Technological Forecasting & Social Change 173 (2021) 121089

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Technological Forecasting & Social Change

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/techfore

Consumer adoption intention for electric vehicles: Insights and evidence

from Indian sustainable transportation
Deepak Jaiswal a, *, Vikrant Kaushal b, Rishi Kant c, Pankaj Kumar Singh d
a
Amity School of Business, Amity University Patna, India
b
Indian Institute of Management Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh, India
c
Department of Retail & Logistics Management, Central University of Haryana, India
d
ICFAI Business School (IBS), Hyderabad, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The study aims to operationalize and test the extended ‘Technology Acceptance Model’ (TAM) with perceived
Electric vehicles risk and financial incentives policy based on the integrative approach of ‘beliefs-attitude-intention’ in order to
Extended TAM understand and predict consumers’ intention to adopt electric vehicles (EVs). The research model also seeks to
Attitude
examine the mediating role of attitude towards EVs and the moderation of financial incentives policy in the
Financial incentives policy
Perceived risk
context of an emerging sustainable transportation market. The model was empirically tested by structural
Adoption intention equation modeling using online survey from Indian respondents. The findings reveal that adoption intention for
EVs is directly and indirectly influenced by the predictor variables of attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived
ease of use, and perceived risk, with the moderation of financial incentives policy. All the direct hypotheses were
accepted, except the relationship between perceived risk and attitude. In addition, the findings also confirm that
attitude partially mediate the effects of usefulness and ease of use on the adoption intention, however, no
mediating effect of attitude has been found between risk and adoption intention. The discussion and implications
offer deeper insights for policymakers and marketers on promoting EVs in the direction of future research in the
sustainable transportation.

1. Introduction power generation. Likewise, the looming environmental concerns and

the resulting trickle down effects have exponentially invigorated the
Transportation is becoming one of the major contributors of green­ debate of powering vehicles with alternative energy sources such as
house gases (Larson et al., 2014; Han et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2017a). electricity (Jorgensen, 2008). Although it is imperative that the alter­
According to the report of International Energy Agency (IEA, 2016), native fuel becomes a rudimentary aspect of people’s mobility, its
transport sector accounts for approximately one fourth of the total development and incorporation in the usual consumption system is
global greenhouse gas emissions and this is estimated to increase from dependent on the preference shown by the consumers (Chorus et al.,
23% to 50% by 2030. Therefore, transportation is being termed as a 2013; Junquera et al., 2016).
major obstacle in the realization of sustainable economies (Turton, In general, policies are seen to be aiming at tweaks and improve­
2006; Ajanovic, 2015). In light of the speculated rise in fuel demand up ments in vehicle technologies and needed infrastructural requirements,
to 40 percent by 2035 (Sierzchula et al., 2014), use of vehicles is ex­ the awareness and acceptance of alternative fuel is also crucial. The costs
pected to contribute significantly to the air pollution and the greenhouse and technical considerations can affect the acceptance behaviour of
effect (Qian and Soopramanien, 2011; Egbue and Long, 2012). customers toward electric powered vehicles (Barth et al., 2016; Wang
Conventionally, transportation has remained reliant on petroleum fuel, et al., 2018c). In addition to the cost and technology related factors that
which is limited and poses geopolitical implications in the supply have remained decisive in slower acceptance of electric vehicles among
management (Turton, 2006). These coupled with various other factors common mass, the variations of policies and measures between nations
have increased the need for search and scrutiny of alternative sources of also points at the need of mutual lessons that are needed to be learnt

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (D. Jaiswal), [email protected] (V. Kaushal), [email protected] (R. Kant), [email protected]
(P. Kumar Singh).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121089
Received 4 November 2020; Received in revised form 24 July 2021; Accepted 29 July 2021
Available online 9 August 2021
0040-1625/© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
D. Jaiswal et al. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 173 (2021) 121089

