Can self-reliant societies be potential adopters of electric bicycles? Examining the role of sociopsychological influences among the university employees in India
Mohammad Zabiulla , Prasanta K. Sahu , Bandhan Bandhu Majumdar , Rodrigo Rico Bini
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Electric bicycles (e-bikes) are gaining popularity globally as green and active modes of transport. Research on e-bike adoption to date has predominantly investigated various extrinsic motivations to use an e-bike, and little is known about the psychological influences. Examining the influence of psychological determinants is crucial to comprehend the unobserved individual and social factors affecting e-bike adoption. This study aims to determine the sociopsychological influences associated with e-bike use among the daily commuters (employees) of two university campuses in India which represent self-reliant societies. The study extends the classic Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework to account for influences like personal norms, knowledge of e-bikes, and parking anxiety, in addition to fundamental TPB constructs (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control). Results are constructed by a structural equation model (SEM) for a sample of 347 non-users of e-bikes. SEM model indicates that among all TPB constructs, subjective norms are the strongest predictors of intentions to use e-bikes. Both subjective norms and attitudes have a significant positive effect on adoption intentions, whereas perceived behavioural control has a significant negative effect. Personal norms had significant indirect positive effects on e-bike use intentions with fundamental TPB constructs as mediators. Interestingly, parking anxiety (anxiety from missing the car parking spaces) positively, and knowledge of e-bikes negatively influence the e-bike adoption intentions. Further, comparison by psychological influences reveals that a significant difference exists between the perceptions of the two university commuters towards e-bike use, possibly due to the distinct terrain and climate characteristics of the universities. The study findings have implications for designing effective e-bike interventions and awareness programs seeking to promote e-bike adoption, particularly in self-reliant communities.
期刊介绍:
Travel Behaviour and Society is an interdisciplinary journal publishing high-quality original papers which report leading edge research in theories, methodologies and applications concerning transportation issues and challenges which involve the social and spatial dimensions. In particular, it provides a discussion forum for major research in travel behaviour, transportation infrastructure, transportation and environmental issues, mobility and social sustainability, transportation geographic information systems (TGIS), transportation and quality of life, transportation data collection and analysis, etc.