Energy saving in an organisational context

Panel: Panel 4 Behaviour in and of organisations

Authors:
Ana Loureiro & Maria Luísa Lima
ISCTE – IUL, Lisbon University Institute

Abstract

Organizational context is one of the contexts that have greater environmental impact. However, the impacts on environment of the individual behaviour in this specific context have not yet been object of research.

This study analyzes the importance of values, attitudes and moral norm as determinants of energy saving intentions in an organizational context. The study has two objectives. First, following the work by Stern and collaborators, we intend to study the hierarchical relation between values, attitudes, moral norm and energy saving intention, testing the mediating effects between these different variables. Besides, this analysis is conducted in a way that allows the distinction of the predictive role of environmental and altruistic values and attitudes.

The study was conducted with a sample of 211 workers of an organization with a tradition of orientation towards sustainable development, using a questionnaire that evaluates, besides socio-demographical characteristics, energy saving intention in the organizational context, environmental and altruistic values, environmental and altruistic attitudes, and moral norms.

The results showed a full mediation, supporting thus the hierarchical relationship between environmental values, environmental attitudes, moral norms and energy saving intention in organizational context. Altruistic values and attitudes did not show the same pattern of results, and that was interpreted as a result of the clear environmental focus of the organizational culture.