An empirical study of purchase intention of energy-efficient home appliances: the influence of knowledge of eco-labels and psychographic variables

Do environmental knowledge and green trust matter for purchase intention of eco-friendly home appliances? An application of extended theory of planned behavior

This study aims to identify the determinants of consumers' intentions to buy eco-friendly appliances for their households. This research scrutinizes the linkage between environmental knowledge (EK), consumer attitude (CAT), green trust (GT), and purchase intention (PI) in an emerging economy's context. This study analyzes survey data from 331 Pakistani consumers using energy-efficient household products. SEM is employed to assess the formulated hypotheses. Empirical findings suggest that EK positively and significantly influences CAT and green trust. Similarly, CAT has a negative and insignificant influence on PI. In contrast, green trust is significantly and positively related to PIs. The research outcomes further disclose that perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) and perceived behavioral control (PBC) positively influence PI. The study extends the B2B sales literature and suggests future directions for academics and practitioners.

Investigation of urban versus rural energy and water conservation behavior in Prishtina, Kosovo

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyze the determinants of intention for energy and water conservation behavior in Prishtina, Kosovo by using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) conceptual framework and then examine the influence of intention and demographic factors on the conservation behavior itself. In addition, the present study examines the differences between urban and rural consumers in Prishtina in terms of their intention for energy and water conservation behaviors and their actual conservation behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a qualitative approach by conducting ten in-depth interviews followed by one focus group with urban consumers and ten in-depth interviews followed by one focus group with rural consumers in Prishtina to analyze the influence of determinants on the conservation intention. In addition, the present study uses the quantitative research method to empirically examine the influence of intention and demographic variables on the actual conservation behavior.

Findings

The findings show that there is a difference between the urban and rural sample populations in Prishtina in terms of determinants that influence their intention to conserve energy and water. While attitude is the strongest determinant among the urban population, the social norms seem to be the strongest antecedent of the behavioral intention among the rural population. In addition, the study finds that the intention, income, family size and place of residence as a whole influence the actual behavior; however, the manifestation of the influence of separate variables on the actual conservation varies between urban and rural population. While intention is very strong among urban respondents and the actual conservation behavior is less dependent on the income level and family size, in the case of rural respondents, intention alone is not sufficient to predict the actual behavior and varies also on the income level.

Originality/value

The study brings unique and new knowledge about the application of the TPB in the context of small and developing economies bridging the research gaps arising from few scholarly research studying the differences between urban and rural populations.

Purchase Behavior of Energy-Efficient Appliances Contribute to Sustainable Energy Consumption in Developing Country: Moral Norms Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Since energy consumption in developing countries has increased significantly, motivating energy-saving habits among citizens is an important issue both from the academic and industrial perspectives. Thus, this study aims to predict consumer purchase intention for energy-efficient household appliances based on an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). This study incorporated two additional constructs of moral norms and environmental concern in the model of the TPB. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 1155 Bangladeshi consumers, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) regression was used to test the hypotheses. Results show that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control significantly influence consumer purchase intention of energy-efficient appliances (EEAs). This study also proved that the extension of moral norms is a significant predictor of consumers’ purchase intention in the classic theory of planned behavior (TPB). However, environmental concerns had no significant influence in the Bangladesh context. As far as the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical survey in Bangladesh to predict energy-efficient household appliance (EEHA) purchasing intentions using an extended model of the TPB. Marketers and policymakers can use the findings of this study to design strategies for generating more value for green consumers. The study also provides insights into environmental marketing and sustainable energy consumption in developing countries from theoretical and practical perspectives.

Purchase intention of Indian customers: a study on solar PV technology

Purpose

With the growing acceptance of renewable energy sources in the world, new energy sources are pursued and investigated by customers. In India, residential PV technology is in an early stage of development and very less in demand among households. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the major variables and its impact on customers purchase intention towards solar PV technology, especially in the context of central India.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on literature reviews, this study identifies six major independent variables having a relationship with purchase intentions. Using convenience sampling method, 413 customers’ data has been collected by the researcher and was investigated through structural equation modelling, using SmartPLS 2.0 and SPSS-20 software.

Findings

The study findings suggested that the construct promotional strategies, societal influence, customer awareness and government initiative plays an important role in generating customers purchase intention towards solar PV technology. While the constructs environmental concern and availability & cost having relationship, showed insignificant influence.

Research limitations/implications

The study outcomes provide some valuable insights to the government and policymakers in designing their policies and strategies to increase customer involvement in solar PV technology. This study suggested that the service providers need to offer more benefits in the form of subsidies and schemes that motivate customers to willingly show their purchase intention.

Originality/value

The major contribution of this study is the empirical analysis of six independent variables, which affects the customer purchase intentions towards solar PV technology over available conventional energy sources in an emerging Indian market.

An Innovative Approach to Energy Consumer Segmentation—A Behavioural Perspective. The Case of the Eco-Bot Project

Energy consumption impacts the environment, humans’ well-being, comfort and quality of life. The article aimed to develop the original model of energy consumer segmentation, based on behavioural variables, which influence consumer decisions and motivations regardless of demographic, geographic and socio-cultural differences. The innovative contribution is the segmentation procedure, which fills the existing research gap and can be treated as a universal tool serving various groups of stakeholders for creating and implementing sustainable development policies. The methodology used for the segmentation is based on the original algorithm and involves classifying a consumer into the most appropriate group based on the measurement of the distance between the ideal class representative and a particular respondent. Several distance measures (e.g., Sokal–Michener, Goodall, Lin) were used, while the similarity of those classifications was verified using the adjusted Rand index. The segmentation involved adopting—a priori—five basic classes of consumers, varying in terms of motivation to save energy. The validation performed on a sample of 1606 respondents, carried out as part of the eco-bot project, verified both the classification approach adopted in the study and the accuracy of the assumptions. The application of the distance measures chosen for the study allowed for the assignment of 96.1% of the respondents to the appropriate classes, which yielded the following distribution: EI (33.9% of the respondents); DS (33.1%), AE (17.2%), O (7%) and I (4.9%).

Adoption of Energy-Efficient Home Appliances: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior

This research applies an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) to empirically investigate consumers’ intentions in Pakistan to purchase energy-efficient appliances (EEAs). Most developing countries face energy crises. As a result, many countries consider EEAs to be part of the solution to energy-related problems and teach sustainable consumption behavior to consumers. Previous studies have neglected developing countries in this context, yet developing markets have great potential for EEA adoption. To understand EEA adoption, we incorporated such variables as warm glow benefits, utilitarian environmental benefits, normative beliefs, and moral obligations as antecedents to TPB variables. The moderating effect of eco-literacy between attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and purchase intention toward EEAs are also examined. Data was gathered through a survey questionnaire from 673 Pakistani consumers to empirically test the proposed hypotheses. The results reveal that utilitarian environmental benefits and warm glow benefits significantly influence attitudes toward EEAs. The findings also show a positive effect of normative beliefs on subjective norms. The interaction effect of eco-literacy positively influences the relationship between attitude and purchase intention, with similar results for subjective norms and purchase intention. However, no significant moderating effect of eco-literacy is found between PBC and purchase intention. Furthermore, we performed multi-group analysis to explore significant group differences by utilizing socio-demographic variables such as gender, age, education, and income. The results show significant group differences, with females’ purchasing behavior, younger consumers, and educated consumers being more readily influenced. Finally, insights for policymakers, suggestions and future directions are discussed.