IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v340y2023ics0306261923003951.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can social impacts promote residents’ pro-environmental intentions and behaviour: Evidence from large-scale demand response experiment in China

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Bo
  • Yang, Zihan
  • Le Hoa Pham, Thi
  • Deng, Nana
  • Du, Heran

Abstract

Energy demand-side management is crucial for deep decarbonization. Consumers’ behavioral intentions and real pro-environmental behaviour have been widely discussed separately. However, few studies assessed the intention-behaviour gap and limited empirical evidence has been provided on how to promote the intention-behaviour on residential electricity demand response (DR) project. Here, we identified four intention-behaviour relationship by k-means cluster and analyzed the impacts of normative social influence and peer influence on the intention and behaviour based on large scale incentive-based DR experiment and matching questionnaires data in China. We found that the intention-behaviour gap exists in 77.94% respondents, only 16.09% respondents belong to inclined actors who has both high intention and high electricity savings behaviour. Peer influence and normative social influence can significantly increase intention to participate the DR project and energy-saving behaviour during peak hours, and the impact is larger for respondents with high family endowments and educational level. Specifically, 30.6% of the electricity saving behaviour has been explained directly by the peer influence, while normative social influence electricity saving behaviour through behavioural intention. Besides these, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions also play an important role in promoting the intention and electricity-saving behaviour. Our study further provides feasible solutions to facilitate the residential DR for policymakers.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Bo & Yang, Zihan & Le Hoa Pham, Thi & Deng, Nana & Du, Heran, 2023. "Can social impacts promote residents’ pro-environmental intentions and behaviour: Evidence from large-scale demand response experiment in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:340:y:2023:i:c:s0306261923003951
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121031
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261923003951
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121031?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xu, Zeshui & Ge, Zijing & Wang, Xinxin & Skare, Marinko, 2021. "Bibliometric analysis of technology adoption literature published from 1997 to 2020," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    2. Daniel L. Chen & Martin Schonger, 2022. "Social preferences or sacred values? Theory and evidence of deontological motivations," Post-Print hal-03894046, HAL.
    3. Choi, Sunghee & Hwang, Seok-Joon & Denzau, Arthur T., 2021. "Do households conserve electricity when they receive signals of greater consumption than neighbours? The Korean case," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    4. Chen, Chien-fei & Li, Jiaxin & Shuai, Jing & Nelson, Hannah & Walzem, Allen & Cheng, Jinhua, 2021. "Linking social-psychological factors with policy expectation: Using local voices to understand solar PV poverty alleviation in Wuhan, China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    5. Curtius, Hans Christoph & Hille, Stefanie Lena & Berger, Christian & Hahnel, Ulf Joachim Jonas & Wüstenhagen, Rolf, 2018. "Shotgun or snowball approach? Accelerating the diffusion of rooftop solar photovoltaics through peer effects and social norms," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 596-602.
    6. Tao, Yujie & Duan, Maosheng & Deng, Zhe, 2021. "Using an extended theory of planned behaviour to explain willingness towards voluntary carbon offsetting among Chinese consumers," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    7. Tom Hargreaves & Lucie Middlemiss, 2020. "The importance of social relations in shaping energy demand," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 5(3), pages 195-201, March.
    8. Kuai, Peng & Zhang, Xiaoxiao & Zhang, Shuan & Li, Jing, 2022. "Environmental awareness and household energy saving of Chinese residents: Unity of knowing and doing or easier said than done?," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    9. Zhao, Xingrong & Ma, Ye & Shao, Shuai & Ma, Tieju, 2022. "What determines consumers' acceptance of electric vehicles: A survey in Shanghai, China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    10. Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye & Yildirim, Julide & Connor, Peter M. & Truckell, Ian & Hart, Phil, 2021. "Energy transition at local level: Analyzing the role of peer effects and socio-economic factors on UK solar photovoltaic deployment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(PB).
    11. Mélusine Boon-Falleur & Aurore Grandin & Nicolas Baumard & Coralie Chevallier, 2022. "Leveraging social cognition to promote effective climate change mitigation," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 12(4), pages 332-338, April.
    12. Srivastava, A. & Van Passel, S. & Valkering, P. & Laes, E.J.W., 2021. "Power outages and bill savings: A choice experiment on residential demand response acceptability in Delhi," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    13. Wang, Bo & Wang, Xiaomeng & Guo, Dongxue & Zhang, Bin & Wang, Zhaohua, 2018. "Analysis of factors influencing residents’ habitual energy-saving behaviour based on NAM and TPB models: Egoism or altruism?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 68-77.
