When green energy feels cozy: The interplay of protected values, the halo effect, and demographics in consumers’ renewable energies adoption

Adopting renewable energies at the individual level is required to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and transition to a society based on green energy. This study taps into this topic by exploring why and which consumers would adopt renewable energies using two psyc...

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Main Authors: Juan Pablo Loaiza-Ramírez, Torsten Reimer, Carlos Eduardo Moreno-Mantilla
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Cleaner and Responsible Consumption
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784324000706
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author Juan Pablo Loaiza-Ramírez
Torsten Reimer
Carlos Eduardo Moreno-Mantilla
author_facet Juan Pablo Loaiza-Ramírez
Torsten Reimer
Carlos Eduardo Moreno-Mantilla
author_sort Juan Pablo Loaiza-Ramírez
collection DOAJ
description Adopting renewable energies at the individual level is required to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and transition to a society based on green energy. This study taps into this topic by exploring why and which consumers would adopt renewable energies using two psychological approaches (i.e., protected values and the halo effect) and by looking at the role of consumers’ demographics in their willingness to pay for renewable energy. Evidence of a comfort halo effect was found for consumers with high protected values (i.e., with a moral orientation toward the environment) using two-instance repeated-measures linear regressions in an MTurk experiment: Those consumers are likely to perceive more comfort at home when they know their electricity is sourced from renewable energies. This effect does not hold for consumers who have low protected values. Consumers with high protected values were not willing to pay more for renewable energies, though. Conversely, consumers with low protected values were willing to pay a premium for non-renewable energy. Overall, consumers with high education expressed a willingness to pay more for renewable energies, but consumers with high income and younger consumers did not. This research highlights the importance of shifting from fossil fuels to a low-carbon future by stressing the role of the factors that may affect consumer decision making.
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spelling doaj-art-d376c394f4e04a35bb3d37e9cd9887a92025-08-20T01:58:31ZengElsevierCleaner and Responsible Consumption2666-78432024-12-011510023710.1016/j.clrc.2024.100237When green energy feels cozy: The interplay of protected values, the halo effect, and demographics in consumers’ renewable energies adoptionJuan Pablo Loaiza-Ramírez0Torsten Reimer1Carlos Eduardo Moreno-Mantilla2Communication and Cognition Lab, Brian Lamb School of Communication, Purdue University, 100 North University Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, United States; Corresponding author.Communication and Cognition Lab, Brian Lamb School of Communication, Purdue University, 100 North University Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, United StatesDepartamento de Ingeniería de Sistemas e Industrial, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogotá, Carrera 30 No. 45A-03, Oficina, 453-104, Bogotá D.C, ColombiaAdopting renewable energies at the individual level is required to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and transition to a society based on green energy. This study taps into this topic by exploring why and which consumers would adopt renewable energies using two psychological approaches (i.e., protected values and the halo effect) and by looking at the role of consumers’ demographics in their willingness to pay for renewable energy. Evidence of a comfort halo effect was found for consumers with high protected values (i.e., with a moral orientation toward the environment) using two-instance repeated-measures linear regressions in an MTurk experiment: Those consumers are likely to perceive more comfort at home when they know their electricity is sourced from renewable energies. This effect does not hold for consumers who have low protected values. Consumers with high protected values were not willing to pay more for renewable energies, though. Conversely, consumers with low protected values were willing to pay a premium for non-renewable energy. Overall, consumers with high education expressed a willingness to pay more for renewable energies, but consumers with high income and younger consumers did not. This research highlights the importance of shifting from fossil fuels to a low-carbon future by stressing the role of the factors that may affect consumer decision making.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784324000706Protected valuesComfort halo effectConsumer behaviorAdoption intentionWillingness to pay a premiumDemographics
spellingShingle Juan Pablo Loaiza-Ramírez
Torsten Reimer
Carlos Eduardo Moreno-Mantilla
When green energy feels cozy: The interplay of protected values, the halo effect, and demographics in consumers’ renewable energies adoption
Cleaner and Responsible Consumption
Protected values
Comfort halo effect
Consumer behavior
Adoption intention
Willingness to pay a premium
Demographics
title When green energy feels cozy: The interplay of protected values, the halo effect, and demographics in consumers’ renewable energies adoption
title_full When green energy feels cozy: The interplay of protected values, the halo effect, and demographics in consumers’ renewable energies adoption
title_fullStr When green energy feels cozy: The interplay of protected values, the halo effect, and demographics in consumers’ renewable energies adoption
title_full_unstemmed When green energy feels cozy: The interplay of protected values, the halo effect, and demographics in consumers’ renewable energies adoption
title_short When green energy feels cozy: The interplay of protected values, the halo effect, and demographics in consumers’ renewable energies adoption
title_sort when green energy feels cozy the interplay of protected values the halo effect and demographics in consumers renewable energies adoption
topic Protected values
Comfort halo effect
Consumer behavior
Adoption intention
Willingness to pay a premium
Demographics
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784324000706
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