The Responsiveness of Households to Energy Demand Management Initiatives: Segmenting by Household Types

Segmentation is often a complex and costly process, which commonly involves identifying groups with differing attitudes and behaviors or demographics. However, the segments generated may not adequately explain differences between consumers, or it can be difficult to identify households for target marketing, which consequently makes it difficult to use segmentation in practice. In this paper we present segmentation by household type as a simple method of segmentation, accessible to nonprofit organizations with limited resources and able to be employed using a secondary data set or with relatively simple data collection and analysis. Despite its simplicity, our findings show that this form of segmentation differentiates well between segments in terms of their actual electricity use, their past efficiency behaviors and preferences for efficiency programs. The results of focus groups and a survey of 4,000 households reveal, among other things, the effect of having children and of marital status on energy use and efficiency behaviors, the high curtailment but low investment behaviors of single parent households, and the low efficiency behaviors of shared households.     

Comparing sustainable consumption patterns across product sectors

In this paper, we present findings from two qualitative studies where we explored sustainable consumption practices through examining consumers' information search and decision-making processes for recent purchases of five categories of goods/services: fast moving consumer goods (such as foodstuffs and household products), white goods (such as fridges and washing machines), small electrical products (such as TVs and computers), green energy tariffs (such as electricity from renewable sources) and tourism (such as flights). This research has provided us with a set of rich data which explores the nature and extent of sustainable consumption practices across different product sectors. A comparative analysis has allowed us to draw out patterns of consumer behaviour for different product and service types. Our findings suggest that even the same green consumer will not use the same information sources or decision-making criteria, consider the same options or focus on the same industry actors, for products in different sectors. However, we have identified some degree of consistency in purchases within sectors. We present these sector-specific patterns of consumer behaviour and highlight differences in the criteria utilized and the research norms in each sector.     

Why households buy bottled water: a survey of household perceptions in the Philippines

This study investigates the determinants of household buying decisions to purchase bottled water or purified water from refilling stations among households in Metro Cebu, Philippines. A survey of 360 households was conducted to obtain data on household sources of drinking water, household bottled water buying behaviour and perceptions of water quality. A binary probit model was used to examine the effects of socio‐economic and perception‐based variables on the likelihood that a household regularly bought bottled or purified water. Results show that households that perceived their primary source of water, whether from the tap or from other sources, to be unsafe were more likely to buy bottled or purified water. Education of household heads, the presence of children ages 0–5 years, household size and price were also found to have significant effects. Income, however, was not found to have influenced the decision to buy. Having piped access to the local water district and knowledge of government assurances about water safety were also not found to have a significant impact.     

Electricity saving behavior of households by making efforts,replacing appliances,and renovations: empirical analysis using a multivariate ordered probit model

This study empirically explores the determinants of household electricity saving behavior based on a sample of Japanese households. Our study makes four contributions. First, we examine the short‐term saving action of making efforts, the medium‐term saving action of replacing appliances, and the long‐term saving action of undertaking renovations. Second, we consider not only the physical characteristics of households but also behavioral characteristics, such as their understanding of the importance of energy saving and willingness to save energy. Third, in our analysis, we assume that appliances and housing facilities have the electricity‐saving capability and service‐providing capability. While previous studies focus on the former, consumers in reality consider both capabilities. Fourth, we consider the optimization by households and include broad types of appliances and renovations. Using a multivariate ordered probit model with data on 518 Japanese households in 2012, we obtain the following results. First, in addition to the demand response, the effort level is determined by behavioral, rather than by physical characteristics. Second, the motivation behind appliance replacement is durability, rather than electricity‐saving and service‐providing capabilities. Third, appliance replacement is enhanced by an understanding of the importance of energy saving, rather than by the willingness to save energy. Households can replace appliances because of social pressure, even if they are not so concerned about saving energy. Fourth, households are willing to renovate housing facilities even though they pay a higher cost for the greater saving capability rather than for the service‐providing capability. However, such renovation is not influenced by internal incentives, but by physical aspects of the house, such as size, age, and type.     

