MG 5510-Understanding Energy Saving Behavior Review Writing – Social Science Assignment Help

Assignment Task

Task

Introduction:

This section provides the background of the research, its significance, and the outline of the main objectives.

Background of the Study :

Environment sustainability and the contribution of a responsible individual to achieving the set targets and goals have received increasing attention in the recent past. Knowledge and attitude are the major factors in determining a consumer’s green behaviour. Environmental knowledge is immensely important to understand the components and relationships of the natural environment and majorly, the challenges and threats that our environment faces. Higher the level of understanding, greater is the probability of indulging in proenvironmental behaviour. ‘Pro-environmental behaviour’ is described as the behaviour which does minimum harm to the environment or even benefits it. Previous studies have also shown a positive impact of the purchase of environment friendly goods due to an increased environmental understanding. Various theories and models are employed to this green initiative of better understanding the individuals’ attitudes and behaviour towards the environment. It has been observed in the past that the employees’ environmental behaviour at the workplace is crucial for an organization. In this regard, few attempts in the past from (Wells, et al., 2015) and (Gregory-Smith, et al., 2017) on the environmental social marketing initiatives in the tourism sector has been made.

University students are the next future generation who are the educated individuals with the ability to make wise choices and decisions. Moreover, students at the university study focused environmental courses which makes them aware about the global sustainability issues and forms their appropriate pro-environmental behaviour. Previous research (Chakraborty, et al., 2017) has identified the significant role of universities in motivating the students towards pro-environmental practices through sustainable initiatives. Another study by (Vicente-Molina, et al., 2013) was conducted on the analysis of pro-environmental behaviour of university students from emerging and advanced countries. The results showed that external factors such as cultural backgrounds and environmental structures available in different countries affect the students from different economies differently. Whereas, the motivation, environmental knowledge and the perceived effectiveness of practising proenvironmental behaviour were the most important parameters amongst all university students.

According to the study conducted by (Kukkonen, et al., 2018), it was concluded that more than half of the university students rarely saved energy resources and were not greatly encouraged, hence the need to enhance university environmental education was highlighted. Recent study by (Thondhlana & Hlatshwayo, 2018) at Rhodes University reported that several students living in residence halls did not engage in pro-environmental behaviour across shared spaces due to personal and external factors. The finding shighlighted the significance of the university authorities to incorporate a sustainability culture amongst the students through different techniques. As per (Maibach, 1993), Social Marketing for the environment is defined as the application of marketing strategies to the promotion of social products or services for the benefit of the society. This field of marketing has received limited attention in the past and should be exploited to encourage behavioural change in the individuals considering the serious issues that our environment is facing now. Environmental behaviour in individuals has been studied for long amongst various settings, but with time students living in university halls have generated a considerable interest where the interdependent relationship between the university and the students requires to be utilized to decrease the impact on the environment. Hence, the area of incorporating pro-environmental behaviour in the university students through social marketing strategies needs to be addressed.

Aim :

To understand the perceived usefulness and barriers to incorporating and using Ecosync technology amongst two key stakeholder groups.

Research Objective :

• To understand the importance of energy saving behaviour, especially amongst the university students living in student halls.
• To investigate different theories and models in the context of the aim of the study.
• To evaluate students’ interest in technology and mobile applications.
• To understand students’ motivation to use a mobile application for energy saving.
• To identify the objectives and goals of Ecosync’s product offering.
• To determine students’ preferences for the mobile application such as gamification and form recommendations for the mobile application of Ecosync.

Research Question:

1. What mobile apps do students living in accommodation halls use and why? What app features keep them engaged and how?

2. Do students living in accommodation halls engage in energy saving actions (e.g.,switching off lights, temperature down) and what factors affect their behaviours?

3. What are students living in accommodation halls perceptions of using a mobile app to engage in energy saving actions and are they willing to adopt apps such as the one developed by Ecosync?

4. What feature do students living in accommodation halls like the most in the energy saving mobile application?

5. Do students living in university accommodation think that using such an app will help them engage in energy saving, why and why not?