The Effect Of Institutional Support, Ecoliteracy And Spirituality On Willingness To Purchase Energy-Efficient Electrical Appliances Among Low Middle Income Consumers
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Date
2014-06
Authors
Md Harizan, Siti Haslina
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
The current decade of the 21st century has witnessed the global warming phenomenon caused
by massive greenhouse gases emissions. In order to sustain energy consumption and mitigate
the adverse environmental impacts through electricity consumption reduction, energy
efficiency was made part of international and national environmental agenda. Being as a
form of environmentally-friendly products, the gaps behind the less preferences of energyefficient
electrical appliances among consumers have rendered a research on
environmentally-friendly purchase and its determinants. The study aims to investigate the
influences of perceived institutional supports, eco-literacy, and consumer spirituality on
willingness to purchase energy-efficient electrical appliances through personal
environmental norm based on morality perspective among low and middle income
consumers intercepted at the selected electrical outlets within the central region of Peninsular
Malaysia. Data were collected in the surveys using self-reported questionnaires at the
selected electrical outlets located within the central region of Peninsular Malaysia. A total of
476 usable questionnaires were finally elicited among Malaysian individual consumers, age
18 years old and above, working and earning less than or equal to RM 4000.00 per month,
involved in the past purchase of at least one energy-efficient environmentally-friendly
products, and planning to purchase electrical appliances. A focus group session was also
conducted to support the findings. The findings indicated that personal environmental norm
had a mediating effect in the relationships between perceived government’s efforts,
perceived NGOs’ efforts, awareness of environmental problems, personal consumer
spirituality, environmental consumer spirituality, communal consumer spirituality and
willingness to purchase energy-efficient electrical appliances.Theoretically, the findings
demonstrated the suitability of morality basis in explaining willingness to purchase energyefficient
electrical appliances based on the combined Social Cognitive Theory and Value-
Belief-Norm Theory. The findings had also further extended the notion of value orientation
in Value-Belief-Norm Theory by demonstrating the significant influences of consumer
spirituality in activating personal environmental norm of environmentally-friendly purchase.
Practically, personal environmental norm is proven to be an important tool to be manipulated
and carefully designed in information-based intervention programmes pertaining to
environmentally-friendly purchase.
Description
Keywords
Efficient electrical appliances , among low middle income consumers