Determining the influencing factors of consumers’ attitude toward renewable energy adoption in developing countries: a roadmap toward environmental sustainability and green energy technologies

Abstract

The energy sector is a crucial pillar of the economic development of every nation. In developing countries, renewable energy deployment is scarce; consequently, the government and private sectors are exploring efficient energy resources. This research aims to scrutinize the linkages among value orientation, utilitarian benefits, collectivism, the reason for adoption, attitude toward renewable energy (RE), and adoption intention in the renewable energy context. The study analyzes survey data from 359 Pakistani consumers using solar panels for households. An approach called structural equation modeling is applied to evaluate hypotheses. Empirical findings suggest that value orientation positively and significantly influences the reason for the adoption of RE and attitude toward RE. Similarly, the utilitarian benefit positively and substantially affects attitude toward RE. Moreover, collectivism and reason for adoption are substantially and favorably related to attitude toward RE. The study’s findings also show that customer intentions to use renewable energy are favorably and substantially influenced by RE attitudes. The research has contributed to the enhancement of future avenues for scholars and professionals are provided by the literature on renewable practice.

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Environmental Science and Pollution Research
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25662-w
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Determining theinfluencing factors ofconsumers’ attitude
towardrenewable energy adoption indeveloping countries:
aroadmap towardenvironmental sustainability andgreen energy
technologies
MirzaHuzaifaAsif1· TanZhongfu1· AzerDilanchiev2· MuhammadIrfan3,4,5 · ElchinEyvazov6· BilalAhmad1,7
Received: 3 November 2022 / Accepted: 27 January 2023
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023
Abstract
The energy sector is a crucial pillar of the economic development of every nation. In developing countries, renewable energy
deployment is scarce; consequently, the government and private sectors are exploring efficient energy resources. This research
aims to scrutinize the linkages among value orientation, utilitarian benefits, collectivism, the reason for adoption, attitude
toward renewable energy (RE), and adoption intention in the renewable energy context. The study analyzes survey data from
359 Pakistani consumers using solar panels for households. An approach called structural equation modeling is applied to
evaluate hypotheses. Empirical findings suggest that value orientation positively and significantly influences the reason
for the adoption of RE and attitude toward RE. Similarly, the utilitarian benefit positively and substantially affects attitude
toward RE. Moreover, collectivism and reason for adoption are substantially and favorably related to attitude toward RE. The
study’s findings also show that customer intentions to use renewable energy are favorably and substantially influenced by
RE attitudes. The research has contributed to the enhancement of future avenues for scholars and professionals are provided
by the literature on renewable practice.
Keywords Value orientation· Renewable consumption· Utilitarian benefits· Collectivism· Attitude toward renewable
energy
Introduction
During the last decades of the twentieth century,
environmental degradation has become one of the major
concerns for the global community. We directly impact
the environment through the types of energy we consume
(Martinsson etal. 2011; Cheung etal. 2016). The current
growth model is unsustainable because we use fossil
fuels to generate energy. This deterioration has significant
implications for our planet, primarily in the form of climate
change (Poortinga etal. 2006). In recent years, it has become
clear that human activity is one of the primary causes of
climate change, mainly because energy consumption and
waste generation are significant factors (Cheng etal. 2017).
It is, therefore, imperative that traditional energy resources
are used more rationally to avoid their eventual depletion.
The concept of sustainable development is a way to
promote economic growth, social advancement, and rational
use of resources to cover current energy requirements
Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues
* Muhammad Irfan
irfansahar@bit.edu.cn
1 School ofEconomics andManagement, North China
Electric Power University, Beijing102206, China
2 International Black Sea University, Tbilisi, Georgia
3 School ofManagement andEconomics, Beijing Institute
ofTechnology, Beijing100081, China
4 Center forEnergy andEnvironmental Policy Research,
Beijing Institute ofTechnology, Beijing100081, China
5 Department ofBusiness Administration, ILMA University,
Karachi75190, Pakistan
6 Department ofadministrative management, Faculty
ofEconomy andmanagement, Azerbaijan State University
ofEconomics (UNEC), Baku, Azerbaijan
7 Riphah School ofBusiness & Management, Riphah
International University, Islamabad, Pakistan

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without impacting future energy supplies (Ali etal. 2021b;
Ahmad etal. 2022b; Bhutto et al. 2022). In the field of
energy, renewable energy refers to energy sources that can
be readily replenished (Claudy etal. 2013). We can produce
energy when necessary from natural, mechanical, thermal,
and growth processes, providing an alternative to traditional
energy sources (Buonocore etal. 2016; Irfan etal. 2020a).
