Energy efficiency and household decision-making: Managing residential electricity demand

The second area of theory examined is the use of influence strategies in household efficiency decisions (Spiro, 1983; Kim and Lee, 1996) and the third is the decision role structure of households (i.e. who is making the decision) (Herbst, 1954; Davis and Rigaux, 1974). The custom in examining these areas of theory has been to try an unravel the truth of decision making within households, resulting in a body of literature that is heavily focused on high involvement purchase based decisions, made by couples or couples with children, that is difficult for marketers to use in practice. The aim of this research is to investigate the presence of trends in household decision making across households. The results of this research provided at least six key insights into household efficiency choices. Firstly, 41.5% of households do not believe that it is necessary to increase their efficiency. This indicates the need for awareness based campaigns if a market wide increase in efficiency is desirable. Secondly, the recognition of the need to alter electricity consumption in the household does not always lead to efficiency outcomes.