Consumer Energy Research: A Review

Abstract

T he social significance of consumer energy research can be established by observing the importance of consumer energy conservation in the quest for long-run energy security, and by recognizing the role of consumer research in the identification of effective conservation initiatives. The importance of consumer energy conservation is obvious when, for example, estimates for the United States indicate that consumers' in-home and automobile energy account for up to 40 percent of national energy demand (Energy Information Administration 1980), and that conservation efforts could reduce consumer consumption by as much as 40 percent (Gray and von Hippel 1981; Sawhill 1979; Stern and Gardner 1981). Efforts to capitalize on this conservation potential are in evidence in the wide range of organizations that have established conservation departments and in the variety of conservation programs that have been implemented. Further, these efforts are meeting with some success. For example, a recent review by the Chase Manhattan Bank indicated an average of two percent reduction in oil demand between 1973 and 1980 across ten major oil-consuming, noncommunist countries. On the other hand, much of the conservation potential remains untapped. The expectation is that consumer energy research can make an important contribution to capturing this potential. Having noted the increasing attention to conservation, it is also important to recognize the growth in conservationrelated consumer research. One bibliography of this research indicated seven studies in 1972, 86 in 1976, and 150 in 1980, with the total studies to date in excess of 600 (McDougall and Anderson 1981). This growth plus events such as this special issue of The Journal of Consumer Research demonstrate that consumer energy research is rapidly emerging as an area of extreme social and economic significance-an area in which behavioral researchers can assume a leading and influential role. With this background in mind, the purpose of this paper is to review the evolution of consumer energy research over the past decade. This is done by (1) categorizing consumer energy research and looking at trends by category, (2) reviewing the more theoretical research that has attempted to understand consumer energy consumption and conservation patterns, (3) reviewing the more applied research that has evaluated the impact of various conservation initiatives, and (4) discussing directions for future consumer energy research.