What are Important Technologies for Sustainable Development in the Trucking Industries of Emerging Markets? Differences between Organizational and Individual Buyers

Abstract

This article examines perceived importance of sustainable technologies and how organizational buyers and individual buyers differ in their willingness to pay for sustainable technological innovations an emerging market. Extensive field research was conducted to develop the study measures. Using Weber’s step-by-step method of coding, we selected 24 sustainable technologies that are representative of the technological preferences and demands of truck drivers in China. We also conducted pretests with trucking company executives to improve the final survey instrument. We collected data from 510 organizational buyers and 2680 individual buyers. Results show that organizational buyers and individual buyers have similar preferences for 15 of the 24 sustainable technologies. The individual buyers have a significantly higher preference than organizational buyers for sustainable technologies, such as comfort, image, and service attributes. However, the study findings suggest that organizational buyers have a greater preference in the total cost of ownership dimension. Through content analysis of survey responses in China, we identified the most influential and popular sustainable technology in the business-to-business trucking industry in emerging markets, such as China. Our research expands the application of sustainable buying behavior theory to the trucking industry in an emerging market. We suggest management and marketing strategies to sustainable development of trucking industry.