Can altruistic factors motivate residents’ energy-saving behavior? An application of stimulus-organism-response theory in China

As China increasingly focuses on sustainable development, understanding and influencing urban residents’ energy-saving behaviors becomes vital for addressing high energy consumption issues. Thus, this research chooses the residents in China as its object, and studies the factors influencing residents’ habitual energy-saving behaviors. We establish a comprehensive theoretical model suitable for this study based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory. Utilizing on-the-spot investigations, extensive data collection and model establishment, our research reveals that “altruism”–defined here as actions driven by concern for societal expectations–predominantly motivates daily energy-saving behaviors. In addition, external factors (cost of energy-saving measures) have a significant impact on residents’ energy-saving investment behaviors. Based on our findings, we propose specific policy recommendations focusing on publicity on environmental pollution, the platform for sharing energy conservation experiences and formulation of group-differentiated energy conservation policies. Therefore, this study provides policy implications for motivating residents to take energy-saving actions.