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

Abstract

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.

Factors predicting pro-environmental behavior: the case of baby diapers

“…Regarding the significance of subjective norms toward PEBI, our findings contradict earlier studies (Çoker and van der Linden, 2022; Hossain et al , 2022). One possible explanation for the insignificance of the norms effect is that consumers lack knowledge (Pendry et al , 2012) to inform and share with others about non-DBD options.…”

“…In addition to motivation, subjective norms are a significant element in the prediction of PEBI (Hossain et al , 2022). This term refers to the perspective of others that is regarded as relevant to an individual, whose decisions are influenced by these opinions (Ajzen, 1991).…”

How to motivate employees towards organizational energy conservation: Insights based on employees perceptions and an IoT-enabled gamified IS intervention

“…Multiple studies on conservation behaviors have accordingly recently applied the TPB in both organizational and domestic settings [ 37 ]. In most studies, subjective norm has been found to be the parameter that mostly affects intention to act pro-environmentally [ 38 , 40 ] and to conserve energy [ 54 ] in the TPB model. However, in other studies subjective norm had no direct effect on pro-environmental behavioral intentions [ 41 ].…”

“…However, in other studies subjective norm had no direct effect on pro-environmental behavioral intentions [ 41 ]. Attitude and perceived behavioral control has had a direct influence on pro-environmental behavioral intentions which encourage active engagement in pro-environmental behaviors [ 40 , 41 ]. Perceived behavioral control has also had a significant effect on energy conservation intentions of students with physical impairments but not a direct effect on their behaviors, while attitude had the lowest power to predict intentions to perform energy-saving behaviors [ 54 ].…”

“…Refs. [ 15 , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] ]), to our knowledge there is a lack of a study that assesses these three theories together towards explaining energy conservation, and especially in the context of the workplace. However, the motivation behind this study was not just theoretical; we also aimed to realize more about the employees' behavioral and motivational drivers to better interpret the effect of gamified feedback interventions on employees' motivation and energy usage behavior.…”