In addition to solar and wind power, biomass, hydraulics,
geothermal, waves, and biogas are all examples of renewable
energy sources.
As part of this study, we will conduct an empirical
investigation of the attitude-behavior gap associated with
the adoption of renewable energy. There is a significant
contribution of adverse environmental impacts associated
with household energy consumption. According to research
conducted in Ireland, households are responsible for
approximately 25% of the country’s electricity usage and
26% of national greenhouse gas pollution (Goulding and
Power 2013). In spite of this, research indicates that the
wide adoption of renewable energy has proven to challenge,
and predictions show that by 2030, the global fuel mix will
not change significantly from what it is today (Claudy etal.
2013). It is therefore important to conduct further research
in order to gain a deeper understanding of consumers’
cognitions and motives for adopting and not using solar and
wind power (Claudy etal. 2013; Buonocore etal. 2016).
Despite renewable energy’s great success, the
sustainability of this energy will mostly depend on the
decisions made about its use in the future. In order to gain
insights into consumers’ acceptance of this innovative
green behavior, it is vital to understand their attitudes and
intentions toward renewable energy. There have already
been various studies in recent years focusing on green
products (Ali etal. 2019, 2021a; Waris and Hameed 2020),
environmentally friendly behavior (Mancha and Yoder
2015), and green creativity (Mittal and Dhar 2016), as well
as green luxury and eco-luxury, green skincare products,
and green purchase intentions (Chinomona and Chivhungwa
2019). Despite the fact that these studies play a critical role
in understanding the sustainable green background, we can
use the behavioral reasoning theory (BRT) to develop a
framework for contributing to the current renewable energy
research. Hence, this study aims to identify the main factors
influencing users’ attitudes and future intentions toward
renewable energy.
In recent periods, there has been widespread research on
the effects of analyzing consumer behavior based on energy
awareness and information availability (Ma etal. 2011), but
little research has been conducted on psychological factors
influencing consumer attitudes toward renewable energy.
In addition to their green behavior, researchers have also
been studying consumers’ green attitudes worldwide. A
previous study of energy consumption in Pakistan utilized
the BRT constructions along with technological innovations
for reducing carbon emissions among consumers (Claudy
etal. 2013) in order to assess consumers’ value orientation.
Research conducted by Higueras-Castillo etal. (2019)
emphasized the need to comprehend consumer behavior
with regard to renewable energy consumption. In emerging
countries, where energy consumption is expected to rise by
30% by 2040, there is little literature on renewable energy
consumption (S Ali etal., 2019).
Choosing the Pakistan market was due to genuine reasons,
as the country itself is falling behind due to the energy crisis,
and all industries depend on electricity (Asif etal. 2022b).
Although overall country is struggling to fulfill daily needs
or electricity consumption due to shortage. The only way to
overcome such an issue is to adopt renewable energy sources
(Asif etal. 2023). These include solar panels, inverters, or
other appliances which consume less power. Pakistan can
produce many products, including cotton, wheat, rice,
cloths, etc., since its exports are also high. These are the
fundamental reasons that solar energy is the only solution
to overcome these problems.
Literature review andhypotheses
development
Value orientation andreason fortheadoption
ofrenewable energy
According to BRT, individuals’ beliefs and values influence
their reasoning (Dhir etal. 2021). A paradigm such as the
value-belief-norm theory is firmly known that customers
are often driven by their values and beliefs, which serve as
a reason for their activities (Schwartz 1977). The fact that
consumers are sometimes unable to articulate their needs,
wants, and values are widely recognized as one of their
challenges (Van Kleef etal. 2005). This is primarily due to
the fact that most people are unaware of their motivations
or are unable to articulate them accurately. The reason for
people’s anticipated behavior is directly associated with the
way they process their value orientation. Research has also
demonstrated that consumers will adopt products more rapidly
if they believe they align with their values or are compatible
with them (Karahanna etal. 2006; Garcia etal. 2007).
