Would employees accept curtailments in heating and air conditioning, and why? An empirical investigation of demand response potential in office buildings

Support for demand response has mostly been investigated in the context of private households. We extend the examination of support to organizational contexts. Specifically, we analyze employee support for a scenario in which employees are faced with temporary heating or air conditioning curtailments in their workplace. We also examine the factors underpinning support, including socio-demographic and workplace characteristics and psychological motivations and beliefs. Our empirical results are based on a sample of 551 employees from different organizations who work in air-conditioned offices. Results indicate that employees generally support corporate demand response programs and are willing to accept small deviations from their ideal office temperature, but the level of support is heterogeneous across employees. Subsequent modeling of potential underlying factors shows that socio-demographic or workplace-related characteristics only play a minor role in explaining these variations. In contrast, psychological factors, including environmental motivations and perceived corporate environmental responsibility underpin support, and specific beliefs about the consequences of participation can directly explain support as well. Moreover, personal norms emerged as an important antecedent of program support. Policy makers and organizations can use these insights to design effective demand response programs that address the relevant drivers and barriers of employee support.