Exploring consumers' motives for electric vehicle adoption: bridging the attitude–behavior gap

Abstract

PurposeThe current study aims to investigate the various consumption motives (hedonic, gain and normative) responsible for strengthening consumers' intentions toward purchase behavior for electric vehicle (EV).Design/methodology/approachA total of 411 valid survey responses were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to investigate the empirical fit of the hypothesized framework.FindingsThe results of structural equation modeling revealed that all three motives were positively correlated with purchase intentions for EV. Hedonic motives were found to have the strongest influence on purchase intentions. In addition, gain and normative motives were also found to be significant predictors of EV buying behavior. Further analysis revealed a positive correlation between gain, normative and hedonic motives. Moreover, personal moral standards seem to have a significant and positive impact on the positive emotions associated with buying EV.Practical implicationsThe results of current research can be useful for marketers while designing promotional strategies for all the high-involvement green products. Marketing professionals and policymakers can use these results to build effective marketing strategies for EVs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from personal vehicle use.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study in the South Asian region that explores consumers' motives for EV purchase behavior. Further, this is among a few studies, which have attempted to investigate the impact of hedonic, gain and normative motives on green purchase behavior in the context of high involvement green products.