Perceived seriousness of environmental issues and the influence of willingness to pay for hybrid vehicles: An anthropological extension of the theory of planned behavior

Abstract

As an energy-efficient transportation innovation, hybrid vehicles (HVs) have the potential to minimize carbon emissions and address environmental issues. The study is novel as it presents significant theoretical contributions within the theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework. Firstly, it integrates the perceived seriousness of environmental problems as a predictor, enhancing understanding of individual responses to environmental concerns. Secondly, it expands the TPB model by introducing willingness to pay for HVs as a moderator, acknowledging the economic aspect of adopting environmentally friendly technologies. These additions enrich the TPB framework, offering insights into the interplay between psychological determinants and economic considerations in behavior change. The study therefore aims to extend the TPB by incorporating two key elements: perceived seriousness of environmental issues and willingness to pay for HVs. We find that perceived seriousness of problems in the environmental has positive impact on attitude toward adoption of HVs, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intentions to adopt and actual use of HVs. TPB constructs have positive impact on intentions to adopt and actually use HVs. Moreover, intentions to adopt HVs also positively influence the actual use of HVs. Moreover, the results show that the serial mediations are also in play, whereby perceived seriousness of environmental issues influences TPB constructs, which influence intentions to adopt HV which in turn influence the actual use of HVs. We also find that willing to pay for HVs plays an enhancing role as a moderator in the TPB model.