Exploring the attitude-behaviour gap: a communal approach toward a more sustainable energy policy

Stated preferences for environmental conservation often fail to be materialized into pro-environmental behaviors. The same phenomenon prevailed for the case of clean energy sources not only at the individual-level of consumer... [ view full abstract ]

Stated preferences for environmental conservation often fail to be materialized into pro-environmental behaviors. The same phenomenon prevailed for the case of clean energy sources not only at the individual-level of consumer behaviour but also at community level. Therefore, to understand when the consumer attitude-behaviour gap as related to a specific environmental and climate change issue may occur, the study explores factors that might encourage or hinder the support of RE project siting decisions.
A hermeneutic data analysis process (Thompson, 2004) unveiled the community members' dilemma of RE projects' support and allowed us to detect six motivational factors shaping the community acceptance and acting as powerful drivers of the behavioural change.
Empirical findings from a wind energy case study indicated that motivational factors can act as catalysts for sustainable behavioural change, namely the sense of continuity, appeal, access, focus, togetherness and marketplace orientation.
While community members are tempted to act selfishly when these motivational factors are less prevailed, they are willing to compensate their selfish decisions for the societal benefits associated with the support of siting decisions when the same factors are more pronounced; enabling them to engage in more sustainable behaviors and contribute to the success of wind energy projects.