A moral extension of the theory of planned behavior to predict consumers' purchase intention for energy-efficient household appliances in Malaysia

•We studied the purchase intention for energy efficient household appliances.•This study was tested using survey data collected from consumers in Penang, Malaysia.•Attitudes, perceived behavioral control and moral norm affect purchase intention.•Subjective norm, environmental concern, environmental knowledge is not significantly related to purchase intention.

Electricity consumption throughout the world has been rapidly increasing in past decades. However, the current investment trend is showing signs of power supply inadequacy. Hence, many countries have embraced energy efficiency as a partial solution to looming energy problems. In reality, many people are not replacing their household appliances with energy-efficient ones. The use of energy efficient products in Malaysia is still at unsatisfactory level. Hence, this study aims at closing the gap by applying the moral extension of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to examine the determinants of consumers' purchase intention for energy-efficient household appliances. A survey using self-administered questionnaires was administered to 210 consumers in Penang, Malaysia, and Partial Least Square (PLS) regression was used to test the hypotheses. The findings show that consumer' more-favorable attitudes toward energy-efficient household appliances and perceived behavioral control significantly influence consumers' purchase intention for such products. This study also proved the extension of moral norm in the classic theory of planned behavior to be a significant predictor for consumers' purchase intention. Policy implications like creating awareness for Energy Star Labelling, enhancing Minimum Energy Performance Standard (MEPS) and the role of education in nurturing younger generations are addressed.