Behaviour Design Guide: Taking Aim at Motivation

Unlocking Motivation & Effective Behaviour Design

Your go-to guide for turning behavioural insight into marketing that moves audiences to act and drives measurable business value. Presented by Sparks EMEA at Future Pharma Europe 2026 in Amsterdam, where we hosted a workshop on what motivates HCPs to act.

Unlocking Motivation & Effective Behaviour Design

Your go-to guide for turning behavioural insight into marketing that moves audiences to act and drives measurable business value. Presented by Sparks EMEA at Future Pharma Europe 2026 in Amsterdam, where we hosted a workshop on what motivates HCPs to act.

COM-B TOOLKIT

3 steps for behavioural change

COM-B is a behaviour change model from Susan Michie, Maartje van Stralen and Robert West (2011). Its claim is simple: for any behaviour (B) to happen, people need three things, Capability, Opportunity and Motivation. In order to change Behaviour we need to find the point of resistance (the barrier) to change. This is what you really need to focus on to get the desired behavior.

01. Capability. Can they do it?

• Physical: the skills and physical ability.
• Psychological: the knowledge, understanding and mental skills.

02. Opportunity. Does the world let them?

Physical: time, cost, access and resources.
Social: norms, peer influence and social cues.

03. Motivation. Do they want to?

Reflective: conscious beliefs, intentions, evaluations and plans.
Automatic: habits, emotions, impulses and drives.