Factors Driving Consumer Involvement in Energy Consumption and Energy-Efficient Purchasing Behavior: Evidence from Korean Residential Buildings

Soyoung Yoo, Jiyong Eom and Ingoo Han
Additional contact information
Soyoung Yoo: College of Business, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 85 Hoegiro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02455, Korea
Jiyong Eom: College of Business, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 85 Hoegiro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02455, Korea
Ingoo Han: College of Business, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 85 Hoegiro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02455, Korea

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-23

Abstract: The recent rapid transition in energy markets and technological advances in demand-side interventions has renewed attention on consumer behavior. A rich literature on potential factors affecting residential energy use or green technology adoption has highlighted the need to better understand the fundamental causes of consumer heterogeneity in buildings’ energy-related behavior. Unresolved questions such as which consumers are most likely to opt into demand-side management programs and what factors might explain the wide variation in behavioral responses to such programs make it difficult for policy-makers to develop cost-effective energy efficiency or demand response programs for residential buildings. This study extends the literature on involvement theory and energy-related behavior by proposing a holistic construct of household energy involvement (HEI) to represent consumers’ personal level of interest in energy services. Based on a survey of 5487 Korean households, it finds that HEI has a stronger association with consumer values, such as preferences for indoor thermal comfort and automation, than with socioeconomic or housing characteristics and demonstrates HEI’s potential as a reliable, integrated predictor of both energy consumption and energy-efficient purchases. The study illuminates the multifaceted influences that shape energy-related behavior in residential buildings and offers new tools to help utility regulators identify and profile viable market segments, improve the cost-effectiveness of their programs, and eventually promote urban sustainability.

Keywords: residential energy consumption; household energy involvement; buildings’ energy efficiency; sustainability assessment; market segmentation; purchasing behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5573/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5573/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:14:p:5573-:d:382868

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().