Environmental Concern and Purchase Intention of Electric Vehicles in the Eastern Part of China
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/abr.68.5089Keywords:
Environmental concern, value orientations, purchase intention, electric vehiclesAbstract
The main objective of this research was to examine the effects of environmental concern on the purchase intention of electric vehicles in the eastern part of China. The research adopted a qualitative approach to elicit data from a sample of 86 participants living in Beijing. Stratified random sampling was used as a sampling technique for these participants. The research findings indicate that environmental concern plays a significant influential role in the purchase decision of electric vehicles. The findings reflect that consumers who are environmentally concerned are more willing to purchase electrical vehicles as a means to protect their environment from air pollution. Several types of environmental concern or value orientations and their effects on the purchase decision of electric vehicles were also examined. Egoistic, social-altruistic and biospheric values were identified as the most influential value orientations in the purchase intention of electric vehicles. Apart from environmental concern and its value orientations, the study also found out that the purchase decision of electric vehicles is also affected by factors such as government incentives or subsidies on electric cars, reference group or peer group influence, driving range, possible top speed, cost of the vehicle itself, battery capacity, battery life, and charging time, appearance, charging stations, vehicle performance, maintenance costs and vehicle safety, lack of choice in vehicles, lack of electric vehicle infrastructure and potential increases in electric rates. It is therefore recommended that these factors are addressed in order to enhance the attractiveness of electric vehicles. More importantly, environmental concern has to be reinforced through campaigns which are focused on raising awareness on the issue of environmental sustainability.References
Ajzen, I., (1989) Attitude structure and behaviour. In Fransson, N., and Garling, T (1999) Environmental Concern: Conceptual Definitions, Measurement Methods, and Research Findings: Journal of Environmental Psychology. 19, 369-382.
Ajzen, I., (1991). The theory of planned behaviour. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Process, 50, 179-211.
Ali, A., Khan, A. A., and Ahmed, I., (2011). Determinants of Pakistani consumers’ green purchase behaviour: Some insights from a developing country. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2 (3) 217-226.
Bailey, C. A (2007) A Guide to Qualitative Field Research, 2nd Ed, Thousand Oaks, California, Pine Forge Press/Sage.
Baldassare, M., and Katz, C., (1992). The personal threat of environmental problems as predictor of environmental practices. Environment and Behaviour, 24, 602-616. In Fransson, N., and Garling, T (1999) Environmental Concern: Conceptual Definitions, Measurement Methods, and Research Findings: Journal of Environmental Psychology. 19, 369-382.
Banerjee, S., (2016). Moderating effect of peer group environment on consumer predisposition towards premium promotions: A study on young urban consumers in India. IIMB Management Review, 28, 225-234.
Berensteanuand, A., and Li, S., (2011). Gasoline price, government support and the demand for hybrid vehicles. Int. Econ. Rev, 52, 161-182.
Black, J. S., Stern, P. C., and Elworth, J. T., (1985). Personal and contextual influences on household energy adaptations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70, 3-21. In Fransson, N., and Garling, T (1999) Environmental Concern: Conceptual Definitions, Measurement Methods, and Research Findings: Journal of Environmental Psychology. 19, 369-382.
Carley, S., Krause, R. M., Lane, B. W., Graham, J. D., (2013). Intent to purchase a plug-in electric vehicle: A survey of early impressions in large US cities. Transp. Res, 18, 39-45.
Chan, R. Y., (2001). Determinants of Chinese consumers’ green purchase behaviour. Psychology and Marketing, 18 (4) 389-413.
Chen, H. S., Chen C. Y., Chen, H.K., and Hsieh, T (2012) A Study of Relationships among Green Consumption Attitude, Perceived Risk, Perceived Value toward Hydrogen-Electric Motorcycle Purchase Intention. AASRI Procedia 2, 163-168.
De Groot, I. M., and Steg, L., (2007). Value Orientations and Environmental Beliefs in Five Countries: Validity of an Instrument to measure Egoistic, Altruistic and Biospheric Value Orientations. SAGE Publications.
Delang, C. O., and Cheng, W. T. (2013). Hong Kong people’s attitudes towards electric cars. Int. J. Electr. Hybrid Veh, 5, 15-27.
Du, J., and Ouyang, D., (2016). Progress of Chinese electric vehicles industrialization in 2015: A review. Applied Energy 188, 529-546.
Dunlap, R. E., and Van Liere, K. D., (1978). The ‘new environmental paradigm.’ Journal of Environmental Education, 9, 10-19. In Fransson, N., and Garling, T (1999) Environmental Concern: Conceptual Definitions, Measurement Methods, and Research Findings: Journal of Environmental Psychology. 19, 369-382.