Furthermore, Westaby (2005) articulate that users’
profound values are expected to influence their reasoning
and thinking. The individual’s value processing systems
directly influence their reasoning for the type of behavior
they are likely to engage in. In addition, consumers with high
protected values will also experience greater satisfaction at
home when using renewable energy resources. Therefore,
based on the above argument, we suggest the following
hypothesis.

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H1: Consumer’s value orientation will have apositive
influence onthereason fortheadoption ofRE
Value orientation andattitude towardrenewable energy
The behavioral reason theory (Sahu etal. 2020) proposes
that people choose behavior based on the outcomes they
expect from it and consider the consequences of alternative
behavior before engaging in it. As our study surveyed
consumers on their attitudes and intentions regarding
renewable energy, this paper will focus primarily on the
process leading to attitudes toward renewable energy
conservation. A number of factors have contributed to
consumers adopting renewable energy, including an
awareness of environmental factors and a positive attitude
(Hansla etal. 2008). Nevertheless, users may not be deterred
from adopting due to unfavorable attitudes or a lack of
environmental values. As a result, someone who adopts
solar panels may have selected such panels because of the
possible savings on electricity. However, people who do not
adopt solar panels may not choose either because they wish
to waste money.
In addition, it has been shown that values and morals
can even have a major effect on consumer attitudes (Hansla
etal. 2008). A general assumption of BRT is that people
use distinguishable, systematic, and different behavioral
procedures to make decisions (Westaby 2005). It is also
possible to connect values and attitudes through consumer
preferences for more efficient learning, processing, and
heuristic motivations (Ashfaq etal. 2021). Therefore,
value plays a crucial role in determining attitude as well.
For instance, a study conducted by Claudy etal. (2015)
concluded that consumers are more likely to perceive
products and services favorably when they are in harmony
with their personal values. It has been argued by scholars in
the prior discipline that there is a relationship between value
and attitude (Gupta and Arora 2017). Therefore, based on
the above argument, we postulate the following hypothesis.
H2: Consumer’s value orientation will have apositive
influence onattitude towardRE
Utilitarian benefits andattitude towardrenewable energy
Most consumers are aware that consuming environmentally
friendly products provides them with additional advantages
compared to traditional alternatives (Arcury 1990; Bamberg
and Möser 2007). For example, consumers perceive organic
products as being tastier than conventional ones, as they have
been conditioned to believe that organic is healthy (Nadricka
etal. 2020). Likewise, local foods are regarded as being more
nutritious and tastier than other types of food. Consumers
appreciate that water-efficient appliances (e.g., hydraulic
washing machines, toilets with dual flushes, and water filters)
can help them save water and energy, thus reducing their
utility bills (Fan etal. 2013). It has been shown by Clark etal.
(2003) that consumers of power items are viewed favourably
by the ecosystem since they use less power and are less
dependent on external energy sources.
According to Buonocore etal. (2016), consumers are
strongly motivated to consume renewable energy because
of utilitarian ecological benefits. It is theoretically argued
that the use of renewable energy will eliminate air pollution
from power plants, thereby allowing natural ecosystems
to recover. It will also improve health through reduced
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It has been posited that
these sustainability benefits are utilitarian in nature (Irfan
etal. 2020b; Waris etal. 2022; Mansoor and Paul 2022).
The literature reports many other beneficial aspects of
environmental offerings, although consumers generally
prefer those that offer a utilitarian benefit. Thus, based on
the above argument, we propose the underlying hypothesis.
H3: Utilitarian benefits will have apositive influence
onattitude towardRE
Collectivism andattitude towardrenewable energy
Collectivism is referred to as a social character with strong
and cohesive groups where people are connected from a
young age, cultivating loyalty in exchange for protection
(Bochner 1994). Individuals who identify as collective tend
to see themselves as part of a family, neighborhood, or social
group. The findings of McCarty and Shrum (2001) indicate
that collectivism positively influences consumer beliefs
about recycling (Barber etal. 2009). As a result of their
cooperative nature, collectivists tend to engage in recycling
behaviors more often. There is a greater willingness on their
part to help others and to put the interests of the group ahead
of their own.
