Sustainable Energy Consumption in Developing Country: History
View Latest Version
Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Contributor:
Md. Nekmahmud
,
Maria Fekete-Farkas

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.

  • environmental marketing
  • sustainable energy consumption
  • purchase intention
  • purchase behavior
  • Green marketing
  • energy-efficient products

1. Introduction

Climate change is one of the major environmental concerns on the planet, broadly discussed in international forums and conferences. In the 1990s, ozone layer depletion and global warming increased the desire for green product consumption [1][2].
As a result, environmentally-friendly products are demanded by consumers as a new segment to protect against climate change [3]. One of the most important initiatives to combat climate change is to reduce energy consumption [4][5][6][7][8]. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), current global warming results from human activities, mainly consumption patterns [9]. As a result, governments worldwide have highlighted the need for citizens to take responsibility for their local ecosystems. Human responsibilities include recycling [10][11], using energy-efficient items, purchasing green label products, and lowering electricity usage [12].
During the last few decades, electricity consumption has grown rapidly, mainly in the residential and service sectors. This rapid electricity consumption has led to increasing CO2 emissions and ultimately impacts global warming [4][13]. Increasingly, household appliances are the primary source of energy consumption and CO2 emissions. According to the International Energy Agency IEA (2017), the residential sector consumed approximately 21% of total global energy consumption in 2017. Consumer demand for energy will increase 32% by 2040 due to the growth of the worldwide population, with most of that demand coming from China, India, ASEAN, and the Middle East [14]. Energy efficiency can be improved significantly by accelerating the diffusion of energy-efficient appliances. In turn, lower fossil fuel use and fewer greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved [15]. The installation of energy-efficient appliances (EEAs) plays a significant role in reducing household energy consumption [4].
Moreover, consumers who engage in pro-environmental behavior (PEB) have a lower negative impact on the environment [1][16]. Pro-environmental consumer behavior research is conducted in developed markets but is still in its early stages in several emerging markets, including Asia. Energy conservation is therefore essential for developing countries to ensure a sustainable future.
Thus, household consumers must play an important role in energy conservation by using energy-efficient appliances (EEAs) [2][17]. Previously, several developed and developing countries explored the influencing factors of consumer purchase intention of energy-efficient appliances, such as India [18], Pakistan [2][19], South Africa [20], and China [21]. A study investigated the barriers to purchasing intentions of energy-efficient appliances in India. However, researchers focus on the fast-growing, developing country of Bangladesh. The major hurdle in Bangladesh is maintaining economic development after assuring commercial and residential energy for its people, who predominantly rely on fossil fuels [22]. Bangladesh has managed the energy sector poorly [23] and contributes very little to emitting greenhouse gas globally. Bangladesh’s energy sector faces several challenges, including extreme system losses and a lack of infrastructure for installing new power plants quickly. This infrastructural development causes a big gap between energy supply and demand. Therefore, adapting consumer pro-environmental behavior to energy-efficient appliances is mandatory to solve the problems.
However, the previous empirical study extended current theories of green marketing by adding new variables that can be considered significant in behavioral and marketing research [24]. Regarding green products, scholars modify models of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) [9][25][26]. Recent studies have used the theory of consumption value (TCV) [27], integration of the theory of planned behavior [4] and technology readiness index [27], the theory of reasoned action (TRA), and the technology acceptance model (TAM) [28] on electronic products. Similarly, several studies applied TPB theories to predict consumer purchase intention of energy-efficient appliances in different countries, e.g., India, Pakistan, and South Africa [2][18][19][20]. Researchers applied the extension of TPB with added moral norms and environmental concern variables better to understand consumers’ purchase behavior toward energy-efficient appliances. The TPB is considered the best theory to measure consumer pro-environmental behavior since it considers behavioral intention [29].

