Examining Organizational Behavior Theory and Its Implications for Energy Efficiency Program Evaluation

Commercial market actors customers invest in energy efficiency for different reasons that residential customers. However, energy efficiency program evaluators often rely on the same behavior change theories to measure the effectiveness of programs targeted at residential and commercial customers.,. While these theories are invaluable in many cases, they often frame the end user as an individual person or decision maker―neglecting to examine the unique decision-making practices, psychology, and social structures of organizations and markets whose energy efficiency behaviors are increasingly vital to the success of efficiency programs. Authors in energy efficiency have added to the literature on organizational behavior with overarching literature reviews. This poster takes a deep dive into theories of organizational image and legitimacy to explore concerns for program attribution and causality when targeting organizations. This poster goes into depth to examine the processes of organizational “legitimization” among multinational manufacturers and retailers who are entering the efficiency space. Legitimization is the appraisal of actions in terms of common values to enhance the value of an organization with in social structures. The process of legitimization is the series of decisions and practices that organizations adopt to justify its right to exist. Here, we look at the process of legitimization in the context of multinational corporate adoption of energy efficiency technology production and distribution.