Researchers have demonstrated that collectivism
promotes a pro-environmental attitude (McCarty and Shrum
2001). Prior evidence suggests that environmental concerns,
including climate change, drive support for renewable energy
technologies. According to Poortinga etal. (2006), energy
policies are supported by a high degree of public support,
driven by a concern for the environment. Furthermore,
different types of climate mitigation technologies received
various amounts of support in this study. An analysis of
1462 individuals found that 77% of respondents preferred
the use of renewable energy technologies more often
(Higueras-Castillo etal. 2019). It has been suggested by
Zografakis etal. (2010) that environmental problems, like
global warming, are making the public and communities
more interested in renewable energies. As demonstrated in
the literature (Higueras-Castillo etal. 2019), consumers who

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adopt environmentally friendly behaviors have a positive
attitude toward renewable energy sources and are willing to
pay more for them. As a result, we propose the underlying
hypothesis.
H4: Collectivism will have apositive influence
onattitude towardRE
Reason fortheadoption ofREandattitude
towardrenewable energy
There are a number of differences between the concept of
reason and beliefs, which served as the basis for universal
intentions in earlier approaches which is the theory of
planned behavior (Ajzen and Fishbein 1980). It is important
to note that reasons are contextual patterns of thoughts
that are directly related to behavioral explanations. In
comparison, reasons describe the subjective likelihood of a
specific aspect of behavior being included in a consumer’s
explanations. For example, beliefs about solar panel adoption
represent people’s perspectives on renewable energy, while
reasons for adoption make up specific factors that influence
purchase decisions. It is generally stated that reasons are the
subjective factors that people use to explain their expected
behavior, and they are an important predictor of intentions.
According to Claudy etal. (2013), the primary distinction
between BRT and other renewable users theories is that
it contains context-specific reasons for behavior. Claudy
etal.’s (2013) arguments regarding the relationship between
reasons and attitudes have been empirically validated by
the energy literature over the years. In developing the
BRT, Westaby (2005) defined reasons as “the specific
subjective factors that contribute to forming attitudes
and intentions” (p. 100). Thus, reasoning relates to the
process of determining one’s next course of action (Ryan
and Casidy 2018). In addition to reasons for adoption,
the literature indicates that reasons involve behavioral
elements such as self-evaluation (Ashfaq etal. 2021). It is
generally accepted that people rely on reasons to explain
their behavior (Claudy etal. 2015), and if they have enough
justifications for their anticipated behavior, they feel much
more confident approaching these behaviors.
H5: Reason foradoption REwill have apositive
influence attitude towardRE
Attitude andadoption intention towardrenewable energy
It is clear that government policies have played a critical role
in the rapid growth of renewable energy technology use in
China. Nevertheless, social and psychological factors play an
important role in individuals’ adoption of renewable energy
(Yuan etal. 2011; Alam etal. 2014). Undoubtedly, attitudes
are essential to cognitive theories such as TRA and TPB.
According to these theories, attitudes play an important role
in the development of specific intentions, which lead to the
performance of particular behaviors.
Two types of attitudes, positive or negative, are associated
with the outcomes produced by a particular behavior, such
as adopting technological innovations. It is well-established
that attitudes play a significant role in the adoption of
renewable and sustainable energy sources owing to their
prominence in the above theories. Various attitudes have
been discussed, including attitudes toward the environment,
energy efficiency, and the return on investment from
adopting technological innovations, focusing on attitudes
toward technological adoption (Hori etal. 2013; Zafar
etal. 2021; Zhang etal. 2022). It has also been shown that
attitudes and purchase intentions have a positive relationship
in the environmental context (Diamantopoulos etal. 2003;
Asif etal. 2022a; Ahmad etal. 2022a). The intention of
consumers to adopt a particular behavior is formed when
they have a favorable perception of a specific product or
service (Lobo and Greenland 2017; Prakash and Pathak
2017), such as the adoption of renewable energies. As a
result of the above, we suggest the accompanying hypothesis
(see Fig.1):
H6: Attitude towardREwill have apositive influence
onadoption intention towardRE
Materials andmethods
Sample anddata collection
This study collected data online from households in five
metropolitan cities in Pakistan (Karachi, Hyderabad,
Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar). There are two main
reasons why Pakistan was chosen as the subject for this
study. Firstly, the state’s energy infrastructure is mostly
based on nonrenewable sources of energy, and renewable
energy use is quite low. Secondly, Pakistan is one of the
countries most affected by climate change; reducing carbon
emissions is essential for a sustainable environment. The
growing demand for green products in metropolitan areas
is one of the primary reasons for selecting these cities.