(Ajanovic, 2015). Concerning this, governments across the globe have and greenhouse gas emissions generated by transportation sector, the
either initiated or are earnestly contemplating to implement policies consumer adoption of electric vehicles may be a vital solution from the
concerning green automobiles (Liao et al., 2017; Ajanovic, 2015; Lane demand side of sustainable transportation markets like India. Hence,
and Potter, 2007). Electric vehicles are viewed as the future drivers of this empirical study endeavors to investigate the extension of TAM with
automobile market (De Santiago et al., 2011) and also as an innovation internal negative measure of perceived risk and the external motive of
that can address environmental concerns (Sierzchula et al., 2014). In financial incentives policy based on the integrative approach of
this regard, efforts of making electric vehicles competitive and replace ‘beliefs-attitude-intention’. This is being done to understand consumer
conventional ones are visible in various countries. Higher prices and psyche toward EV adoption and further fill the pertinent research gap in
lower energy densities have long prevented electric vehicles from the context of an emerging sustainable transportation market. Thus, the
gaining competitive edge, yet inclusion of more electric vehicle models positive beliefs of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and
in the automobile market is rising, this is also evident as numerous negative belief of perceived risk were analyzed to test the direct effects
manufacturers have electric run vehicles in their portfolios (Chan, 1999; on both ’attitude towards EVs and this adoption intention using path
De Santiago et al., 2011). analysis of SEM. In addition, ‘attitude towards EV’ was examined to play
At present, India is the fifth largest automobile market in the world mediating role between adoption intention and its predicator variables
and is expected to become the third largest (TFE Report, 2018) with a of usefulness, ease of use, and risk, while the external stimulus factor of
goal of reaching 30% EV penetration by 2030 via higher electrification ‘financial incentives policy’ was examined as a moderator in the rela­
of vehicles (World Economic Forum, 2019). EV can dominate the Indian tionship between adoption intention and attitudes towards EVs.
automobile market and leverage its positioning as zero emission The later sections offer ‘theoretical background and research hy­
mobility based on the mounting nation-wide demand (NITI Ayog, 2018), potheses’ comprising of ‘EV’ adoption in emerging markets with brief
which is largely shared by small vehicles segment (two/three-wheelers) discussion about the conceptual framework of ‘TAM’ and its extension
in terms of market size with a rising middle class and young population followed by ‘data and methodology’ section under the heads of sample
(IBEF, 2020). In a similar vein, scholars noted that adult, middle-aged, and data collection, and measures. Further on, the ‘analysis and results’
highly educated, and professional consumers express their strong pre­ section demonstrates scale reliability and validity followed by reporting
disposition towards EV adoption as early adopters in varied e-mobility the results of direct path coefficients along with mediation and moder­
market settings (Singh et al., 2020; Sovacool et al., 2018). Now, India ation effects. Finally, the ‘discussion and implications’ section presents
has the world’s largest youth population (356 million 10-24 years old) the research findings followed by concluding remarks on ‘limitations
who are the innovators, creators, and leaders of the future (The Eco­ and future research’.
nomic Times, 2014). Thus, targeting young adult and educated segments
of the Indian population can play a crucial role in the EV adoption 2. Theoretical background and research hypotheses
diffusion as early adopters and potential buyers for EV in the near future.
Researchers worldwide have increasingly adapted Technology 2.1. EVs adoption in India and emerging markets
Acceptance Model (TAM) driven by cognitive theories to understand
consumer psyche towards adopting EVs and as an acceptance of inno­ The emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil are rising up
vative technology or green products and services in the literature on to the challenge of environmental degradation and are increasing