2. Sustainable Energy Consumption and Energy-Efficient Appliances (EEAs)

Sustainability of energy consumption is defined as reducing energy consumption and increasing energy efficiency [30]. Sustainable energy consumption involves purchasing energy-efficient products that reduce energy consumption and cost and enhance energy efficiency [31]. The use of energy-efficient household appliances (EEHA) involves utilizing sustainable energy sources within the home, as well as preventing energy waste more generally. Energy-saving appliances facilitate the development of low-carbon economies by saving energy resources [32][33][34]. A household can generate significant levels of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions through the consumption of energy, goods, and services [35][36]. Purchasing energy-efficient products with less environmental impact are considered sustainable or green consumption [1][6][31][37]. Consumer energy-efficient products include:
  • hybrid electric vehicles
  • air-conditioning appliances, e.g., heaters, fans, humidifiers
  • white goods (major household electrical appliances such as air conditioners, refrigeration, washing machines, and so on
  • brown goods (household electrical entertainment appliances such as televisions, CD players)
  • small appliances (kitchen appliances such as ovens, electric kettles, bread makers)
  • computers and servers

3. Theory of Planned Behavior

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used to predict purchase intentions for energy-efficient household appliances (EEHA) as the underpinning theory and added two context-wise variables, moral norms, and environmental concern, based on the massive literature review. TPB theory was developed as an extension of the reasoned theory of action (TRA), one of the most influential social psychology theories for predicting behavior [38]. According to the TPB framework, the behavior of individuals can be explained by determining behavioral intents, subjective norms, and perceptions of behavioral control [38][39][40]. The TPB is considered the best theory to measure consumer pro-environmental behavior since it considers behavioral intention [29]. Previous scholars applied the TPB to support their model and measure pro-environmental behaviors in particular products such as electricity savings behavior [41], energy savings behavior [42], and energy-efficient appliances [43]. Table 1 presents the previous ten years (2012–2022) of research on consumer purchase behavior of energy-efficient appliances in different counties, whereas several researchers have employed the TPB to examine whether consumers intend to practice environmentally friendly behavior, e.g., [44][45][46][47]. Previous studies attempted to improve the explanatory power of the TPB by adding additional constructs such as environmental concern, moral obligation [45], moral norms [44][46][48], energy knowledge, energy information, living habits, and demographic variables [42].
Table 1. Previous ten years of research on consumer purchase behavior of energy-efficient appliances (EEAs).
Country Context and Valid Samples Study Focus Applying Theory Methods Factors with Significant Direct Factors with Insignificant Effect Years (Authors)
Bangladesh
(1510)		 measuring pro-environmental behavior for energy-efficient appliances (EEAs) TRA and TPB SEM environmental knowledge, eco-label knowledge, attitude, and green trust→PEB   2022 [31]
Pakistan
(240)		 predicting young consumer
purchase behavior of EEAs		 TPB SEM attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control→P.I.   2022 [49]
Pakistan
(50)		 antecedents of consumers’ purchase intention towards EEAs TPB SEM attitude, consumer social responsibility, functional value, knowledge of eco-labels, functional value, green trust→P.I. personal norms→P.I. 2022 [50]
Pakistan
(673)		 investigating consumers’ intentions in Pakistan to purchase EEAs TPB SEM attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control→P.I.   2021 [51]
Pakistan
(289)		 determinants of consumers’ intentions towards the purchase
of EEAs		 TPB SEM attitude, perceived behavioral control, policyinformation campaigns, and past-purchase experiences→P.I. subjective and moral norms→P.I. 2021 [52]
Pakistan
(50)		 evaluating consumers’ purchase intention of EEAs TPB CB-SEM knowledge of eco-labels, environmental concern, attitude, and consumer effectiveness-P.I.   2020 [53]
Pakistan
(446)		 developing a theoretical framework of consumers’ purchase intention of EEAs TPB SEM knowledge of eco-labels, environmental concern, and perceived consumer effectiveness→P.I. green trust and functional value→P.I. 2020 [54]
Pakistan
(446)		 evaluating the antecedents of consumers’ purchase
intention of EEAs		 TPB SEM attitude, functional value, environmental concern, perceived effectiveness, age, income, gender, education→P.I.   2020 [54]
Pakistan
(472)		 predicting the antecedents of consumers’ purchase intention of EEAs TPB SEM subjective norms, green trust, attitude, perceived behavior control, demographic profile→P.I.   2020 [2]
South Africa
(298)		 identifying the influencing factors on purchase of EEAs TPB SEM attitude, perceived behavior control, moral norms, environmental
concern, perceived benefits, informational publicity→P.I.		 subjective norms→P.I. 2020 [20]
China(369) exploring the influencing
factors of Chinese consumers’ purchase of EEAs		 NAM and TPB SEM personal norm, subjective norm and attitude→P.I.   2019 [21]
South Africa
(440)		 identifying the key drivers of consumers’ attention to energy-efficiency labels affixed to EEAs Signaling theory and
attitude-to-behavior theory		 SEM environmental concern, environmental attitude, social norms and product quality→P.I. product price, environmental knowledge→P.I. 2018 [55]
India
(300)		 identifying the barriers topurchase intentions of EEAs     societal norms, price sensitivity, perceived product risk, skepticism about label claims, perceived personal inconvenience→P.I.   2018 [18]
Vietnam
(682)		 Measuring the EEAs in emerging markets VKAB SEM attitude, environmental protection and individual inconvenience→P.I.   2016 [56]
As a result, researchers added moral norms and environmental concerns as the extension of the classic TPB model. To improve the TPB’s predictive ability, it is suggested that moral issues should be considered in consumers’ pro-environmental behavioral research [39]. Similarly, it has been noted that moral dimensions should be contained in a model for predicting consumers’ conservation behavior in pro-environmental contexts [48]. Moral norms are a crucial factor in the developing country context. Thus, using additional variables such as environmental concern and moral norms, this study improves the model by examining consumer intentions in developing countries to purchase energy-efficient household appliances. Figure 1 shows the extension model of TPB.
Figure 1. extended model of TPB for measuring consumer purchase intention of energy-efficient appliances (EEAs).