Dunlap, R., and Jones, R., (2002) Environmental concern: conceptual and measurement issues. In Helm, S. V., Pollitt, A., Barnett, M. A., Curran, M. A., and Craig, Z. R., (2018) Differentiating environmental concern in the context of psychological adaptation to climate change. Global Environmental Change, 48, 158-167.
Ellen, P. S., Wiener, J. L., and Cobb-Walgren, C., (1991). The role perceived consumer effectiveness in motivating environmentally conscious behaviours. J. Public Policy Mark, 10, 102-117.
EPRI. (2010). Characterizing Consumers’ Interest in and Infrastructure Expectations for Electric Vehicles: Research Design and Survey Results; Report No. 1021285; Electric Power Research Institute: Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Fishbein, M., and Ajzen, I., (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behaviour: An introduction to theory and research. Reading MA: Addision-Wesley. In Fransson, N., and Garling, T., (1999) Environmental Concern: Conceptual Definitions, Measurement Methods, and Research Findings: Journal of Environmental Psychology. 19, 369-382.
Fransson, N., and Garling, T., (1999) Environmental Concern: Conceptual Definitions, Measurement Methods, and Research Findings: Journal of Environmental Psychology. 19, 369-382.
Fryxell, G. E., and Lo, C. W. H., (2003). The influence of environmental knowledge and values on managerial behaviours on behalf of the environment: An empirical examination of managers in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 46, 45-69.
Gallagher, K. S., and Muehlegger, E., (2011). Giving green to get green? Incentives and consumer adoption of hybrid vehicle technology. J. Environ. Econ. Manag, 61, 1-15. In Lai, I. K. W., Liu, Y., Sun, X., Zhang, H., and Xu W., (2015). Factors Influencing the Behavioural Intention towards Full Electric Vehicles: An Empirical Study in Macau. Sustainability, 7, 12564-12585.
Gardner, G.T., and Stern, P. C., (1996) Environmental problems and human behaviour. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. In Fransson, N., and Garling, T (1999) Environmental Concern: Conceptual Definitions, Measurement Methods, and Research Findings: Journal of Environmental Psychology. 19, 369-382.
Garling, T., Fujii, S., Garling, A., and Jakobsoson, C., (2003). Moderating effects of social value orientation on determinants of proenvironmental behaviour intention. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23, 1-9.
Graham-Rowe, E., Gardner, B., Abraham, C., Skippon, S., Dittmar, H., Hutchins, R., and Stannard, J (2012). Mainstream consumers driving plug-in battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars: A qualitative analysis of responses and evaluations. Transp. Res. 46, 140-153.
Helm, S. V., Pollitt, A., Barnett, M. A., Curran, M. A., and Craig, Z. R., (2018) Differentiating environmental concern in the context of psychological adaptation to climate change. Global Environmental Change, 48, 158-167.
IEA. World Energy Outlook (2006) International Energy Agency: Paris, France.
Jensen, A. F., Cherchi, E., and Mabit, S.L., (2013). On the stability of preferences and attitudes before and after experiencing an electric vehicle. Transp. Res. D, 25, 24-32.
Joireman, J. A., Lasane, T. P., Richards, D., and Solaimani, S., (2001). Integrating social value orientation and the consideration of future consequences within the extended norm activation model of proenvironmental behaviour. British Journal of Social Psychology, 40, 133-155.
Joshi, Y., and Rahman, Z., (2012) Factors Affecting Green Purchase Behaviour and Future Research Directions. International Strategic Management Review 3, 128-143.
Kim, H., and Damhorst, M. R., (1998). Environmental concern and apparel consumption. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 16 (3) 126-133.
Lai, I. K. W., Liu, Y., Sun, X., Zhang, H., and Xu W., (2015). Factors Influencing the Behavioural Intention towards Full Electric Vehicles: An Empirical Study in Macau. Sustainability, 7, 12564-12585.
Lee, K., (2008). Opportunities for green marketing: Young consumers. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 26, 573-586.
Liu, J., and Santos, G., (2015). The plug-in hybrid electric vehicles potential for urban transport in China: The role of energy sources and utility factors. Int. J. Sustain. Transp, 9, 145-157.
Lou, Y., Wang, W., and Yang, X (2017) Customers’ attitude on new energy vehicles’ policies and policy impact on customers’ purchase intention. Energy Procedia 105, 2187-2193.
Manaktola, K., and Jauhari, V., (2007). Exploring consumer attitude and behaviour towards green practices in the lodging industry in India. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 19 (5) 364-377.