The study also focuses on households, as they are the
greatest electricity consumers in developing countries
like Pakistan.
A study conducted by Cheng etal. (2017) indicated
household consumers are a major source of greenhouse gas
emissions. The intention of households to adopt renewable
energy sources, such as solar energy, is vital to reducing
carbon dioxide emissions into the environment. In Pakistan,

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household energy consumption accounts for 85% of the
country’s energy consumption, making it even more vital to
understand households’ energy consumption in this context
(Waris etal. 2022). The data was collected using a Google
Form questionnaire, which was sent via email and WhatsApp
to potential study participants. Additionally, the collection
of data from remote areas of the country was more feasible
through an online method. There were 836 questionnaires
sent to households in these five cities, covering a wide range
of areas. In the beginning, there were only 176 responses
from participants in the study. The response rate was 374
after three reminders were sent at 1-week intervals; out of
these, 359 were found to be suitable for this research upon
the first assessment. Unengaged responses did not include
in the statistical analysis. Characteristics of the sample are
provided in Table1.
Measures
The authors used a survey based questionnaire to conduct
this research. To evaluate questionnaire taken from earlier
work, a 5-point Likert scale was employed. A research by
Loaiza-Ramírez etal. (2022) offered the foundation for
assessing value orientation, which was centred on four items.
The four items of utilitarian benefit have been taken from
Bhutto etal. (2020) study. According to Higueras-Castillo
etal. (2019), we assessed collectivism by utilizing five items.
In Claudy etal. (2013) study, four items were introduced to
measure reason for adaptation. In Ashfaq etal. (2021), four
items constitute the attitude toward RE. Similarly, adoption
intention of renewable energy was adapted from the study of
Claudy etal. (2013) and using four items scale.
Results
Measurement model validation
To determine the relationships between explicit or
observable and implicit or unobserved variables, the
statistical model or factor analysis (CFA) is employed.
Additionally, the measurement model dictates how
implicit or unobserved factors are evaluated with respect to
endogenous constructs. The operationalization of structures
is a crucial step in assuring reliability (see Table2 and
Fig.2) (Ahmad etal. 2020, 2021). An alternate method
to discover discriminant validity is by comparing AVE by
MSV value with all variables. If AVE is greater than MSV,
discriminant validity is achieved (Fornell and Larcker 1981).
The square root of the average variance extracted (AVE) is
higher than its correlation with other constructs according
to discriminant validity estimators (Fornell and Larcker
Fig. 1 Conceptual Model
Table 1 Sample characteristics
Feature Classification Number Percentage
Gender Male 235 65.5
Female 124 34.5
Age Aged 40 and above 15 4.2
36–39 56 15.6
31–35 45 12.5
26–30 125 34.8
Aged 25 and below 118 32.9
Income Level ≤ 50,000 Rs 144 34.8
50,001–99,000 Rs 120 26.7
≥ to100,000 Rs 95 28.7
Education Junior college or below 65 18.1
Bachelor’s degree 185 51.5
Master’s degree or above 109 30.4

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1981). Additionally, Table3 shows that all variables have
composite reliability (CR) values that are higher than 0.70,
ranging from 0.902 to 0.934 (Hair etal. 2006). After that,
we conducted a convergent validity analysis using AVE and
item loadings to check the potential association between
these items (Wong 2013). Results confirm that the AVE
values for every variable are more significant than 0.5, which
clears that these variables hit the benchmark and have 50%
more variance. The test is shown in Table3.
Reliability analysis
The Cronbach’s Alpha values, which describe the degree to
which a measure is error-free, were above the threshold of
0.7 for all first and second-order constructs as suggested by
Nunnally and Bernstein (1994), ranged between 0.854 and
0.905 (Nunnally 1994; Hair Jr. etal. 2017). The results are
compiled in Table3.
