THE ROLE OF CULTURAL IDENTITY ON ENERGY SAVING BEHAVIOR

Due to environmental problems such as global warming and decrease in energy sources, protection of environment and natural balance has become one of the agenda items of the public opinion. Energy saving is one of the most important strategies of environmental protection. As energy saving is one of the cheapest and effective ways of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, there are conscious efforts to increase energy savings and to use it efficiently. A considerable amount of energy use is actualized by households. Therefore, it is important for individuals to reevaluate their life styles and their consumption behavior in a manner to increase energy saving. It is required to evaluate individual level variables to make people save energy or use it in an efficient way. One of these variables is “identity.” In this research, the effects of “global” and “local” identities on two different types of energy saving behavior: saving and efficiency, are examined. In addition, the mediating roles of personal and social norms in the relations between global-local identities and energy saving behavior are investigated.