The effect of awareness and responsibility regarding energy consumption on the purchase of energy efficient household devices: mediation and moderation effects

Abstract

Energy consumption sustainability can be ensured by reducing unnecessary energy consumption in households. Achieving this depends on increasing awareness levels of individuals about energy consumption and attitudes/behaviors that exhibit environmental responsibility. There are several indicators that show individuals are energy consumption responsible. One of the ways is the purchase of energy efficient household appliances (EEHA) in residential buildings. In this study, the attitudes and purchase intentions of households towards the choice of EEHA were investigated with a proposed structural model. In the model, it is assumed that energy information, which is defined as an exogenous latent variable, affects environmental concern and energy consumption responsibility, and that these two endogenous mediating latent variables affect the attitude towards EEHA and purchase intention. The analysis of the effects of the model and the importance performance map on the effect of latent variables on the intention to purchase EEHA was performed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). At the end of the study, it was determined that the proposed model has an acceptable fit and that energy information affects the intention to purchase EEHA through environmental concern and energy consumption responsibility.