sustainable transportation usage behaviour (e.g., Chen, 2016; She et al., emphasis on electric vehicles (Wu and Zhang, 2017). These countries do
2017; Wang et al., 2018b; Wu et al., 2019). However, scholars have exhibit certain similarities in the way they progress, however in the
critically argued that the classical approach of TAM, pioneered by Davis context of EV policy Brazil is yet to gain pace as its counterparts India
(1989) only considers the positive or advantageous factors of cognitive and China (Baran and Legey, 2013). In particular, China has made its
beliefs based on technology attributes and overlooks users’ negative intentions clear by including more electric powered vehicles in the
perceptions about loss or resistance factor in predicting such usage transportation sector. India as an emerging market presents a notable
behaviour (Kim et al., 2008; He et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018a). The case for researchers and propagators of alternative fuels. Electric vehi­
relationship of perceived risk with attitude formation has found limited cles are being increasingly placed in the consideration zone by the
in the literature of EV preference (Wang et al., 2018b), which may be a government. The document of NITI Aayog (2018) which is a policy think
latent impediment in EVs adoption or new technology vehicles diffusion tank of government of India placed EV policy at the centre. In essence it
(Zhang et al., 2019; Featherman et al., 2021). In addition, previous underlined India’s unique position and intricate characteristics while
literature has attempted to determine the direct and positive effect of designing any policy related to energy usage in the country. For India
financial incentives or subsidy policy on EVs usage behaviour (Wang the document (NITI Aayog, 2018) outlined factors including reduction
et al., 2018b; Hong et al., 2019). However, scant literature was found of oil consumption, enablement of customer adoption, major impetus on
investigating this important external stimulus measure as a moderator in research and development of EVs, ensuring usage by common people,
promoting EV adoption diffusion (Zhang et al., 2013; Kim et al., 2018), reduction in pollution and gaining of global competitiveness while
needless to say that this important stimulus largely remains under­ encouraging employment.
studied in the Indian mobility market. Swelling number of automobiles in the Indian market has led to
In particular, few scholars have examined the extended or custom­ graver challenges concerning environment, reliance on countries for fuel
ized approach of TAM comprising both positive and negative psycho­ import and increased congestion. This has also stressed on the need of
logical factors viz. perceived usefulness, ease of use, perceived risk, unconventional ways of fueling automobiles (Digalwar and Giridhar,
along with external component of financial supports to predict con­ 2015). To meet the challenges arising from growing vehicle traffic on
sumer intention to adopt electric vehicles (Wang et al., 2018b; Kim et al., Indian roads National Electric Mobility Mission Plan has emphasized on
2018). At prima facie, no obvious study claimed the moderation of the inclusion of electric vehicles coupled with vehicles with hybrid and
financial incentives policy in the relationship between attitude towards plug-in hybrid technology (Saxena et al., 2014). However, current state
EV and adoption behaviour. Particularly in India, as earlier suggested, of EV inclusion in the Indian market needs further push, because as
the phenomenon of EV adoption is currently in nascent stage. Based on against staggering 3.4 million fossil fuel-powered cars sold in 2018,
the available literature, no such study was found till date that examined estimated three thousand were electric powered (Afonso, 2020). One
TAM and or its extensions including the measures of positive and recently cited bottleneck for realization of EV production goals in India
negative beliefs to understand and predict the phenomenon of con­ has been the scarcity of lithium, a chemical needed for making cathodes
sumers’ adoption intention of EV in the backdrop of Indian zero emis­ and battery cells for electric cars, which has increased India’s reliance on
sion mobility market. Considering the inescapable issue of air pollution China for export of the substance (Afonso, 2020). Another factor

