Application of the extended theory of planned behavior to understand individual's energy saving behavior in workplaces

•The extended theory of planned behavior model has been used in this study.•The extended TPB model has better explanatory power than the original TPB model.•Subjective norm doesn't have any significant effect on energy saving intention.•Descriptive norm is the most powerful predictor of energy saving intention.•This study enriches research on individual's energy saving behavior in workplaces.

Individual's energy saving behavior in workplaces is crucial to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. The main idea of this research is to explore the determinants of individual's energy saving behavior in workplaces. An extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) has been used as the theoretical research framework. The extension was implemented by adding two new variables: descriptive norm and personal moral norm. Data were collected using questionnaire survey method and analyzed with the help of structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that individual's attitude towards energy saving, perceived behavior control, descriptive norm and personal moral norm positively affect individual's energy saving intention in workplaces, while the effect of subjective norm is insignificant. Descriptive norm is the most powerful variable to predict individual's energy saving intention. Moreover, the results also verify the usefulness of the extended TPB model, as it has increased the explanatory power of the original TPB model (from 22.6% to 34.9%). Based on the results, implications for improving individual's energy saving intention in workplaces and suggestions for further research are discussed.