A new full‐nest classification approach

This study conceptually and empirically develops an improved approach for classifying full‐nest households. Unlike existing life‐cycle models, this study separates traditional full‐nest couples who marry and have children at a young age from those who delay marriage and childbearing until their 30s. Nontraditional delayed full‐nest spouses held nontraditional sex role norms and values and experienced greater work and time pressures. They also consumed more healthy foods and beverages, avoided convenience and junk foods, but consumed more meals prepared away from home, as well as alcoholic beverages, than their traditional counterparts. While extant life‐cycle approaches use age of head of household to separate school‐age and older full‐nest families, this study uses the transitions of the youngest child to school age, and then to teenage years. This distinction more effectively captures life‐style and consumption differences than does the traditional life‐cycle approach. Overall, this new full‐nest classification scheme outperforms existing life‐cycle approaches in identifying unique sex‐role norms and values profiles as well as household food and beverage consumption patterns. It also captures meaningful and significant differences, in dollar values of home entertainment devices and furniture and of major durable assets not uncovered by previous research. Based on these findings, it is recommended that this full‐nest classification approach be incorporated into extant life‐cycle models. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Spatial behaviour of rural consumer households in highly developed economies. Survey results for Western Germany

This contribution attempts to identify effects of residential location of rural family households on their economic behaviour. Economic behaviour is understood to be reflected in the total spectrum of income and allocation of household resources. A holistic approach must go beyond activity on the labour and consumer markets and include non-market (‘informal’) activities of household members, taking into account domestic production of goods and services, interaction within social networks, the use of public commercial infrastructure, etc. The cost of living depends, among other things, on patterns of consumption, on regional price levels for consumer breadbaskets, as well as on costs involved in reaching public and commercial points of distribution. These factors result themselves from the interplay of economic forces giving rise to identifiable ‘economic territories’ and ‘market areas’ and ultimately to observable consumptive behaviour and ‘activity spaces’ of individual private households. Since data was available only for our rural survey households, comparative analysis of locational aspects was limited to consumption expenditures for which data could be found in administrative statistics for households in urban and periurban areas. The rural survey sample was found to have a higher average level and a different structure of expenditures when compared with their non-rural counterparts. At the same time, a preliminary effort was made in our own rural survey sample to determine the importance of non-market consumption for rural households. This included household consumption of domestic self-services (‘housework’), the utility value of owner-occupied dwellings, do-it-yourself production of substitutes for commercial goods and services, and exchanges within social networks. Results of this initial investigation of non-market elements of the household economy indicated that they were very important for the household's level-of-living and that they had a potential for compensating inequalities due to different degrees of access to market resources. Household strategies for optimizing their resource allocation to both market and non-market consumption were also examined. In general, ‘objective’ criteria and ‘subjective’ assessments by the survey households with respect to living conditions in rural Western Germany were found to give a positive image of rural life; however, differences in resource allocation strategies for market consumption between urban and rural households having been confirmed above, the question remains for future research about possible locational differences in household acquisition and use of non-market resources.     

Consumer voices: adoption of residential energy‐efficient practices

The purpose of this research is to identify constraining variables that may impinge on adopting energy‐efficient practices, materials, equipment and technology in households. The intent is to uncover relationships of attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and other resource constraints to: (1) existing housing adaptations and adjustments for energy efficiency; and (2) more efficient use of energy in homes. A second objective is to identify existing practices used to reduce energy use and the adaptations made to the existing structure, materials, equipment and technology for energy efficiency as well as their intentions to make future adaptations. Constraint variables include knowledge of existing energy‐efficient practices and technology; economic constraints (household income, cost as a problem, financial need and existing energy costs); obstacles to making changes (lack of information, assistance, time, cooperation, trained persons and the condition of home); and demographic variables (age, education level and urban/rural). Attitude and belief constraints include measures of felt responsibility for energy use‐related actions that impact the natural resources and environment, and measures of concern. These constraints may impinge on or contribute to making energy‐efficient changes in residential households. Questionnaires were mailed to a random stratified sample of 800 households in Nebraska (US state) in April and May of 2008, resulting in a 29% return rate. The analysis indicates that the research produced information about constraining factors that impact the existing energy‐efficiency levels of households. The use of energy‐efficient equipment and technology, and behaviour practices that reduce energy use are related to those barriers. However, residential energy use and behaviour change result from a range of psychological and contextual influences on behaviour. Behaviour is often inconsistent with attitudes because of the presence of various constraining factors that preclude consistency with behaviour. Educational programmes have a challenging task if they are to alter attitudes and norms to overcome situational constraints. It may be more fruitful to educate and to remove the constraints impinging on those who already have a positive attitude about the need to increase energy efficiency for whatever reason.     

