Exploring Antecedents to Environmentally-Consequential  Consumer Choices and Behaviors

This dissertation presents two essays that explore the antecedents of consumer decision-making when choices or behaviors have significant environmental consequences. The first essay involves theoretical development and experimental testing of a conceptual model describing the process by which a car-buyer evaluates the choice between an electric vehicle (EV) and a gasoline vehicle, while the second essay consists of empirical analysis of a large panel dataset of household-level 15-minute interval electricity consumption data to identify the drivers of different behavioral response patterns to electric utility requests for energy conservation on hot summer afternoons. The first essay is motivated by the observation that increased consumer adoption of battery-powered EVs is important for commercial and environmental reasons, but EV adoption is currently inhibited by both an up-front price disadvantage and the inconveniences associated with battery recharging. The research presented in the first essay leverages the Theory of Reasoned Action as well as the literature on identity signaling to develop a model on how consumers with interests in the environmental and/or technological implications of EV ownership evaluate the potential purchase of an EV versus a conventional automobile. The model generates ten pairs of hypotheses that are tested via estimation of a structural equation model using data from three online experiments. Bayesian pooling of the three sets of estimated path analysis coefficients finds considerable support for the conceptual model. These pooled results show that EV ownership signals the owner's concern about both environmental protection and technology advancement, but the effect of the environmental signal on EV purchase likelihood is positive whereas the effect of the technology signal on EV purchase likelihood is negative. Moreover, in addition to lowering EV purchase likelihood via a direct effect, the perceived inconveniences associated with EV ownership (e.g., needs for battery charging) offset the negative effect of technology signaling on EV purchase likelihood, while the corresponding interaction of inconvenience with environmental signaling value was found to be not significant. Meanwhile, a larger EV price premium had a direct negative effect on EV purchase likelihood but did not moderate the effects of either technology signaling value or environmental signaling value on EV purchase likelihood. Among other findings, specific knowledge about how EVs affect technological advancement has a direct positive influence on EV purchase likelihood. However, all downstream effects of specific knowledge about EVs effects on environmental protection are mediated by perceptions of EV effectiveness in benefitting the environment. Meanwhile, the second essay investigates consumer behavior concerning household electricity consumption. Utilities use demand response (DR) programs to induce customers to reduce electricity consumption during selected hot summer afternoons when power generation supplies may be challenged to satisfy regional demand levels. The research presented in the second essay leverages panel data on electricity consumption from households in a community where an experimental pro-social DR program was conducted to explore drivers of household responses to utility requests to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption. Analysis of the panel data shows that, on average, households with solar rooftops respond differently to utility DR notifications than non-solar households: solar households reduce electricity consumption as requested by the utility, whereas non-solar households receiving the same request actually increase electricity consumption. However, although solar households respond favorably to DR notification, they also consume significantly more electricity than non-solar households during most hours. These empirical results – greater responsiveness to DR notifications, but otherwise higher levels of electricity consumption – beg reconciliation and explanation. An experimental research study is proposed for a future examination of alternative psychological explanations for the observed differences in behavioral responses between solar and non-solar households.