ORGANIZATIONAL-BEHAVIOR, TECHNICAL PREDICTION AND CONSERVATION PRACTICE

Using comparative case data from two universities, an organizational model of energy conservation decision making is developed. Unlike an economic model, this highlights the importance of power and incentive distribution and information acquisition and analysis. It shows how moving closer to a market - through organizational decentralization - changes energy conservation behaviour, but does not necessarily improve it. In addition to providing insight into the critical dimensions in new technology design, this model provides a tool for analysing policy. Four generic policy options are presented. The model indicates the need to move from policy models derived strictly from economics to those which treat institutional issues as central.