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/en15134600

References

  1. Nekmahmud, M.; Fekete-Farkas, M. Why not green marketing? Determinates of consumers’ intention to green purchase decision in a new developing nation. Sustainability 2020, 12, 7880.
  2. Waris, I.; Ahmed, W. Empirical evaluation of the antecedents of energy-efficient home appliances: Application of extended theory of planned behavior. Manag. Environ. Qual. Int. J. 2020, 31, 915–930.
  3. Amberg, N.; Fogarassy, C. Green consumer behavior in the cosmetics market. Resources 2019, 8, 137.
  4. Tan, C.S.; Ooi, H.Y.; Goh, Y.N. A moral extension of the theory of planned behavior to predict consumers’ purchase intention for energy-efficient household appliances in Malaysia. Energy Policy 2017, 107, 459–471.
  5. Li, G.; Li, W.; Jin, Z.; Wang, Z. Influence of Environmental Concern and Knowledge on Households’ Willingness to Purchase Energy-Efficient Appliances: A Case Study in Shanxi, China. Sustainability 2019, 11, 1073.
  6. Nekmahmud, M.; Ramkissoon, H.; Fekete-farkas, M. Green Purchase and Sustainable Consumption: A Comparative Study between European and Non-European Tourists. Tour. Manag. Perspect. 2022, 43, 100980.
  7. Valenzuela, E.; Campbell, H.; Montero, G.; Coronado, M.A.; Lambert-Arista, A.A.; Perez-Tello, C.; Ramos-Sanchez, V.H. Evaluation of home energy efficiency improvements in a hot desert climate in northwestern mexico: The energy saving vs. money saving conflict. Energies 2021, 14, 7909.
  8. Pelau, C.; Acatrinei, C. The paradox of energy consumption decrease in the transition period towards a digital society. Energies 2019, 12, 1428.
  9. Taufique, K.M.R.; Vaithianathan, S. A fresh look at understanding Green consumer behavior among young urban Indian consumers through the lens of Theory of Planned Behavior. J. Clean. Prod. 2018, 183, 46–55.
  10. Hasan, M.M.; Nekmahmud, M.; Yajuan, L.; Patwary, M.A. Green business value chain: A systematic review. Sustain. Prod. Consum. 2019, 20, 326–339.
  11. Nekmahmud, M.; Rahman, S.; Sobhani, F.A.; Olejniczak-Szuster, K.; Fekete-Farkas, M. A systematic literature review on development of green supply chain management. Polish J. Manag. Stud. 2020, 22, 351–370.
  12. Li, Y.; Siddik, A.B.; Masukujjaman, M.; Wei, X. Bridging Green Gaps: The Buying Intention of Energy Efficient Home Appliances and Moderation of Green Self-Identity. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 9878.
  13. Gaspar, R.; Antunes, D. Energy efficiency and appliance purchases in Europe: Consumer profiles and choice determinants. Energy Policy 2011, 39, 7335–7346.
  14. International Energy Agency. World Energy Outlook 2017; International Energy Agency: Paris, France, 2017.
  15. Mills, B.; Schleich, J. Residential energy-efficient technology adoption, energy conservation, knowledge, and attitudes: An analysis of European countries. Energy Policy 2012, 49, 616–628.
  16. Kollmuss, A.; Agyeman, J. Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? Environ. Educ. Res. 2002, 8, 239–260.
  17. Zhou, K.; Yang, S. Understanding household energy consumption behavior: The contribution of energy big data analytics. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2016, 56, 810–819.
  18. Joshi, G.Y.; Sheorey, P.A.; Gandhi, A.V. Analyzing the barriers to purchase intentions of energy efficient appliances from consumer perspective. Benchmarking 2019, 26, 1565–1580.
  19. Waris, I.; Hameed, I. An empirical study of consumers intention to purchase energy efficient appliances. Soc. Responsib. J. 2020, 17, 489–507.
  20. Fatoki, O. Factors influencing the purchase of energy-efficient appliances by young consumers in South Africa. Found. Manag. 2020, 12, 151–166.
