Influence of Reduced Air Pollution Source Emission Information on User Behavioural Intention Towards E-Scooter Products
Abstract
In this study, a mobile application-based service providing information on the reduction in the air pollution source emissions due to the replacement of conventional scooters by electric scooters (e-scooters) was proposed to increase user awareness of air quality and purchase intention towards e-scooters. The extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology was employed and an explanatory variable of environmental awareness (EA) was incorporated for enhancing constructs to investigate the factors that may influence the user acceptance of text-based mobile information on the reduced carbon emissions, in comparison with that of histogram-based mobile information on the reduction in emissions of six air pollution sources. A within-subjects experimental design was employed to evaluate both information contents. The results indicate that the model constructs of habit and EA are useful predictors of the behavioural intention (BI) to use app services. Furthermore, providing different mobile information contents demonstrated no statistically significant difference in the user’s acceptance and intentions. However, providing different mobile information contents on the same information spindle may trigger different constructs and intensities of influence on users’ purchase intentions for e-scooters. Based on these findings, several recommendations for app managers and developers and suggestions for future research have been provided.
References
OCDE O. Economic Consequences of Outdoor Air Pollution. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; 2016. doi: 10.1787/9789264257474-en.
OECD. Launch of OECD report – The Cost of Air Pollution: Health Impacts of Road Transport, 2014. https://www.oecd.org/about/secretary-general/launch-of-oecd-report-the-cost-of-air-pollution-health-impacts-of-road-transport.htm [Accessed 16th Jan. 2020].
EPA (Environmental Protection Administration). Old Vehicle Phase-out Achieves Outstanding Results, 2020. https://www.epa.gov.tw/eng/F7AB26007B8FE8DF/2bff6ad1-7a55-4f50-9884-2736db03da41 [Accessed 18th Jan. 2021].
Statista. Number of smartphone users worldwide from 2016 to 2021, 2019. https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/ [Accessed 3th Feb. 2020].
Iqbal M. App Download and Usage Statistics; 2019. https://www.businessofapps.com/data/app-statistics/ [Accessed 6th Mar. 2020].
Statista. Annual Number of Global Mobile App Downloads 2017–2022, 2018. https://www.statista.com/statistics/271644/worldwide-free-and-paid-mobile-app-store-downloads/ [Accessed 19th Mar. 2020].
Meeker M, Wu L. Internet trends 2019. Morgan Stanley Research; 2019. https://www.bondcap.com/report/itr19/#archive [Accessed 5th Feb. 2020].
Lepoutre J, Heene A. Investigating the impact of firm size on small business social responsibility: A critical review. Journal of Business Ethics. 2006;67(3): 257-273. doi: 10.1007/s10551-006-9183-5.
Roberts S, Lawson R, Nicholls J. Generating regional-scale improvements in SME corporate responsibility performance: Lessons from responsibility Northwest. Journal of Business Ethics. 2006;67(3): 275-286. doi: 10.1007/s10551-006-9184-4.
Zutshi A, Sohal A. Environmental management system adoption by Australasian organisations: Part 1: Reasons, benefits and impediments. Technovation. 2004;24(4): 335-357. doi: 10.1016/S0166-4972(02)00053-6.
Uzunboylu H, Cavus N, Ercag E. Using mobile learning to increase environmental awareness. Computers & Education. 2009;52(2): 381-389. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2008.09.008.
Bemporad R, Baranowski M. Conscious consumers are changing the rules of marketing. Are you ready? In: Highlights BBMG Conscious Consum Rep. New York, NY, USA: BBMG; 2007.
Mintel International Group Ltd. Green living. Chicago, USA. 2008.
European Commission. Attitudes of Europeans citizens towards the environment. Eurobarometer; 2008. p. 295.
Kang S. Factors influencing intention of mobile application use. International Journal of Mobile Communications. 2014;12(4): 360-379. doi: 10.1504/IJMC.2014.063653.
Venkatesh V, Thong JY, Xu X. Consumer acceptance and use of information technology: Extending the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. MIS Quarterly. 2012; 157-178. doi: 10.2307/41410412.
Venkatesh V, Morris MG, Davis GB, Davis FD. User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly. 2003; 425-478. doi: 10.2307/30036540. [Accessed 16th Jan. 2020].
Arya A. More than 10 billion app store downloads served. Macworld. April 2011;29(4): 29. doi: 10.1504/IJMC.2014.063653.
Venkatesh V, Brown SA, Maruping LM, Bala H. Predicting different conceptualizations of system use: the competing roles of behavioral intention, facilitating conditions, and behavioral expectation. MIS Quarterly. 2008; 483-502. doi: 10.2307/25148853.
Shin DH. User acceptance of mobile Internet: Implication for convergence technologies. Interacting with computers. 2007;19(4): 472-483. doi: 10.1016/j.intcom.2007.04.001.
Chong AY, Chan FT, Ooi KB, Sim JJ. Can Malaysian firms improve organizational/innovation performance via SCM? Industrial Management & Data Systems. 2011;111(3): 410-431. doi: 10.1108/02635571111118288.
