Abstract Book of the 11th International Conference on Business, Management and Economics
Year: 2025
[PDF]
Empowering Sustainable Choices: The Impact of Self-Efficacy and Response Efficacy on Energy Conservation Attitudes and Behaviours
Belinda Senooane
ABSTRACT:
Energy poverty is one of the most prevailing sustainability challenges of our time. Climate change, natural resource depletion and increasing energy demands have led to energy crises on a global scale. While governments worldwide have enacted policies and adopted technologies to curb energy usage, individual-level energy conservation has emerged as a potential avenue for large-scale energy conservation. Underpinned by the Protection Motivation Theory, this study examined the personal and psychological drivers that motivate people to engage in energy conservation. The study investigated how self-efficacy and response efficacy influence attitudes towards energy conservation and value for energy conservation and how these factors enhance energy conservation behaviour, especially during times of energy strain. Using a sample of 504 respondents, structural equation modelling was used to analyse the cross-sectional survey data. The findings revealed that response efficacy and self-efficacy had a significant, positive effect on value for energy conservation, while only response efficacy positively influenced attitude. The findings further revealed that both attitude and value for energy conservation predict energy conservation behaviour. The findings showed that age moderated the relationship between the value for energy conservation and energy conservation behaviour. The study recommends that energy conservation campaigns should emphasise the wider benefits of energy conservation over individual ability to engage in energy conservation. Additionally, marketers should highlight the value associated with energy conservation to encourage energy consumption reduction. The research underscores the importance of response efficacy and value in encouraging energy conservation behaviours.
Keywords: self-efficacy, response efficacy, value for energy conservation, protection-motivation, pro-environmental behaviour