  21. Wang, Z.; Sun, Q.; Wang, B.; Zhang, B. Purchasing intentions of Chinese consumers on energy-efficient appliances: Is the energy efficiency label effective? J. Clean. Prod. 2019, 238, 117896.
  22. Zhang, G.; Nuruzzaman, M.; Su, B. Nexus between household energy consumption and economic growth in Bangladesh (1975–2018). Energy Policy 2021, 156, 112420.
  23. Ahmed, F.; Al Amin, A.Q.; Hasanuzzaman, M.; Saidur, R. Alternative energy resources in Bangladesh and future prospect. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2013, 25, 698–707.
  24. Khan, F.; Ahmed, W.; Najmi, A. Understanding consumers’ behavior intentions towards dealing with the plastic waste: Perspective of a developing country. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2019, 142, 49–58.
  25. Paul, J.; Modi, A.; Patel, J. Predicting green product consumption using theory of planned behavior and reasoned action. J. Retail. Consum. Serv. 2016, 29, 123–134.
  26. Nekmahmud, M. Environmental Marketing: Tourists Purchase Behavior Response On Green Products. Tourism Marketing in Bangladesh: An Introduction; Hassan, A., Ed.; Routledge: London, UK, 2020.
  27. Ali, S.; Ullah, H.; Akbar, M.; Akhtar, W.; Zahid, H. Determinants of consumer intentions to purchase energy-saving household products in Pakistan. Sustainability 2019, 11, 1462.
  28. Yang, H.; Zhou, L. Extending TPB and TAM to mobile viral marketing: An exploratory study on American young consumers mobile viral marketing attitude, intent and behavior. J. Target. Meas. Anal. Mark. 2011, 19, 85–98.
  29. Chan, K. Mass communication and pro environmental behaviour: Waste recycling in Hong Kong. J. Environ. Manag. 1998, 52, 317–325.
  30. Owen, A.; Garniati, G. The Politics of Investing in Sustainable Energy Systems. In Storing Energy; Elsevier: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2016.
  31. Hossain, I.; Nekmahmud, M.; Fekete-farkas, M. How Do Environmental Knowledge, Eco-Label Knowledge, and Green Trust Impact Consumers’ Pro-Environmental Behaviour for Energy-Efficient Household Appliances ? Sustainability 2022, 14, 6513.
  32. Zhou, Q.; Cui, X.; Ni, H.; Gong, L. The impact of environmental regulation policy on firms’ energy-saving behavior: A quasi-natural experiment based on China’ s low-carbon pilot city policy. Resour. Policy 2022, 76, 102538.
  33. Hou, J.; Zhang, P.; Tian, Y.; Yuan, X.; Yang, Y. Developing low-carbon economy: Actions, challenges and solutions for energy savings in China. Renew. Energy 2020, 36, 3037–3042.
  34. Zhao, S.; Duan, W.; Zhao, D.; Song, Q. Identifying the influence factors of residents’ low-carbon behavior under the background of “Carbon Neutrality”: An empirical study of Qingdao city, China. Energy Rep. 2022, 8, 6876–6886.
  35. Bin, S.; Dowlatabadi, H. Consumer lifestyle approach to US energy use and the related CO2 emissions. Energy Policy 2005, 33, 197–208.
  36. Baiocchi, G.; Minx, J.; Hubacek, K. The Impact of Social Factors and Consumer Behavior on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the United Kingdom A Regression Based on Input—Output and Geodemographic Consumer. J. Ind. Ecol. 2010, 14, 50–72.
  37. Barr, S.; Gilg, A.W.; Ford, N. The household energy gap: Examining the divide between habitual- and purchase-related conservation behaviours. Energy Policy 2005, 33, 1425–1444.
  38. Ajzen, I.; Fishbein, M. Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. Psychol. Bull. 1977, 84, 888–918.
  39. Ajzen, I. The theory of planned behavior. Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process. 1991, 50, 179–211.
