What's driving sustainable energy consumption? : a survey of the empirical literature

The focus of the paper is on the individual decision of energy consumers, and it's relation to sustainable consumption. Consumer behavior is based on individual decisions, but it depends largely on supply-side measures and an appropriate infrastructure (e.g. the availability of energy-efficient household equipment) and on socio-political factors (e.g. if systems of emissions trading or eco-labels exist). We derive some hypotheses on the determinants of sustainable energy consumption in residential buildings from a review of the empirical literature on the diffusion of energy efficient activities. While there is agreement on a lot of factors, the role of environmental attitudes and environmental behavior remains uncertain. Thus research needs are derived respectively. Finally, we specify these hypotheses for three specific technologies of sustainable energy consumption: Domestic appliances, micro-power and green electricity

What's Driving Sustainable Energy Consumption? A Survey of the Empirical Literature

The focus of the paper is on the individual decision of energy consumers, and it's relation to sustainable consumption. Consumer behavior is based on individual decisions, but it depends largely on supply-side measures and an appropriate infrastructure (e.g. the availability of energy-efficient household equipment) and on socio-political factors (e.g. if systems of emissions trading or eco-labels exist). We derive some hypotheses on the determinants of sustainable energy consumption in residential buildings from a review of the empirical literature on the diffusion of energy efficient activities. While there is agreement on a lot of factors, the role of environmental attitudes and environmental behavior remains uncertain. Thus research needs are derived respectively. Finally, we specify these hypotheses for three specific technologies of sustainable energy consumption: Domestic appliances, micro-power and green electricity. --Sustainable consumption,consumer behaviour,domestic appliances,micro-power,green electricity

Führungsverantwortung in der Hochschullehre : Zur Situation in den MINT-Fächern und Wirtschaftswissenschaften an Universitäten in Baden-Württemberg, Rheinland-Pfalz und Thüringen

Manche Studierende sind die Chefs von morgen. Sie müssen Unternehmensziele erreichen und Gewinn erwirtschaften. Gleichzeitig führen sie Mitarbeiter und Mitarbeiterinnen und müssen ihrer Verantwortung gerecht werden. Doch Universitäten bereiten kaum auf eine spätere Führungsverantwortung vor, das ist eines der zentralen Ergebnisse der empirischen Studie „Führungsethik als Ethik in den Wissenschaften“. An der von der Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung geförderten Studie waren die Universitäten Tübingen, Mainz und Jena beteiligt. Gut eineinhalb Jahre lang forschten Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler aus Philosophie, Politikwissenschaft, Soziologie und Wirtschaftswissenschaft gemeinsam zur Frage: Inwiefern bereiten Universitäten ihre Studierenden im Rahmen eines Fachstudiums auf spätere Führungsverantwortung vor? Untersucht wurden über 600 mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche, ingenieurwissenschaftliche und wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Bachelor- und Master-Studiengänge. Interviews mit Expert_innen aus dem Hochschulbereich ergänzten die Untersuchung. Auch Führungskräfte aus der freien Wirtschaft brachten ihre Expertise ein

Shotgun or snowball approach? Accelerating the diffusion of rooftop solar photovoltaics through peer effects and social norms

In the last decade, feed-in tariffs have been the method of choice for policymakers trying to accelerate the diffusion of solar photovoltaics (PV). Despite the overall effectiveness of feed-in tariffs, actual adoption rates have shown surprising regional differences, pointing to the presence of peer influence and regional spillover effects. For future diffusion of photovoltaics, understanding these social influences on the decision to adopt is key. Several studies have used revealed preference approaches to discern peer effects in PV adoption, proving their existence but leaving open questions about underlying psychological mechanisms. We close this gap by conducting a survey among potential PV adopters in one of the top three fastest-growing European solar markets and find that two types of social norms, descriptive and injunctive norms and their underlying interplay, play an important role in explaining PV adoption decision and diffusion patterns. Our findings have significant policy implications – as an alternative to following the shotgun approach of uniform nationwide incentives, policymakers should consider inducing snowball effects by facilitating the creation of regional hot spots. Such programs, which may be supported through co-investments between federal and local authorities, would effectively complement existing policy approaches