    14. Trotta, Gianluca, 2018. "Factors affecting energy-saving behaviours and energy efficiency investments in British households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 529-539.
    15. Allcott, Hunt, 2011. "Social norms and energy conservation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9-10), pages 1082-1095, October.
    16. Norris Krueger, 1993. "The Impact of Prior Entrepreneurial Exposure on Perceptions of New Venture Feasibility and Desirability," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 18(1), pages 5-21, October.
    17. Guo, Zhifeng & Zhou, Kaile & Zhang, Chi & Lu, Xinhui & Chen, Wen & Yang, Shanlin, 2018. "Residential electricity consumption behavior: Influencing factors, related theories and intervention strategies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 399-412.
    18. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "How does green finance affect green total factor productivity? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    19. Shen, Meng & Cui, Qingbin & Fu, Liping, 2015. "Personality traits and energy conservation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 322-334.
    20. Adnan, Nadia & Md Nordin, Shahrina & bin Bahruddin, Mohamad Ariff & Ali, Murad, 2018. "How trust can drive forward the user acceptance to the technology? In-vehicle technology for autonomous vehicle," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 819-836.
    21. Boudet, Hilary S. & Flora, June A. & Armel, K. Carrie, 2016. "Clustering household energy-saving behaviours by behavioural attribute," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 444-454.
    22. Horne, Christine & Kennedy, Emily Huddart, 2017. "The power of social norms for reducing and shifting electricity use," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 43-52.
    23. Pettifor, H. & Wilson, C. & Axsen, J. & Abrahamse, W. & Anable, J., 2017. "Social influence in the global diffusion of alternative fuel vehicles – A meta-analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 247-261.
    24. Ropret Homar, Aja & Knežević Cvelbar, Ljubica, 2021. "The effects of framing on environmental decisions: A systematic literature review," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    25. Louise M. Hassan & Edward Shiu & Deirdre Shaw, 2016. "Who Says There is an Intention–Behaviour Gap? Assessing the Empirical Evidence of an Intention–Behaviour Gap in Ethical Consumption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 219-236, June.
    26. Hunt Allcott & Todd Rogers, 2014. "The Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Behavioral Interventions: Experimental Evidence from Energy Conservation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(10), pages 3003-3037, October.
    27. Leah C. Stokes & Christopher Warshaw, 2017. "Renewable energy policy design and framing influence public support in the United States," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 2(8), pages 1-6, August.
    28. Thomas, Melanee & DeCillia, Brooks & Santos, John B. & Thorlakson, Lori, 2022. "Great expectations: Public opinion about energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    29. Lin, Boqiang & Zhu, Penghu, 2021. "Has increasing block pricing policy been perceived in China? Evidence from residential electricity use," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    30. Biying Yu & Yi-Ming Wei & Kei Gomi & Yuzuru Matsuoka, 2018. "Future scenarios for energy consumption and carbon emissions due to demographic transitions in Chinese households," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 3(2), pages 109-118, February.
    31. Gimpel, Henner & Graf, Vanessa & Graf-Drasch, Valerie, 2020. "A comprehensive model for individuals’ acceptance of smart energy technology – A meta-analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    32. Na (Nora) Wang, 2018. "Transactive control for connected homes and neighbourhoods," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 3(11), pages 907-909, November.
    33. Allcott, Hunt, 2011. "Social norms and energy conservation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9), pages 1082-1095.
    34. Kimberly S. Wolske & Kenneth T. Gillingham & P. Wesley Schultz, 2020. "Peer influence on household energy behaviours," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 5(3), pages 202-212, March.
    35. Jacopo Bonan & Cristina Cattaneo & Giovanna d’Adda & Massimo Tavoni, 2020. "The interaction of descriptive and injunctive social norms in promoting energy conservation," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 5(11), pages 900-909, November.
    36. Vaithilingam, Santha & Nair, Mahendhiran & Macharia, Mary & Venkatesh, Viswanath, 2022. "Mobile communication and use behavior of the urban poor in a developing country: A field study in Malaysia," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    37. He, Yiqing & Ding, Xin & Yang, Chuchu, 2021. "Do environmental regulations and financial constraints stimulate corporate technological innovation? Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Meng, Yan & Fan, Shuai & Shen, Yu & Xiao, Jucheng & He, Guangyu & Li, Zuyi, 2023. "Transmission and distribution network-constrained large-scale demand response based on locational customer directrix load for accommodating renewable energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 350(C).