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D. Jaiswal et al. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 173 (2021) 121089

responsible for slower acceptance of EVs in the Indian context is con­ (Zhang et al., 2019; Hong et al., 2019). Therefore, the present study
nected with the charging infrastructure. A proposal to iron out such incorporates the pessimistic variable of perceived risk and an external
bottlenecks is presented by Digalwar and Giridhar (2015), wherein stimulating factor of ‘financial incentives policy’ to augment or extend
factors like cost, operating parameters such as stability of voltage, fre­ TAM along with its two fundamental optimistic motives of usefulness
quency and duration based reliability, power loss, access, and waiting and ease of use in the context of EVs adoption behaviour.
times at charging stations, are proposed to be duly considered. Hence, this study seeks to investigate the extension of TAM with
India is awakening to the grave challenge of environmental degra­ perceived risk and financial incentives policy and verify the causal
dation. In doing so one crucial emphasis has been towards the electri­ linkage of ‘beliefs-attitude-intention’ by employing hypothesized direct,
fication of rail networks and the expansion of metro rail networks to mediating, and moderating paths using SEM in order to contribute to the
various cities throughout the country. The public bus services, however, existing literature on consumer psychology of EV preference. Thus,
have not been essentially comfortable, which has led to the increased consumers’ positive beliefs of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of
dependence on personal vehicles (Kumar and Khurana, 2019), which are use, and the negative belief of perceived risk were hypothesized to test
chiefly petrol and diesel fueled, ergo, are central to the environmental the direct effects on both ’attitude towards EVs and the adoption
concerns. India hopes to achieve stronger goals pertaining to massive intention. In addition, ‘attitude towards EVs’ was hypothesized to play
adoption of electric vehicles by 2030 (Upadhyayula et al., 2019). These the mediating role between adoption intention and its predicator vari­
targets have met with certain trepidations, whereby current rate of ables of usefulness, ease of use, and risk. Finally, the external induce­
adoption of EVs in India has been put under scrutiny (Shankar and ment motive of ‘financial incentives policy’ was hypothesized as a
Kumari, 2019). However, notwithstanding the sluggish growth shown moderator in the causal relationship between attitude and adoption
by the country’s automobile sector in the financial year 2019, BS-VI intention, shown in Fig. 1: The conceptual model.
(emission) norms, which are expected to get implemented in 2020,
may help revive electric vehicle industry by making them more price 2.3.1. Perceived usefulness
competitive (Narasimhan, 2019). Given these arguments, the current Perceived usefulness refers to the extent to which the adoption of a
state of EV adoption needs to go a long way from the current miniscule particular technology or system can be useful and facilitating in the
market share of mere one percent of total vehicle sales (Shankar and products or services performance, in turn it influences favorable users’
Kumari, 2019). This doesn’t exclude the need of extensive research in attitude toward new technology or innovative products and its usage
the consumer adoption models and technology improvement in Indian intention (Davis, 1989; Venkatesh and Davis 2000; Liao et al., 2009;
market. Wang et al., 2018b). In the context of EVs adoption as eco-friendly ve­
hicles, the psychological measure of perceived usefulness includes the
2.2. Technology acceptance model (TAM) and extension following key attributes: EV is useful in alleviating CO2 emissions and
control gasoline fuel consumption, it is usefulness in reducing users’
Technology acceptance model (TAM) pioneered by Davis (1989) is household expenditure on transportation and is also valuable in
one of the most popular theories of understanding consumer psychology improving health quality (i.e., respiratory system), protected from air or
