Shared mobility

: the role of green perceptions and psychological preferences in e-carsharing adoption

Abstract

The growing awareness of environmental issues can be linked to the demand for green transport innovations. E-carsharing embodies an evolution in sustainable mobility innovations that is on a path of exponential growth. Business-to-consumer (B2C) providers are strategically integrating carsharing with electric vehicles (EVs) and positioning themselves as pioneers of environmentally conscious driving behaviors. Consumer behavior studies have highlighted the importance of green perceptions and psychological preferences in the adoption of sustainable innovations. The purpose of this paper is to identify how users and non-users of e-carsharing perceive the greenness of this service and how psychological preferences affect the adoption of e-carsharing. The goal is to determine which factors significantly influence the adoption of e-carsharing. The paper also analyzes the relationship between environmental consciousness, one of the psychological preferences, and the green perceptions of e-carsharing. An online questionnaire was used to survey e-carsharing users and non-users from the ten German cities with the highest density of car sharing services. Results revealed that users perceive the e-carsharing service as greener. In terms of psychological preferences, users show a greater inclination toward tech-savviness, have a higher propensity to adopt a Variety-Seeking Lifestyle (VSL), and use shared goods, but they are less environmentally conscious compared to non-users. This research validates that the factors significantly influencing the adoption of e-carsharing are green perceptions, VSL, and environmental consciousness. Additionally, the results indicate that environmental consciousness is not directly related to green perceptions. The theoretical and managerial implications of these results are discussed.

Date of Award	24 Jan 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Mónica Amâncio da Silva Borges (Supervisor)