends. However, it is certain that when the public has more resources, time and money, they are more willing to participate in such collaboration. This finding has been confirmed in other fields, such as the prediction of plagiarism [55] and the prediction of drivers' speeding behavior [56].
Finally, the added construct of 'shared religious beliefs' appears to significantly and positively influence the public's collaboration intention, but might not significantly affect their collaboration action. Most people in the Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture are followers of Tibetan Buddhism. People with shared religious beliefs have a higher level of openness to each other, a higher level of mutual trust, and are more likely to collaborate with each other, as demonstrated in the findings of Anderson and Mellor [35] and Tan and Vogel [57]. There is a significant positive correlation between religious belief and trust [38], an important factor in collaboration [58], especially in the collaboration among stakeholders [59]. People with shared religious beliefs are more likely to collaborate with each other, especially in relatively closed areas. Regong art is a derivative of Tibetan Buddhism, and followers of that religion share both a common goal and creed: by collaborating to inherit and preserve these religious works of art, they are all doing things for the Buddha. Therefore, shared religious beliefs engenders a greater collaboration intention among the public. However, this factor does not appear to have a significant effect on the public's collaboration behavior. The reason for this may be that social contact with likeminded peers in the religious sense could lead to an increase in the public's collaboration intention, but producing collaboration behavior requires other resources such as adequate funding, and positive attitudes on collaboration among family and friends. Many ethnic minority groups in China can be distinguished by the religions they observe.

Conclusions and Recommendations
In this study we applied an extended TPB socio-psychological model to investigate the factors which might motivate public collaboration in ICH inheritance in the context of a minority area in Qinghai Province, China. Our findings show that our extended TPB model can be an effective tool for measuring the impacts of four constructs (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and shared religious beliefs) on collaboration intention and collaboration behavior. The new construct of shared religious beliefs had a significantly positive influence on collaboration intention among the questionnaire respondents. In addition, the interdependence of resources of different subjects, and the trust resulting from these subjects sharing the shared religious beliefs, can promote the appearance of collaboration intentions and behaviors. It is worth noting that public participation in ICH collaboration inheritance is actually a multi-stakeholder collaboration system. Meeting the interests of stakeholders contributes to their interaction and contributes to the sustainability of ICH.
First, attitude towards collaboration in relation to inheritance of ICH was found to be the most significant determinant of the public's collaboration intention, followed by subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Public attitudes depend on whether participation in collaboration can improve economic income and social status, and on the perceived benefits of inheriting ICH. Meeting the interests of stakeholders contributes to a higher level of stakeholder participation. Therefore, in order to promote public participation and collaboration in ICH preservation, the government should implement the necessary fiscal and monetary measures which can stimulate economic growth and increase income among local participants. In addition, relevant policies should be implemented to improve the social status of ICH practitioners; for example, the government may award the inheritor an honorary title in recognition of his contribution to the inheritance of ICH.
Second, the subjective norms of members of the public are mainly influenced by the attitudes of their relatives and friends, and on whether the government supports the conservation of ICH. In addition, perceived behavioral control depends on the individual's expectation of the degree of obstruction of something, as well as the resources and opportunities at his or her disposal. For example, when a person has more time, money, opportunities, etc., and the fewer obstacles to expectation, the more perceived behavioral control. Therefore, the government needs to provide both policy and economic support for ICH and the public's involvement in heritage projects, and seek to influence the public's attitude towards ICH-related collaboration via educational programs. At the same time, the government should interact with the public, for instance, to respect and listen to public opinions to enhance public pride and cultural awareness of ICH. The government should also reasonably distribute the benefits of ICH to protect the interests of participants.
Further, it was found that when people share the common religious beliefs, they harbor a stronger intention to participate in ICH-related collaboration. It is evident that a consensus in terms of religious belief does influence local residents' decision-making regarding collaboration. Such a consensus can also enhance the level of trust among members of the public, and promote the emergence of collaboration intention. The findings in our study should augment the understanding and knowledge of local governments about the public's intentions towards collaborating in ICH inheritance and preservation efforts. Therefore, the government needs to establish good relations with indigenous religious authorities and allow these religious authorities to guide the public towards ICH collaboration. In addition, governments can promote the willingness of the public to participate in ICH collaboration by using the trust generated by shared religious beliefs.
The study has certain limitations that should be addressed in the future studies. Firstly, the findings are based on self-reported behavior, instead of direct observations of actual behavior. In addition, further research should employ more detailed qualitative analysis and systematic studies.