Multicollinearity
To discover the acceptance and variance inflation factor
(VIF) values, a statistical test is run to check for multi-
collinearity. The VIF value must not exceed 0.1 (Field 2013;
Ahmad etal. 2021). According to the results, this model
does not have any multicollinearity issues because values
of VIF and tolerance are within the suggested range of each
variable and are in line (Strupeit and Palm 2016).
Structural model andhypothesis outcomes
In this phase, our hypothesis was investigated using guidelines
from previous SEM studies and the significance of path analysis
was examined (Anderson and Gerbing 1988; Anderson and
Weitz 1989; Hair etal. 2006). The AMOS version 23 software
was also used to verify the results from SPSS and to analyze
the dataset using path modeling. Moreover, we conducted
many fitness tests to confirm our data matches the proposed
structural model (i.e., CFI = 0.988, PNFI = 0.711, AGFI =
0.922, TLI = 0.975, RMSEA = 0.067, X2/df = 2.524, and
RMR = 0.052) clearly demonstrate the structural model's fit to
our data (Lucianetti etal. 2018) (see Table4).
In Table5, an analysis of the findings revealed a
significant favorable effect of value orientation on reason
for adoption (H1–β = 0.444, p < 0.01). Furthermore,
value orientation positively and significantly affects
attitude toward RE (H2–β = 0.267, p < 0.01).
Table 2 Discriminant validity
Bold data are Square root values of AVE
S. No Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Adoption Intention toward RE 0.846
2 Attitude toward RE 0.505 0.883
3 Collectivism 0.630 0.546 0.834
4 Reason for Adoption 0.550 0.528 0.583 0.835
5 Utilitarian Benefit 0.519 0.468 0.559 0.626 0.895
6 Value Orientation 0.537 0.577 0.650 0.573 0.521 0.856
Fig. 2 Measurement model

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Therefore, our hypotheses 1 and 2 support the study.
The direct result of the estimated model also showed
that the attitude toward RE was positively and strongly
correlated with utilitarian benefit (H3–β = 0.088, p <
0.01). Similarly, collectivism positively and significantly
influences attitude toward RE (H4–β = 0.291, p < 0.01).
Further, findings indicated that the reason for adoption
and attitude toward the RE relationship was positive and
significant (H5–β = 0.311, p < 0.01). According to our
results, attitude toward RE significantly and positively
influenced adoption intention (H6–β = 0.619, p < 0.01);
therefore, our sixth hypothesis supported the study(see
Fig.3).
Discussion
A BRT method was used in the current study to explore
users’ attitudes and intentions toward renewable energy.
When people make behavioral decisions, they use unique
psychological processes. This is a key premise of behavioral
reasoning theory. The data collected from renewable energy
users were analyzed using SEM and AMOS. There are
several significant outcomes that can be drawn from the
findings.
Our study revealed that each factor positively impacted
attitudes toward RE and the uptake of renewable energy.
First, the results suggest that value orientation substantially
affects individual’s reason for adopting renewable energy.
A paradigm such as the value-belief-norm theory is firmly
known that customers are often driven by their values
and beliefs, which serve as a reason for their activities
(Schwartz 1977). The fact that consumers are sometimes
unable to articulate their needs wants, and values are widely
recognized as one of their challenges (Van Kleef etal.
2005). This is primarily due to the fact that most people
are unaware of their motivations or are unable to articulate
them accurately. Consequently, values serve as a basis
for selecting and/or evaluating behavioral alternatives by
individuals.
Our article’s findings also show that value orientation is
favorably associated with attitude toward renewable energy.
The findings are consistent with the research of Gupta and
Arora (2017), who argued that there is a relationship between
value and attitude. A number of factors have contributed to
consumers adopting renewable energy, including an awareness
of environmental factors and a positive attitude (Hansla etal.
Fig. 3 Results of hypotheses

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2008). Although, users may not be deterred from adopting due
to negative beliefs and attitudes or weak ecological values. As a
result, an individual who uses solar panels may have chosen such
panels because of the possible savings on electricity. However,
people who do not adopt solar panels may not choose either
because they wish to waste money.
