2021 Volume 2021 Issue 1 Pages 37-48
This study explores the psychological determinants of the adoption of expensive energy-efficient facilities in households. Demographic factors, such as household yearly income and type of dwelling, have been considered the primary factors that account for the variance in adoption. However, this study demonstrates that psychological variables are more relevant than demographics to the adoption of expensive energy-saving facilities by employing a self-regulated stage model of behavioral change (SSBC; Bamberg, 2013a, b). The SSBC assumes an implementation intention between behavioral intention and behavior. We administered a web survey in Hokkaido, Japan (n = 312). A quota sampling method was used, and we obtained 312 valid responses. The results revealed that a) the implementation intention was the strongest predictor of adopting energy-saving facilities, b) behavioral intentions did not predict adoption directly but did so indirectly through the mediation of implementation intentions, and c) demographic factors such as type of dwelling and presence of homemakers also predicted the adoption of energy-saving facilities, while household yearly income had no effect. These results suggest that the SSBC model, which was initially developed for habit change, is applicable to and useful for adopting expensive energy-saving facilities.
