Does haze pollution promote the consumption of energy-saving appliances in China? An empirical study based on norm activation model

Under the dual pressure of energy shortage and air pollution, the widespread use of energy-saving appliances has become an important means of energy conservation and emission reduction in China. However, it is limited to explore the impact of altruism on energy-saving appliances use from the perspective of pro-environmental behavior. To remedy the problem, according to the particular situation of China, we propose an extended norm activation theory model. The 435 valid questionnaires have been analyzed using the structural equation model and the hierarchical regression model. The results prove that, haze pollution has promoted the consumption of energy-saving appliances for urban residents in China; personal norm, environmental concern, and perceived consumer effectiveness all have a significant positive impact on purchasing behavior of energy-saving appliance; personal norm is influenced by four cognitive factors of awareness of consequences, ascription of responsibility, environmental concern and perceived consumer effectiveness; personal norm mediates the relationship between environmental concern, perceived consumer effectiveness and purchasing behavior, respectively; herd mentality negatively moderates the relationship between environmental concern and purchasing behavior, and positively moderates the relationship between personal norm and purchasing behavior. Instead, policy and propaganda only positively moderate the relationship between personal norm and purchasing behavior. Moreover, the results also confirmed the appropriateness of the extended norm activation theory for exploring urban residents' purchasing behavior of energy-saving appliances. The findings could be helpful for a better understanding of urban residents' purchasing behavior of energy-saving appliances, which in turn promotes the development of energy-saving appliances.