Table 3 Loading and VIF of the
indicators
Indicates that items were removed from the model (loadings < 0.7)
Constructs Items Loadings VIF α CR AV E
Adoption intention toward RE AI1 0.922 3.439 0.867 0.910 0.716
AI2 0.687 1.671
AI3 0.736 1.959
AI4 0.824 2.625
Attitude toward RE ATT1 0.836 2.611 0.905 0.934 0.779
ATT2 0.834 2.734
ATT3 0.884 3.380
ATT4 0.809 2.533
Collectivism CSM1 0.834 2.329 0.891 0.920 0.696
CSM2 0.776 2.080
CSM3 0.771 2.116
CSM4 0.881 2.598
CSM5 0.746 2.144
Reason for adoption RFA1 0.922 1.623 0.854 0.902 0.698
RFA2 0.687 2.283
RFA3 0.736 2.941
RFA4 0.824 2.143
Utilitarian benefits UB1 0.893 3.614 0.917 0.941 0.801
UB2 0.886 3.633
UB3 0.815 2.754
UB4 0.838 2.808
Value orientation VO1 0.796 2.351 0.878 0.916 0.732
VO2 0.798 2.353
VO3 0.904 3.078
VO4 0.707 1.992
Table 4 Values of measurement
and structural model
GFI goodness of fit, RMSEA root mean square error of approximation, RMR root mean square residual,
CFI comparative fit index, TLI Tucker Lewis index, AGFI adjusted goodness of fit, PNFI parsimony nor-
med fit index
Fit indices χ2/df GFI RMSEA RMR CFI TLI AGFI PNFI
Recommended values < 3 > 0.9 < 0.10 < 0.08 > 0.9 > 0.9 > 0.8 > 0.5
Measurement model 2.441 0.962 0.072 0.065 0.942 0.921 0.941 0.611
Structural model 2.524 0.955 0.067 0.052 0.988 0.975 0.922 0.711
Table 5 Hypotheses testing Hypotheses βeta S.E. C.R. Decision
H1: Value Orientation → Reason for Adoption 0.444 0.067 6.645 Supported
H2: Value Orientation → Attitude toward RE 0.267 0.106 2.526 Supported
H3: Utilitarian Benefit → Attitude toward RE 0.088 0.075 1.179 Supported
H4: Collectivism → Attitude toward RE 0.291 0.108 2.700 Supported
H5: Reason for adoption → Attitude toward RE 0.311 0.114 2.730 Supported
H6: Attitude toward RE → Adoption Intention 0.619 0.077 8.019 Supported

Environmental Science and Pollution Research
1 3
In addition, the results indicate that utilitarian benefit
significantly impacts attitude toward RE. In consistent with
the research of Buonocore etal. (2016), consumers are
strongly motivated to consume renewable energy because
of utilitarian ecological benefits. It is theoretically argued
that the use of renewable energy will eliminate air pollution
from power plants, thereby allowing natural ecosystems to
recover. It will also improve health through reduced carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions. It has been posited that these
sustainability benefits are utilitarian in nature (Irfan etal.
2020b). The literature reports many other beneficial aspects
of environmental offerings, although consumers generally
prefer those that offer a utilitarian benefit.
Moreover, our findings indicate that collectivism and
the reason for the adoption of RE have a positive and
significant association with attitude toward RE. Researchers
have demonstrated that collectivism promotes a pro-
environmental attitude (McCarty and Shrum 2001). Prior
evidence suggests that environmental concerns, including
climate change, drive support for renewable energy
technologies. According to Poortinga etal. (2006), energy
policies are supported by a high degree of public support,
driven by a concern for the environment. Furthermore, it
is important to note that reasons are contextual thoughts
that are directly related to behavioral explanations. In
comparison, reasons describe the subjective likelihood of a
specific aspect of behavior being included in a consumer’s
explanations. For example, beliefs about solar panel
adoption represent people’s perspectives on renewable
energy, while reasons for adoption make up specific factors
that influence purchase decisions.
Lastly, our findings indicate that attitude toward renewable
energy has a strong association with adoption intention. It
is well-established that attitudes play a significant role in
the adoption of renewable and sustainable energy sources
owing to their prominence in the above theories. A variety
of attitudes have been discussed, including attitudes
toward the environment, energy efficiency, and the return
on investment from adopting technological innovations,
focusing on attitudes toward technological adoption (Hori
etal. 2013; Zafar etal. 2021; Zhang etal. 2022). It has also
been shown that attitudes and purchase intentions have a
positive relationship in the environmental context.
