An Empirical Study of the Reasons for Resistance to Green Innovations

Abstract

Energy efficient technologies contributed substantially to reducing greenhouse gases emissions and contribute to economic growth. Lebanon is facing a serious problem in meeting the population’s excessive demand of electricity this fact urged consumers to lower electricity consumption and seriously rely on alternative energy sources. One of the mature technologies is the Solar Water Heater (SWH), which is considered a key element in shaping households’ demand for electricity and reducing electricity bills. In this paper, SWHs are considered as an environmental innovation. In the Lebanese market, SWH have received considerable attention through implementation of various national initiatives to boost the up-take of this type of micro-generation technology. Regardless of various initiatives, adoption of this technology still has low levels in several Lebanese regions. The aim of this study is to identify and analyze consumers’ resistance to green innovations; particularly studying SWH. The paper relies on the Innovation Resistance Theory to better identify the resistance process that consumers pass through. Data were collected from 150 households in the North region of Lebanon through self-administered questionnaire. The results were analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha for reliability and linear regression analysis. The current study indicated that value and tradition factors had significant impact on consumers’ resistance to innovations. Finally, the author calls for research on resistance of other kinds of green innovations in order to validate the ability of Innovation Resistance Theory to explain resistance of energy efficient technologies.