  40. Ajzen, I. From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In Action Control; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 1985.
  41. Wang, Z.; Zhang, B.; Yin, J.; Zhang, Y. Determinants and policy implications for household electricity-saving behaviour: Evidence from Beijing, China. Energy Policy 2011, 39, 3550–3557.
  42. Wang, Z.; Zhang, B.; Li, G. Determinants of energy-saving behavioral intention among residents in Beijing: Extending the theory of planned behavior. J. Renew. Sustain. Energy 2014, 6, 053127.
  43. Wang, Z.; Wang, X.; Guo, D. Policy implications of the purchasing intentions towards energy-efficient appliances among China’s urban residents: Do subsidies work? Energy Policy 2017, 102, 430–439.
  44. Chan, L.; Bishop, B. A moral basis for recycling: Extending the theory of planned behaviour. J. Environ. Psychol. 2013, 36, 96–102.
  45. Chen, M.F.; Tung, P.J. Developing an extended Theory of Planned Behavior model to predict consumers’ intention to visit green hotels. Int. J. Hosp. Manag. 2014, 36, 221–230.
  46. López-Mosquera, N.; García, T.; Barrena, R. An extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior to predict willingness to pay for the conservation of an urban park. J. Environ. Manag. 2014, 135, 91–99.
  47. Alam, S.S.; Nik Hashim, N.H.; Rashid, M.; Omar, N.A.; Ahsan, N.; Ismail, M.D. Small-scale households renewable energy usage intention: Theoretical development and empirical settings. Renew. Energy 2014, 68, 255–263.
  48. Kaiser, F.G. A moral extension of the theory of planned behavior: Norms and anticipated feelings of regret in conservationism. Personal. Individ. Differ. 2006, 41, 71–81.
  49. Bhutto, M.Y.; Soomro, Y.A.; Yang, H. Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior: Predicting Young Consumer Purchase Behavior of Energy-Efficient Appliances (Evidence From Developing Economy). SAGE Open 2022, 12, 21582440221078289.
  50. Jamil, K.; Dunnan, L.; Awan, F.H.; Jabeen, G.; Gul, R.F.; Idrees, M.; Mingguang, L. Antecedents of Consumer’s Purchase Intention Towards Energy-Efficient Home Appliances: An Agenda of Energy Efficiency in the Post COVID-19 Era. Front. Energy Res. 2022, 10, 262.
  51. Bhutto, M.Y.; Liu, X.; Soomro, Y.A.; Ertz, M.; Baeshen, Y. Adoption of energy—Efficient home appliances: Extending the theory of planned behavior. Sustainability 2021, 13, 250.
  52. Ali, M.R.; Shafiq, M.; Andejany, M. Determinants of consumers’ intentions towards the purchase of energy efficient appliances in pakistan: An extended model of the theory of planned behavior. Sustainability 2021, 13, 565.
  53. Waris, I.; Hameed, I. Promoting environmentally sustainable consumption behavior: An empirical evaluation of purchase intention of energy-efficient appliances. Energy Effic. 2020, 13, 1653–1664.
  54. Waris, I.; Hameed, I. An empirical study of purchase intention of energy-efficient home appliances: The influence of knowledge of eco-labels and psychographic variables. Int. J. Energy Sect. Manag. 2020, 14, 1297–1314.
  55. Issock Issock, P.B.; Mpinganjira, M.; Roberts-Lombard, M. Drivers of consumer attention to mandatory energy-efficiency labels affixed to home appliances: An emerging market perspective. J. Clean. Prod. 2018, 204, 672–684.
  56. Nguyen, T.N.; Lobo, A.; Greenland, S. Energy efficient household appliances in emerging markets: The influence of consumers’ values and knowledge on their attitudes and purchase behaviour. Int. J. Consum. Stud. 2017, 41, 167–177.
More
© Text is available under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
This entry is offline, you can click here to edit this entry!
ScholarVision Creations
Feedback