related to acceptance of innovative technology or new products in the smog pollution. Thus, the following hypotheses were postulated:
field of technology usage behaviour (Zhang et al., 2013; Wang et al.,
2017a). TAM is fundamentally based on the approach of ‘beliefs-atti­ H1: Perceived usefulness has a direct and positive relationship with
tude-intention’, derived and extended from the classical cognitive the­ attitude towards EVs.
ories like Fishbein and Ajzen, (1975)’s theory of reasoned action (TRA), H2: Perceived usefulness has a direct and positive relationship with
Ajzen and Fishbein (1980)’s theory of planned behaviour (TPB), Bhat­ the adoption intention for EVs.
tacherjee (2001)’s expectation–confirmation theory, and rational choice
theory (Venkatesh and Davis 2000; Ajzen, 1991; Chen 2016; He et al., 2.3.2. Perceived ease of use
2018; Wu et al., 2019; Cheng et al., 2019). According to the classical The cognitive measure of the perceived ease of use is a subjective
approach of TAM, the two internal beliefs of ‘perceived usefulness’ and judgment of users about the degree to which using a particular tech­
‘perceived ease of use’ influence the external factors of attitude and nology could be easy and free from physical and psychological exertions,
intention as the predictor variables, which ultimately affects the tech­ consequently, affects positively the consumers’ attitude towards this
nology usage behaviour (Davis, 1989; Benbasat and Barki, 2007; Chen, technology offering and its adoption intention (Davis, 1989; Venkatesh
2016; Wang et al., 2017a). However, scholars have critically argued that and Davis 2000, Wu et al., 2019). Moreover, Researchers have reported
the classical approach of TAM only considers the positive or advanta­ that perceived ease of use can positively influence the perceived use­
geous factors of cognitive beliefs based on technology attributes and fulness and thus, new technology offerings can be perceived as useful
overlooks users’ negative perceptions about loss or resistance to pre­ only when they are easy to adopt and suitable for the customer usage
dicting such behaviour (Kim et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2018a). (Wang et al., 2018b; Cheng et al., 2019). The notion remains that con­
Concerning this phenomenon, some scholars have identified and sumers are more likely to adopt new technology or its related products in
reported that perceived risk is one of the foremost obstacles or barriers their shopping choice when they perceive it to be simple and convenient
that directly or indirectly affects the usage intention of EV (Cheng and to use. Likewise, this observation may be pertinent with the case of
Huang 2013; Yang et al., 2016; Kim et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018b; He consumers’ adoption of EV as innovative product offerings (Lieven et al.,
et al., 2018; Cheng et al., 2019). Therefore, the ‘extended TAM’ holds 2011; Wang et al., 2017a; Wang et al., 2018a). Hence, the following
that the formation of usage attitude is fundamentally driven by two hypotheses were proposed:
optimistic beliefs of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, and
one pessimistic internal belief of perceived risk as the predictors of H3: Perceived ease of use has a direct and positive relationship with
consumers’ intention to adopt EV in the context of sustainable trans­ attitude towards EVs.
portation (Venkatesh and Davis, 2000; Wang et al., 2018b, Wang et al., H4: Perceived ease of use has a direct and positive relationship with
2018c; Cheng et al., 2019). In addition, TAM can also incorporate other the adoption intention for EVs.
factors or motives to augment its effectiveness through its extension or
modification along with its two fundamental determinants viz. useful­ 2.3.3. Perceived risk
ness and ease of use by integrating other internal and external factors Perceived risk is consumers’ negative psyche toward adopting new
(Venkatesh and Davis, 2000; Wu et al., 2019) such as such perceived technology or innovative products, defined as users’ subjective evalua­
risk, financial incentives policy or government support, trust etc. tion of uncertainty or anxiety and may have negative association with

