Impact of knowledge and trust on households' solar energy consumption behavior: Do social influence and gender matter?

Clean and renewable energy resources like solar energy are essential for a sustainable and eco-friendly future, as they decrease reliance on fossil fuels and combat climate change. This study explores trust and knowledge as drivers of solar energy consumption behavior (SECB). Particularly, this study finds the role of social influence and gender as moderators in the associations between trust and SECB, as well as knowledge and SECB. The World Bank energy access data based on the 8500 Pakistani households survey was examined for empirical analysis. Findings reveal that trust and knowledge positively impact SECB. Knowledge also influences trust in solar energy. Meanwhile, higher social influence weakens the association of knowledge and trust with SECB. Furthermore, it was found that the association of knowledge and trust with SECB is stronger for females than males. The findings-based implications are provided for practitioners and researchers.