Limayem M, Hirt SG, Cheung CM. How habit limits the predictive power of intention: The case of information systems continuance. MIS Quarterly. 2007; 705-737. doi: 10.2307/25148817.
Coertjens L, Boeve-de Pauw J, De Maeyer S, Van Petegem P. Do schools make a difference in their students’ environmental attitudes and awareness? Evidence from Pisa 2006. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. 2010;8(3): 497-522. doi: 10.1007/s10763-010-9200-0.
Qu Y, Liu Y, Nayak RR, Li M. Sustainable development of eco-industrial parks in China: Effects of managers' environmental awareness on the relationships between practice and performance. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2015;87: 328-338. doi: 10.1016/ j.jclepro.2014.09.015.
Gadenne DL, Kennedy J, McKeiver C. An empirical study of environmental awareness and practices in SMEs. Journal of Business Ethics. 2009;84(1): 45-63. doi: 10.1007/s10551-008-9672-9.
Du Y, et al. Changes in environmental awareness and its connection to local environmental management in water conservation zones: The case of Beijing, China. Sustainability. 2018;10(6): 2087. doi: 10.3390/su10062087.
Madigan R, et al. What influences the decision to use automated public transport? Using UTAUT to understand public acceptance of automated road transport systems. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 2017;50: 55-64. doi: 10.1016/j.trf.2017.07.007.
Huang FH. Comparison of user experiences based on watching 360° immersive video and reality–A case study of a scooter ride. Promet – Traffic&Transportation. 2020;32(2): 207-217. doi: 10.7307/ptt.v32i2.3232.
Hu LT, Bentler PM. Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 1999; 1-55. doi: 10.1080/10705519909540118.
Mardia KV. Measures of multivariate skewness and kurtosis with applications. Biometrika. 1970;57(3): 519-530. doi: 10.1093/biomet/57.3.519.
Hair JF, Risher JJ, Sarstedt M, Ringle CM. When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review. 2019;31(1): 2-24. doi: 10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203.
Hair JF, et al. Multivariate data analysis (Vol. 6). 2006.
Wood W, Labrecque JS, Lin PY, Rünger D. Habits in dual process models. In: Sherman JW, Gawronski B, Trope Y. (eds.) Dual-process theories of the social mind. The Guilford Press; 2014. p. 371-385.
Evans JSB, Stanovich KE. Dual-process theories of higher cognition: Advancing the debate. Perspectives on Psychological Science. 2013;8(3): 223-241. doi: 10.1177/1745691612460685.
Ham M, Mrčela D, Horvat M. Insights for measuring environmental awareness. Ekonomski vjesnik: Review of Contemporary Entrepreneurship, Business, and Economic Issues. 2016;29(1): 159-176. doi: 10.17509/invotec.v15i2.19638.
Ghalandari K. The effect of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions on acceptance of e-banking services in Iran: The moderating role of age and gender. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research. 2012;12(6): 801-807. doi: 10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2012.12.6.2536.
Van der Heijden H. User acceptance of hedonic information systems. MIS Quarterly. 2004; 695-704. doi: 10.2307/25148660.
Kelman HC. Further thoughts on the processes of compliance, identification, and internalization. In: Tedeschi JT. (ed.) Perspectives on social power. Chicago, Aldine Press; 1974. p. 126-171.
Hwang Y. A preliminary examination of the factors for knowledge sharing in technology mediated learning. Journal of Information Systems Education. 2008;19(4): 419.
Bagozzi RP, Lee KH. Multiple routes for social influence: The role of compliance, internalization, and social identity. Social Psychology Quarterly. 2002; 226-247. doi: 10.2307/3090121.
Dholakia UM, Bagozzi RP, Pearo LK. A social influence model of consumer participation in network-and small-group-based virtual communities. International Journal of Research in Marketing. 2004;21(3): 241-263. doi: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2003.12.004.
Shen AX, Cheung CM, Lee MK, Chen H. How social influence affects we-intention to use instant messaging: The moderating effect of usage experience. Information Systems Frontiers. 2011;13(2): 157-169. doi: 10.1007/s10796-009-9193-9.
Verplanken B, Orbell S. Reflections on past behavior: A self-report index of habit strength. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 2003;33(6): 1313-1330. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2003.tb01951.x.
Laroche M, Bergeron J, Barbaro-Forleo G. Targeting consumers who are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products. Journal of Consumer Marketing. 2001;18(6): 503-520. doi: 10.1108/EUM0000000006155.
Chitra K. In search of the green consumers: A perceptual study. Journal of Services Research. 2007;7(1): 173-191.
Zhang L, Wang J, You J. Consumer environmental awareness and channel coordination with two substitutable products. European Journal of Operational Research. 2015;241(1): 63-73. doi: 10.1016/j.ejor.2014.07.043.
Copyright (c) 2022 Fei-Hui HUANG
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
