Abstract

The progress of the global agenda for sustainable development, as well as increased concerns over climate change and global resource storage, are in the centre of this century discussions and concerns. Such concerns foster the demand for electric vehicles as these contribute to a more sustainable transportation system by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The present dissertation aims to study online communities of electric vehicles enthusiasts, understanding their attitudes, behaviours and opinions towards electric vehicles purchase intentions. Hence, netnography is considered the most appropriate qualitative research method to conduct this research. Results demonstrate that electric vehicles purchase intentions are affected by the consumers weighting of drivers, barriers, and mostly, perceived self-image. Further, this research shows that purchase intentions of electric vehicles are highly motivated by social influence. This study contributes to current academic discussion on the influential factors of this technology diffusion, unveiling interesting findings regarding the pre-eminence of perceived self-image and vehicle performance over environmental concerns, on purchase intentions. The desired change of behaviours and attitudes towards a more sustainable lifestyle, should be enticed at a societal level through Social Marketing. Governments should promote a more sustainable behaviour on the transportation paradigm by investing in the development of charging infrastructures and promoting the adoption of electric vehicles through stricter policies and incentives. Conspicuously, companies should leverage on governments actions and policies by advocating the futuristic and innovative technology, enhancing consumers perceived self-image to hasten electric vehicles diffusion O progresso da agenda global para o desenvolvimento sustentável e o armazenamento de recursos globais, estão no centro das discussões e preocupações deste século. Estas preocupações estão a fomentar a procura de veículos elétricos, uma vez que estes favorecem a redução de emissões de gases com efeito estufa e contribuem para um sistema de transporte mais sustentável. A presente dissertação visa, por isso, analisar comunidades online de entusiastas de veículos elétricos e compreender as suas atitudes, comportamentos e opiniões em relação às intenções de compra de veículos elétricos. Deste modo, netnografia é considerado o método de investigação qualitativo mais adequado para esta investigação. Os resultados demonstram que as intenções de compra de veículos elétricos são afetadas pela forma como os consumidores avaliam motivações, barreiras e percecionam autoimagem. Adicionalmente, as intenções de compra são fortemente motivadas pela influência social. Este estudo contribui para a atual discussão académica sobre os fatores influentes na difusão desta tecnologia, revelando a preeminência da perceção da autoimagem e do desempenho dos veículos em detrimento de preocupações ambientais na intenção de compra. A desejada mudança de comportamentos e atitudes para um estilo de vida mais sustentável deve ser fomentada através do Marketing Social. Os governos devem promover um comportamento mais sustentável no sistema de transporte, promovendo a adoção de veículos elétricos e investindo no desenvolvimento de infraestruturas de carregamento. Seguidamente, as empresas devem aproveitar as ações e políticas dos governos, promovendo tecnologia futurista e inovadora, potenciando a autoimagem dos consumidores para acelerar a difusão de veículos elétricos.

Abstract

To date there has been little research in air transport into the eco-positioning of airlines, that is, their environmental image relative to other airlines and how actual environmental performance relates to this eco-positioning. This paper identifies the environmental perceptions that passengers hold of twelve airlines and relates these perceptions to airlines' actual environmental performance, using load factors, aircraft age and the atmosfair Airline index as proxies for environmental performance. Based on a survey of over 600 passengers at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, the research analyses air travellers' perception of airlines from an environmental perspective. The results show that while there are significant differences in people's environmental perception of airlines, the eco-positioning of the airlines is not correlated to their actual environmental performance. The results support previous research findings in other industries that in many cases actual performance is less important than communicating environmental messages to the public in creating a superior eco-positioning. Document type: Article