    2. Guanfeng Yan & Binwen Liu & Yanjie Li & Mingnian Wang & Tao Yan, 2024. "Antecedents of Electricity-Saving Behavior in Mountain Road Tunnel-Construction Sites: A Multi-Level Modeling Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-20, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Spandagos, Constantine & Baark, Erik & Ng, Tze Ling & Yarime, Masaru, 2021. "Social influence and economic intervention policies to save energy at home: Critical questions for the new decade and evidence from air-condition use," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    2. Astrid Dannenberg & Gunnar Gutsche & Marlene Batzke & Sven Christens & Daniel Engler & Fabian Mankat & Sophia Moeller & Eva Weingaertner & Andreas Ernst & Marcel Lumkowsky & Georg von Wangenheim & Ger, 2022. "The effects of norms on environmental behavior," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202219, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    3. He, Shutong & Blasch, Julia & Robinson, Peter John & van Beukering, Pieter, 2024. "Social comparison feedback in decision-making context: Environmental externality levels and psychological traits matter," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    4. Fanghella, Valeria & D'Adda, Giovanna & Tavoni, Massimo, 2022. "Evaluating the impact of technological renovation and competition on energy consumption in the workplace," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    5. Stefano Ceolotto & Eleanor Denny, 2021. "Putting a new 'spin' on energy labels: measuring the impact of reframing energy efficiency on tumble dryer choices in a multi-country experiment," Trinity Economics Papers tep1521, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    6. Bernadeta Gołębiowska & Anna Bartczak & Mikołaj Czajkowski, 2020. "Energy Demand Management and Social Norms," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-20, July.
    7. Bernadeta Gołębiowska & Anna Bartczak & Mikołaj Czajkowski, 2020. "Energy demand management and social norms – the case study in Poland," Working Papers 2020-25, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    8. S. Ceolotto & E. Denny, 2024. "Putting a New ‘Spin’ on Energy Information: Measuring the Impact of Reframing Energy Efficiency Information on Tumble Dryer Choices in a Multi-country Experiment," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 51-108, March.
    9. Li, Hao & Wang, Zhao-Hua & Zhang, Bin, 2023. "How social interaction induce energy-saving behaviors in buildings: Interpersonal & passive interactions v.s. public & active interactions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    10. Andor, Mark A. & Fels, Katja M., 2018. "Behavioral Economics and Energy Conservation – A Systematic Review of Non-price Interventions and Their Causal Effects," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 178-210.
    11. Kim, Jin Han & Kaemingk, Michael, 2021. "Persisting effects of social norm feedback letters in reducing household electricity usage in Post-Soviet Eastern Europe: A randomized controlled trial," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 153-161.
    12. Vrain, E. & Wilson, C. & Kerr, L. & Wilson, M., 2022. "Social influence in the adoption of digital consumer innovations for climate change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    13. Ukasha Ramli, 2021. "Social Norms Based Eco-Feedback for Household Water Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-13, March.
    14. Dominik Bär & Stefan Feuerriegel & Ting Li & Markus Weinmann, 2023. "Message framing to promote solar panels," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    15. Daniel Engler & Gunnar Gutsche & Amantia Simixhiu & Andreas Ziegler, 2022. "Social norms and individual climate protection activities: A framed field experiment for Germany," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202230, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    16. Ramli, Ukasha & Laffan, Kate, 2022. "Double trouble: concurrently targeting water and electricity using normative messages in the Middle East," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113699, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Engler, Daniel & Ziegler, Andreas & Gutsche, Gunnar & Simixhiu, Amantia, 2023. "Social Norms and Individual Climate Protection Activities: A Framed Field Experiment for Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277662, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    18. Gołębiowska, Bernadeta & Bartczak, Anna & Budziński, Wiktor, 2021. "Impact of social comparison on preferences for Demand Side Management in Poland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    19. Bonan, Jacopo & Curzi, Daniele & D'Adda, Giovanna & Ferro, Simone, 2023. "Climate Change Salience and Electricity Consumption: Evidence from Twitter Activity," RFF Working Paper Series 23-34, Resources for the Future.
    20. Shigeru Matsumoto & Hajime Sugeta, 2022. "Efficiency Investment and Curtailment Action," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 83(3), pages 759-789, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:340:y:2023:i:c:s0306261923003951. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.