Policy implications
In light of analyzing and proving the importance of different
dimensions and finding several significant differences based
on renewable energy adoption intentions, we can make some
important managerial recommendations. A higher energy
performance of solar panels and a decline in the affordability
of alternative energy sources may increase the reasons for
adoption. Over time, the solar panels’ intangible value is
likely to improve due to endless technological improvements
and economies of scale as a result of mass production. In
addition, government officials may levy taxes on other
energy sources to encourage the adoption of solar panels.
In several developing countries, public policy support has
contributed to the adoption of solar panels (Claudy etal.
2013).
The feed-in levy for renewables is one of the policy
instruments that have proven most successful in increasing
the profitability of solar panels. A feed-in levy for
renewables connects household solar panels to the grid
and guarantees a (fixed) price for the electricity produced
over time. Normally, utility companies, who are legally
obligated to buy back household electricity, pay more money
per kilowatt-hour generated in this situation. In addition to
grid accessibility, it is important to note that high regulated
prices for power generated are major drivers of solar panel
adoption because these factors significantly increase the
financial attractiveness of solar panel ownership.
According to our findings, consumers’ positive attitudes
can also be utilized to close the attitude-behavior gap
by reducing the reasons against adoption. This study
suggests that adoption intentions would increase if the
initial costs and uncertainties were reduced, as well as
incompatibility barriers. It is becoming increasingly easier
for property owners to improve the energy efficiency of
their buildings by utilizing energy performance contracts
managed by energy service companies. Furthermore,
we found that consumers delay solar panel adoption due
to their perceived incompatibility with their houses. It is
imperative that producers of solar panels communicate the
ease of installation clearly in order to overcome this barrier
to adoption. The primary agent of change for solar panels
is tradesmen and architects since they are in contact with
homeowners every day. This means that companies should
concentrate their marketing efforts on business-to-business
markets and develop and implement training programs that
are relevant to the sector.
In addition, our results are consistent with previous
findings, suggesting that (ecological) values influence
consumers’ attitudes and adoption intentions. According to
consumers’ activation and processing of reasons, adoption
decisions are justified and supported by deeper cognitive
processing. It is possible that advertisements that emphasize
the concept of “feel good while doing good” will not
increase purchase intentions for products that encompass
a high level of involvement, such as solar panels. The
marketing communication campaign needs to promote
users’ environmental values while providing adequate facts
about the advantages in order to strengthen the reasons for
adopting green practices.

Environmental Science and Pollution Research
1 3
Limitations andfuture research
Additionally, it should be mentioned that this research has
serious limitations. The attitudes of customers are greatly
influenced by four elements toward renewable energy:
value orientation, utilitarian benefits, collectivism, and
reason for adoption. However, this study only looked
at how the aforementioned elements directly affected
people’s views about renewable energy, therefore the
conceptual process analysis is still insufficient. Research in
the future may explore how attitude toward RE mediates
the indirect influence of antecedent factors on consumer
adoption. Furthermore, Pakistan was the location of this
investigation. Nevertheless, depending on their rate of use
of renewable energy, the results of additional investigation
should be extended to other economies. This study focuses
on one renewable energy source as part of an exploratory
approach. The behavioral reasoning theory could be applied
to alternative consumption contexts, for example, whether
alternative fuel vehicles or wind turbines are adopted in the
future. It would also be interesting to compare attitudes and
behaviors insituations with lower and higher commitment.
Author contributions M.H.A: conceptualization, writing—original
draft, formal analysis, data handling, variable construction, and
methodology. T.Z: supervision, funding acquisition. A.D: writing–
review and editing. M.I: conceptualization, E.E: writing–review and
editing. B.A: writing–review and editing. All authors have read and
agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding The study has not received external funding.
Data availability The data supporting to findings of this study are
available from the first author upon reasonable request.
Declarations
Ethics approval This research study was conducted according to the
Declaration of Helsinki guidelines. The Institutional Review Board
of North China Electric Power University has approved the study
(protocol code 13208-5).
Consent to participate Informed consent was obtained from all
respondents belonging to this research study.
Consent for publish Not applicable.
Competing interest The authors have declared no potential conflicts
concerning this article’s research, publication, and authorship.
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