Exploring the influence of severe haze pollution on residents' intention to purchase energy-saving appliances

Abstract

The extensive use of energy-saving appliances can promote household energy conservation, which, to a certain extent, can help to alleviate haze pollution. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and Normative Activation Model, a research framework is developed in this paper to explore residents' intention to purchase energy-saving appliances under the influence of severe haze pollution. This paper takes the residents in Xuzhou as the object of survey. Then, the structural equation model and Bootstrap method are used to analyze the valid measurement questionnaires. The results demonstrate that residents had a very strong intention to purchase energy-saving appliances under the influence of haze pollution from the perspective of self-interest and altruism, respectively. Attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavior control and personal norm are the key factors influencing residents' purchasing intention of energy-saving appliances under frequent haze pollution, of which attitude is the most powerful influence. In addition, ascription of responsibility is a partial mediator between the relationship of awareness of consequences and personal norm, and together with awareness of consequences can positively influence personal norm. Finally, based on the empirical results, this paper proposes measures to guide consumers to buy energy-saving appliances.