Residential energy behaviour: does generation matter?

In this study we tested the relevance of the generational hypothesis, that is, whether the era in which household members grew up matters when understanding and predicting their behaviour, on a sample of 600 Swedish households. These households participated in a survey where they answered questions about their own energy‐related residential energy behaviour. The answers were analysed for differences between age groups, between different attitudes to environmental issues, between income levels and between dwelling types. The results showed that age was as good an indicator as the other parameters. In several areas, older households had a more energy‐efficient residential behaviour than younger ones. Examples are laundry practices and indoor heat regulation. According to the generational hypothesis, this finding implies higher energy use in the future. The study also shows that there is a broad scope for improving residential energy behaviour in Swedish society by implementing changes in laundry avoiding practices, dishwashing behaviour and indoor temperature regulation.     

Caring and Conflicted: Mothers’ Ethical Judgments about Consumption

Literature on consumer ethics tends to focus on issues within the public sphere, such as the environment, and treats other drivers of consumption decisions, such as family, as non-moral concerns. Consequently, an attitude–behaviour gap is viewed as a straightforward failure by consumers to act ethically. We argue that this is based upon a view of consumer behaviour as linear and unproblematic, and an approach to moral reasoning, arising from a stereotypically masculine understanding of morality, which foregrounds abstract principles. By demonstrating the importance of context to consumption decisions and articulating the impact of caring relationships, we highlight how such decisions are both complex and situated. This is particularly evident for decisions involving the needs of others, as occurs in family life. We argue that the incorporation of care ethics provides both theoretical insights and a more complete account of consumer ethics. This is explored empirically through an investigation of the ethical dilemmas arising from consumption decisions made by mothers of young children. Such decisions juxtapose an ethical consumption orientation (representing impartial concerns) with care for one’s child. Therefore, what has been previously considered a failure to act ethically may in fact be the outcome of complex decision making, which involves competing ethical considerations. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and practice and how this approach to consumer ethics could be applied more widely.     

Education and the empowerment of women in household decision‐making in Spain

It was analysed whether investment in the education of both women and men serves to empower wives resulting in more balanced household decisions being taken on matters related to consumption and financial management. They considered that household decision‐making could be made by mainly the wife, mainly the husband or the couple acting jointly. They then applied multinomial probit models to the Spanish Living Conditions Survey of 2010. Results show that, when controlling for demographic, family and labour market characteristics, the level of education of both the husband and wife has a positive effect in terms of a more egalitarian decision‐making process in relation to three areas of expenditure: daily shopping, expensive purchases of consumer durables and significant expenditure on children. However, only women's education has a positive effect on borrowing money and no effect of education is observed with regard to the use of savings. Results are less conclusive for households where decisions are taken primarily by the wife or husband, since men's education increases the role of husbands in the household making‐decision process whereas no effect of wives' education is observed.     

