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Examining drivers of sustainable consumption : The influence of norms and opinion leadership on electric vehicle adoption in Sweden

Jansson, Johan LU ; Nordlund, Annika and Westin, Kerstin (2017) In Journal of Cleaner Production 154(15 June). p.176-187
Abstract
Transportation accounts for a large and growing part of carbon dioxide emissions. With an increasing vehicle fleet worldwide private car use is becoming an acute problem in need of urgent attention and action. Policy interference and cleaner cars are not enough; alternative fuel vehicles such as electric vehicles need to be adopted by consumers as well. Previous research on pro-environmental consumer behavior and sustainable consumption has proven the importance of norms and pro-environmental attitudes. However, little research has focused on understanding interpersonal influence found influential in consumer behavior research relating to innovation adoption. Consumer opinion leading and opinion seeking are two such interpersonal influence... (More)
Transportation accounts for a large and growing part of carbon dioxide emissions. With an increasing vehicle fleet worldwide private car use is becoming an acute problem in need of urgent attention and action. Policy interference and cleaner cars are not enough; alternative fuel vehicles such as electric vehicles need to be adopted by consumers as well. Previous research on pro-environmental consumer behavior and sustainable consumption has proven the importance of norms and pro-environmental attitudes. However, little research has focused on understanding interpersonal influence found influential in consumer behavior research relating to innovation adoption. Consumer opinion leading and opinion seeking are two such interpersonal influence attitudinal constructs that have not been empirically analyzed in relation to sustainable consumption and alternative fuel vehicles. The main aim of this study is thus to analyze the influence of a set of attitudinal constructs on electric and flexfuel vehicle adoption: personal norms, social norms, ecological attitudes, opinion leading, and opinion seeking. Data from a questionnaire survey on three groups of electric vehicle adopters and non-adopters is used (N=1,192). The results confirm the importance of personal norms, opinion leading and opinion seeking in the three groups also when controlling for socio-demographic factors. The main contribution of this study is that it shows the importance of both interpersonal influence and attitudinal factors as drivers for eco-innovation adoption. The study also contributes in showing that electric vehicle and flexfuel vehicle adopters differ in relation to non-adopters on several factors. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
consumer behavior, interpersonal influence, sustainable consumption, eco-innovation adoption, flexfuel vehicles, electric vehicles
in
Journal of Cleaner Production
volume
154
issue
15 June
pages
12 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000401201900018
  • scopus:85018553814
ISSN
0959-6526
DOI
10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.03.186
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
1204a8a5-9283-48f8-85c6-6e6b74e94acf
date added to LUP
2017-03-30 17:16:42
date last changed
2022-04-17 00:44:43
@article{1204a8a5-9283-48f8-85c6-6e6b74e94acf,
  abstract     = {{Transportation accounts for a large and growing part of carbon dioxide emissions. With an increasing vehicle fleet worldwide private car use is becoming an acute problem in need of urgent attention and action. Policy interference and cleaner cars are not enough; alternative fuel vehicles such as electric vehicles need to be adopted by consumers as well. Previous research on pro-environmental consumer behavior and sustainable consumption has proven the importance of norms and pro-environmental attitudes. However, little research has focused on understanding interpersonal influence found influential in consumer behavior research relating to innovation adoption. Consumer opinion leading and opinion seeking are two such interpersonal influence attitudinal constructs that have not been empirically analyzed in relation to sustainable consumption and alternative fuel vehicles. The main aim of this study is thus to analyze the influence of a set of attitudinal constructs on electric and flexfuel vehicle adoption: personal norms, social norms, ecological attitudes, opinion leading, and opinion seeking. Data from a questionnaire survey on three groups of electric vehicle adopters and non-adopters is used (N=1,192). The results confirm the importance of personal norms, opinion leading and opinion seeking in the three groups also when controlling for socio-demographic factors. The main contribution of this study is that it shows the importance of both interpersonal influence and attitudinal factors as drivers for eco-innovation adoption. The study also contributes in showing that electric vehicle and flexfuel vehicle adopters differ in relation to non-adopters on several factors.}},
  author       = {{Jansson, Johan and Nordlund, Annika and Westin, Kerstin}},
  issn         = {{0959-6526}},
  keywords     = {{consumer behavior; interpersonal influence; sustainable consumption; eco-innovation adoption; flexfuel vehicles; electric vehicles}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  number       = {{15 June}},
  pages        = {{176--187}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Cleaner Production}},
  title        = {{Examining drivers of sustainable consumption : The influence of norms and opinion leadership on electric vehicle adoption in Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.03.186}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.03.186}},
  volume       = {{154}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}