Nayum, A., Klockner, C. A., and Prugsamatz, S., (2013) Influences of car type class and carbon dioxide emission levels on purchases of new cars: A retrospective analysis of car purchases in Norway. Transp, Res, 48, 96-108.
Newton, J. D., Tsarenko, Y., Ferraro, C., and Sands, S., (2015). Environmental concern and environmental purchase intentions: The mediating role of learning strategy. Journal of Business Research, 68, 1974-1981.
Nik Abdul Rashid, N. R., (2009). Awareness of eco-label in Malaysia’s green marketing initiative. International Journal of Business and Management, 4 (8) 132-141.
Ou, S., Lin, Z., Wu, Z., Zheng, J., Lyu, R., Przesmitzki, S., and He X., (2017). A Study of China’s Explosive Growth in the Plug-in Electric Vehicle Market. Oak Ridge, US Department of Energy. TN 37831-6283.
Rezvani, Z., Jansson, J., and Bodin, J., (2015). Advances in consumer electric vehicle adoption research: A review and research agenda. Transport Research Part D, 34, 122-136.
Schulte, I., Hart, D., van der Vost, R (2004) Issues affecting the acceptance of hydrogen fuel. Int. J. Hydrog. Energy, 29, 677-685.
Schultz, P., (2000). New environmental theories: empathizing with nature: the effects of perspective taking on concern for environmental issues. J. Soc. Issues 56, 391-406.
Schuitema, G., Anable, J., Skippon, S., and Kinnear, N., (2013). The role of instrumental, hedonic and symbolic attributes in the intention to adopt electric vehicles. Transp. Res, 48, 39-49.
Sergio Silva Braga Junior, Dirceu da Silva, Gabriel and Waleska Reali de Oliveira Braga (2015) The Effects of Environmental Concern on Purchase of Green Products in Retail: Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences 170, 99 – 108.
Sjoberg, L., (1989) Global change and human action: Psychological perspectives. International Social Science Journal, 121, 414-432.
Stern, P. C., (1992). Psychological dimensions of global environmental change. Annual Review of Psychology, 43, 269-302.
Stern, P. C., and Dietz, T., (1994). The value basis of environmental concern. Journal of Social Issues, 50, 65-84. In Fransson, N., and Garling, T (1999) Environmental Concern: Conceptual Definitions, Measurement Methods, and Research Findings: Journal of Environmental Psychology. 19, 369-382.
Straughan, R. D., and Roberts, J. A., 1999). Environmental segmentation alternatives: a look at green consumer behaviour in the millennium. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 16 (6), 558-578.
Takala, M., (1991) Environmental awareness and human activity. International Journal of Psychology, 26, 585-597.
Tianwen, L., (2010) Electric Vehicle Industry Overview in China. Battery World, 5(1), 8-9.
Weigel, R. H., (1983) Environmental attitudes and the prediction of behaviour. In Fransson, N., and Garling, T (1999) Environmental Concern: Conceptual Definitions, Measurement Methods, and Research Findings: Journal of Environmental Psychology. 19, 369-382.
Weiss, M., Patel, M. K., Junginger, M., Perujo, A., Bonnel, P., and van Grootveld, G (2012). On the electrification of road transport – Learning rates and price forecasts for hybrid-electric and battery-electric vehicles. Energy Policy, 48, 374-393.
William, T., and Hickey, J., (2005). Society in focus. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. In Banerjee, S., (2016). Moderating effect of peer group environment on consumer predisposition towards premium promotions: A study on young urban consumers in India. IIMB Management Review, 28, 225-234.
Xu, X., Wang, L., and Niu, T., (2002). Air pollution and its Health Effects in Beijing. Wiley Online Library, Ecosystem Health / Volume 4, Issue 4.
Yusof, J. M., Singh, G. K., and Razak, R. A., (2013). Purchase Intention of Environment-Friendly Automobile. Procedia. Social and Behavioural Sciences, 85, 400-410.
Zhang, Q., Ou, X., Yan, X., and Zhang, X., (2017). Electric Vehicle Market Penetration and Impacts on Energy Consumption and CO2 Emission in the Future: Beijing Case. Energies, 10, 228; doi: 10.3390/en10020228.
Zheng, X., Lin, H., Liu, Z., Li, D., Llopis-Albert, C., and Zeng, S., (2018). Manufacturing Decisions and Government Subsidies for Electric Vehicles in China: A maximal Social Welfare Perspective. Sustainability, 10, 672.
Ziegler, A., (2012). Individual characteristics and stated preferences for alternative energy sources and propulsion technologies in vehicles: A discrete choice analysis for Germany. Transp. Res, 46, 1372-1385.