Money,Comfort or Environment? Priorities and Determinants of Energy Efficiency Investments in Irish Households

Energy efficiency is an effective strategy to reduce household energy consumption. Investments in energy efficiency measures (EEMs) result in reduced energy bills and increased comfort for households, while also contributing to national environmental targets. This article examines an energy efficiency scheme in Ireland and investigates the factors that determine investments in energy efficiency measures and the motivations of Irish households to participate in energy saving programs and adopt EEMs. The paper investigates three key research questions: the determination of investments in EEMs, with special focus on motivations and their relative importance; the consistency of motivations over the course of the decision-making process; and the consistency of determinants and motivations for investments in EEMs across different measures. The paper studies the implementation of seven energy efficiency measures in residential houses throughout Ireland. Results indicate that the decision to ultimately apply and invest in EEMs is mainly driven by monetary or economic factors such as gains in energy savings and the private cost of the measures. Comfort gains are found to be a secondary factor and environmental benefits of EEMs are found to be of little concern when making investment decisions. Finally, we suggest focusing on providing information about the benefits of the EEMs on energy savings and improvements in comfort in order to increase the adoption of EEMs by households in Ireland.     

Consumption as a social integration strategy in times of crisis: The case of vulnerable households

In this article, we focus on consumption in a context of economic hardship. From an empirical perspective, and using a qualitative methodology, we show how disadvantaged individuals and households maintain a level of consumption commensurate with the society in which they are integrated through a type of consumption conceived of here as “resilient”. Resilient consumption is characterized by being a type of expenditure oriented towards maintaining the role of consumer, that is, maintaining a minimum level of purchasing power, modifying to this end both the level and the structure of consumption, both of which are key elements in the resilience process. We identify five main strategies used by households that modify and restructure the consumption of basic goods and necessities in response to economic hardship. Key resilient consumption strategies include: reduction (cutting down on spending), substitution (replacement of one difficulty with another), compensation (pseudo‐consumption or reduced usage), transference (meta‐resilience) and integration (reinterpretation of difficulties as opportunities). We conclude that although consumption is a naturally resilient behaviour, in a crisis context, resilient practices focus on maintaining acquisition capacity in spite of reduced income.     

Association of nutrition concerns and socioeconomic status with exercise habits

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between socio‐economic characteristics and individual health behaviour patterns. Specifically, we looked at how individual demographics (i.e. age, gender, race, marital status, geographic location of households), socio‐economic status (i.e. education, income, children in the households) and respondents’ nutrition concern were related to the major health behaviour (i.e. exercise). Telephone interviews were conducted to collect the data from 2880 US households. A Poisson regression model was estimated to analyse the factors influencing physical exercise habits of adults. Results showed that the key socio‐economic variables influencing the exercise habit of US population were household income, education and family composition. The direct association of nutrition concern with exercise habits implied that health and nutrition programmes should emphasize good eating habit as well as healthy lifestyle.     

A monitoring and feedback service as a way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of consumption

This paper explores and assesses the acceptability of an Internet‐based greenhouse gas emission monitoring and feedback service and its possibilities for motivating households to voluntary change their consumption behaviour towards a more climate‐friendly direction. We studied consumers' experiences and assessments of the acceptability of such a service and its potential to promote the desired behaviour in a Finnish Climate Bonus research project wherein a demonstration version of the service was developed and tested. In total, 35 pre‐selected consumers tried out and evaluated the service in day‐to‐day life for a period of 4 weeks. Online questionnaires, focus groups and an online discussion forum were used to collect their feedback. The results indicated that the service was well received among the participating consumers. Above all, the consumers regarded the service interesting and useful because it offered concrete feedback on the emissions caused by their own household consumption. All in all, the study indicated that a well‐designed, easy‐to‐use and consumer‐empowering monitoring and feedback service might be a potential tool to motivate people to reduce their consumption‐based emissions voluntarily.     

Computer ownership and home usage: the case of Malaysia

The multi‐functionality of computers and the increased accessibility of the Internet have created a demand for computers at home which was previously concentrated in offices. Using the Heckman two‐step model and by combining socioeconomic factors and insights from Becker's theory on allocation of time in the household with information system theories, it was found that: (i) household allocation of resources; (ii) age and gender; and (iii) household social environment are significant in determining computer purchase decisions and its extent of usage in households in Malaysia, a developing information, communication and technology country. Responses collected from 500 computer users were used in the study. Unlike most household technologies, the results also suggested that despite the multi‐functionality of computers, it was perceived as a technology that facilitates the consumption process more than the production process.     

