Beyond purchasing: Electric vehicle adoption motivation and consistent sustainable energy behaviour in The Netherlands. (May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Peters, A.M.; van der Werff, E.; Steg, L.
• Is Part Of: Energy research & social science. Volume 39(2018)
• Page Start: 234
• Page End: 247
• Publication Date: 2018-05
• Subjects: Motivation -- Electric vehicle -- Environmental self-identity -- Sustainable energy behaviour; Power resources -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Energy consumption -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 333.7905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2017.10.008
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2214-6296

Abstract

Highlights: Motivation for electric vehicle (EV) adoption affects consistent sustainable energy behaviour. Adopting an EV for environmental reasons promotes consistent sustainable energy behaviour via environmental self-identity. Adopting an EV for financial or technological reasons is not consistently related to environmental self-identity and sustainable energy behaviour. Abstract: Adoption of smart energy technologies, such as electric vehicles (EVs), can significantly reduce fossil energy use, provided that adopters of an EV also use the EV in a sustainable way. Hence, it is key to understand which factors affect the likelihood that the adoption of EVs promotes the sustainable use of EVs, and promote consistent sustainable energy behaviours. We argue that the motivation to adopt an EV plays a key role in this respect. When people adopt an EV for environmental reasons, this will signal that they are a pro-environmental person, thereby strengthening environmental self-identity and promoting consistent sustainable energy behaviours. We conducted two cross-sectional studies among EV adopters to test our reasoning. As expected, the more people adopted an EV for environmental reasons, the stronger their environmental self-identity, in turn increasing the likelihood that they engaged in other sustainable energy behaviours. In contrast, adopting an EV for financial or technological reasons was not consistently related to environmental self-identity and sustainable energy behaviours. These results suggest that the motivation for adopting an EV is crucial for the likelihood that people engage in sustainable energy behaviour consistently, which is key to realise a sustainable energy transition.