Purpose – Electrical energy saving is one of the practical virtues relating to sustainable living. Therefore, policy-makers has tried to find a way to change the behaviors of individuals to encourage them to actively practice electrical energy saving, even if they have never had this concern or have only passively practiced electrical energy saving to this point. Prior research related to electrical energy saving can be categorized into several types. The first is focused on consumer characteristics linked to electrical energy saving. These studies are based on individual or household socio-demographic variables (e.g., age, gender, household income, education level, occupants, marital status, number of households), and psycho-graphics (e.g., environmental consciousness, value, attitude, motivation, lifestyle). The second is focused on policies (e.g., monetary incentives, information sharing, social comparison, feedback), and technologies (e.g., energy-efficiency home appliances, energy-reduced products, renewable resources). People generally have a favorable attitude towards electrical energy saving, while electrical energy saving practices tend to be less favorable. Therefore, it is necessary for policy-makers to seek out gaps between attitudes and behaviors and find alternatives to reduce these gaps. This study investigates the influence of authenticity on the behavioral intention of electrical energy saving. It is supposed that electrical energy saving practices are likely to be stronger as authenticity of individual or household becomes stronger. This study reviews prior literature and examines various studies to provide an understanding of the relationships between authenticity and electrical energy saving behavioral intention.
Research design, data, and methodology – Hypothesis was drawn from analysis based on previous research. The items related to authenticity and electrical energy saving were selected from items found in previous research. To verify this hypothesis, data were collected via experimental survey method and the resulting data were analyzed using reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis.
Results – This study found that authenticity had a positive impact on the behavioral intention of electrical energy saving. The higher the perceived degree of authenticity, the higher the behavioral intention of electrical energy saving.
Conclusions – This study assesses the impact of authenticity on the behavioral intention of electrical energy saving. In order to enhance the practice of electrical energy saving, it is efficient strategy for policy-maker to improve the perceived authenticity of individuals.