Bankrupt Households and Economic Crisis. Evidence from the Greek Courts

This paper investigates the profile of the Greek bankrupt households and is the first to deal with the bankrupt households in Greece utilizing court data from the judicial decisions according to the newly established personal Bankruptcy Law 3869/2010. We compare the characteristics of the bankrupt households drawn from the court data with those of a control group of households without financial difficulties constructed from the EU-SILC database. Our findings indicate that income and/or job loss, family breakup, and women with children are important characteristics related to bankruptcy. We also find that although the median of the household disposable income of the bankrupt households is lower than that of the households without financial difficulties, the former do not fall below the poverty line at a greater rate than the latter, in all household size instances. This finding is in line with the results of earlier studies indicating that bankruptcy is not a poor household’s issue. The results are confirmed using logistic regression relating the probability of bankruptcy to a set of socioeconomic measures.     

Corporate fraud,risk avoidance,and housing investment in China

This study investigates the impact of corporate fraud on household investment choices. We conjecture that by undermining trust in the financial and insurance market, corporate fraud behaviour would decrease households' investment in risky financial assets and increase investment in non-financial assets. Combining data on households' investment behaviour with information on fraudulent activities of listed companies in China, we find that households with more lifetime experience of corporate fraud invest less in stocks and are less likely to purchase private insurance. By contrast, fraud experience increases households' intention to invest in residential real estate. In addition, the impact of corporate fraud is stronger among individuals who pay more attention to economic information, among individuals who have more social interaction, and among individuals in better regulated regions. Furthermore, we find that different types of fraud have differentiated effects on household investment decisions. Our findings indicate that corporate misconduct could generate profound negative externalities on the whole financial system.     

Effects of family livelihoods on household resource allocation in highly industrialized society

This contribution attempts to identify effects of the type of livelihood of rural family households on their economic behaviour. Economic behaviour is understood to be reflected in the total spectrum of income and allocation of household resources. A holistic approach must go beyond activity in the labour and consumer markets and include non-market (‘informal’) activities of household members, taking into account domestic production of goods and services, interaction within social networks, the use of public and commercial infrastructure, etc. Our study of resource income and allocation as a function of the household's livelihood undertook a comprehensive investigation of both market and non-market resources of the sample households. Results for full- and part-time farming family households, as well as for employee and self-employed households in the non-farm sector were compared. All survey households were comprised of four persons with an ‘intermediate’ level of family income living in disadvantaged rural areas. Apparent, but yet unquantified differences between these socio-professional groups, e.g. with regard to time-inputs into gainful activity, to regularity of income, and to joint accounting of the family and the firm/holding in self-employed households, had lent support to the hypothesis that there are marked differences in resource income and allocation strategies between these socio-professional groups. Survey results revealed, in quantitative terms, large workloads involved with self-employment, fringe benefits from dependent employment and, on the other hand, side-benefits from self-employment, such as the use of business stocks for private consumption. Compensatory effects of the disposition and use of non-market resources with regard to lower incomes was observed, as well as considerable differences between the socio-professional subsamples in strategies for and amounts of capital formation and social security. Furthermore, productive roles within the household, and the household's interaction with its social networks and other public and semi-public entities differed strongly between the socio-professional groups. Variance analysis disclosed that the findings on the above described differences in resource income and allocation between the socio-professional subsamples were statistically highly significant.     

Factors Influencing Consumption of New Food Products and Specialty Meat

Results from a consumer survey of households in Louisiana and Texas suggest that socioeconomic factors affect consumption decisions on new food products, quail, alligator, or deer meat. Specifically, consumption of, or interest in consuming new food products are statistically associated with marital status, age, education, household size and income, race, religon, and occupation. The above-referenced socio-economic characteristics are all statistically associated with consumption decisions on qualiy and alligator meat, except for marital status and household size. Race and occupation are statistically associated with the consumption of, or interest in consuming deer meat.