In spite of the purported positive environmental consequences of electrifying the light duty vehicle fleet, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) in use is still insignificant. One reason for the modest adoption figures is that the mass acceptance of EVs to a large extent is reliant on consumers’ perception of EVs. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the drivers for and barriers against consumer adoption of plug-in EVs, as well as an overview of the theoretical perspectives that have been utilized for understanding consumer intentions and adoption behavior towards EVs. In addition, we identify gaps and limitations in existing research and suggest areas in which future research would be able to contribute

Purpose: Knowledge of green consumer behavior is important for environmental and business reasons. The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of green curtailment behaviors and consumer adoption of innovations marketed as green (eco‐innovations), and to analyze factors explaining these two types of green behaviors.Design/methodology/approach: The results from a survey on adopters and non‐adopters (n=1,832) of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) are reported. Regression analysis on willingness to curtail car use and willingness to adopt a so‐called environmentally friendly car are used to identify significant determinants across the behavioral categories.Findings: The results show that values, beliefs, norms, and habit strength determine willingness to curtail and willingness for eco‐innovation adoption. Personal norms have a strong positive influence on willingness for the behaviors and habit strength has a negative influence. The other determinants have varying influence depending on type of behavior.Research limitations/implications: A limitation of this study concerns the focus on only one eco‐innovation. However, since the adoption of AFVs is a high involvement behavior, the results carry implications for other high involvement products as well.Practical implications: Attitudinal factors and habits in combination prove to be effective determinants for curtailment behaviors and willingness to adopt eco‐innovations. In addition, previous adoption is found to be a strong determinant of future willingness to adopt.Originality/value: The contribution of the paper is the two‐sided approach on green consumer behavior and the result that values, beliefs and norms not only predict low involvement post‐purchase behaviors but also adoption of high involvement eco‐innovations.

Ecosystem degradation and social sustainability have become important issues in the corporate sphere during the last few decades. However, research discussing corporate social responsibility and related concepts has often focused on larger companies, sometimes neglecting the specifics of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between two common strategic orientations, market orientation (MO) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO), in relation to sustainability commitment, sustainability practices and management values in SMEs. Questionnaire responses from 450 Swedish SMEs were analyzed, confirming the influence of MO, EO and sustainability practices on commitment to sustainability, implying that firms committed to sustainability see both market and entrepreneurial advantages of sustainability. The results also show that different parts of MO and EO differ in importance for commitment to sustainability among SMEs. Implications concern the importance for firms and policymakers to work with sustainability issues using both internal and external perspectives. © 2015 The Authors. Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Transportation accounts for a large and growing part of carbon dioxide emissions. With an increasing vehicle fleet worldwide private car use is becoming an acute problem in need of urgent attention and action. Policy interference and cleaner cars are not enough; alternative fuel vehicles such as electric vehicles need to be adopted by consumers as well. Previous research on pro-environmental consumer behavior and sustainable consumption has proven the importance of norms and pro-environmental attitudes. However, little research has focused on understanding interpersonal influence found influential in consumer behavior research relating to innovation adoption. Consumer opinion leading and opinion seeking are two such interpersonal influence attitudinal constructs that have not been empirically analyzed in relation to sustainable consumption and alternative fuel vehicles. The main aim of this study is thus to analyze the influence of a set of attitudinal constructs on electric and flexfuel vehicle adoption: personal norms, social norms, ecological attitudes, opinion leading, and opinion seeking. Data from a questionnaire survey on three groups of electric vehicle adopters and non-adopters is used (N=1,192). The results confirm the importance of personal norms, opinion leading and opinion seeking in the three groups also when controlling for socio-demographic factors. The main contribution of this study is that it shows the importance of both interpersonal influence and attitudinal factors as drivers for eco-innovation adoption. The study also contributes in showing that electric vehicle and flexfuel vehicle adopters differ in relation to non-adopters on several factors.USBESDA