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D. Jaiswal et al. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 173 (2021) 121089

Fig. 1. : The conceptual model and hypotheses.

their decision-making approach for the adoption of EVs (Dunn et al., the present study proposes that higher consumers risk perceptions will
1986; Kim et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2018b; Featherman, et al., 2021). diminish their preferences and liking of EV (i.e., favourable attitude),
Moreover, low consumers acceptance of new product or service occurs and further this negative perception may unpleasantly affect their
owing to their subjective expectation of loss or the potential for un­ readiness to adopt in near future. Thus, the following hypotheses were
pleasant consequences (Roy et al., 2017; Laroche et al., 2010). The proposed.
contention is that the more the consumers perceive risks toward newer
technology, the lesser is the positive value perceived by them for H5: Perceived risk has a direct and negative relationship with atti­
adopting the innovative offerings (Kim et al., 2018; Yang et al., 2016). tude towards EVs.
With this viewpoint, literature suggests that users’ uncertainty of H6: Perceived risk has a direct and negative relationship with the
innovative technology is primarily concerned with doubts or anxiety adoption intention for EVs.
factor primarily associated with financial losses and utility risks such as
uncertainty related to performance, convenience, long recharging time, 2.3.4. Mediating role of attitude toward EVs
charging infrastructure, and safety concern etc., when they consider to Scholars have observed that a favorable attitude towards eco-
adopt new technology or buying technological products like EVs friendly products lead to favorable purchase intention for such prod­
(Roselius, 1971; Featherman and Pavlou 2003; Li et al., 2017; Wang ucts in the context of environmental consumer psychology (e.g., Chan,
et al., 2018a; Wang et al., 2018b; Featherman, et al., 2021). The role of 2001; Vermeir and Verbeke, 2006; Kumar et al., 2017, Jaiswal and
perceived risk is also being emphasized as a major barrier to accepting Kant, 2018). In view of the technology acceptance framework, Ajzen and
the online banking or e-shopping behaviour, reporting with its direct Cote (2008), and Wang et al. (2018b) have argued that consumers’
association with consumers’ attitude and adoption intention (Roy et al., attitude toward an innovative technology or new product is the key
2017; Alalwan et al., 2016; Zang et al., 2019). Hitherto, there is a dearth predictor of their intention to adopt such technology. Therefore, attitude
of studies scrutinizing the relationship of pessimistic internal belief or is essential in understanding and predicting future behaviour related to
perceived risk with the consumer attitude toward innovative technolo­ this technology. Attitude is a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of
gies, for instance the clean vehicles like EVs in the context of automobile acceptance behavior (Ajzen and Fishbein, 2005) and is derived from the
user psychology. In a similar vein, Wang et al (2018b) unveiled the user internal positive or negative beliefs towards innovative technology
direct and negative influence of perceived risk on the attitude towards or new products. When consumers hold positive perceptions about a
EVs, while Zhang et al (2019) reported the indirect negative effect of risk particular technology, their adoption intentions are augmented and vice
perception on attitude towards automated vehicles using TAM. Con­ versa, in turn this is more likely to translate into actual adoption
cerning this psychological measure, some scholars have analyzed and behaviour towards such technology (Liu et al., 2018; Wang et al.,
identified perceived risk as one of the foremost critical factors (i.e., 2018b). Thus, changing user’ attitude is more likely to stimulate a
obstacle or anxiety) adversely affecting the users’ confidence and posi­ desired adoption behaviour. According to TAM and its extended
tive attitude of the EVs (Wang et al., 2018b), and their usage intention approach, attitude is the function of consumers favourable or unfavor­
directly and indirectly (Cheng and Huang 2013; Yang et al., 2016; Kim, able cognitive beliefs of ‘perceived usefulness’, and ‘ease of use’ and
et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018c; He et al., 2018). It can thus be argued perceived risk toward EVs as new technology product (Chen, 2016;
that there lie causal associations of perceived risk with attitude and Wang et al., 2017a; He et al., 2018). In contrast, some studies have
intention, and such risk perception may act as a major impediment in EV termed unfavorable cognitive belief as a risk factor in adopting EVs as
adoption. Therefore, this observation may be relevant with consumers’ newer technology and treated it as a critical obstacle or cost factor in the
decision-making process for EV adoption as green-clean technology formation of favorable attitude towards the adoption of such technology
vehicles in the context of emerging mobility markets like India, where product (Kim et al., 2008; Luo et al. 2010; Cheng and Huang 2013;
the adoption of EVs is in a nascent phase. Based on the above discourse, Wang et al., 2018a). Additionally, EV adoption as a newer technology

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depends heavily on consumer cognitive beliefs (Rezvani et al., 2015), conventional automobiles. Thus, the favorable attitude towards EV can
but not on technology attributes (Egbue and Long, 2012; He et al., drive intentions to adopt or prefer such vehicles, when favorable
2018). financial incentives or subsidies are offered to consumers who are
Based on this, we postulate that the cognitive beliefs of ‘perceived willing to adopt or buy it in near future, as well as to the existing EV
usefulness’, and ‘ease of use’, may have an indirect positive influence on users to maintain EVs. Therefore, the measure of financial incentives
the consumers’ intention to adopt EVs via the mediating role of the policy may act as an important stimulus to promoting EV diffusion, and
attitude towards these vehicles. In contrast, the internal beliefs of may affect the strength or direction of the relationship between con­
perceived risk may have an indirect negative effect on the adoption sumers’ attitude towards EV and their readiness to adopt caused by the
intention via mediation of attitude due to uncertainty or anxiety of using moderation of this external stimulus. Based on the mentioned discourse,
such innovative vehicles. The notion is that the attitude towards EV this empirical study is first to address the essential research gap by
directly affects the adoption intention of such vehicle and furthermore it analyzing the moderating effect of financial benefits policy on the
also leads the meditational pathway through which perceived useful­ relationship between adoption intentions for EVs and its fundamental
ness, ease of use, and perceived risk affects the EV adoption intention. predictor of attitude, particularly in the backdrop of emerging zero-
The above arguments resulted in the following hypotheses. emission mobility market. Thus, the arguments lead to the postulation
of the following hypothesis.
H7: Attitude towards EVs has a direct and positive relationship with
the adoption intention. H9: Financial incentives policy moderates positively the relationship
H8a: Attitude towards EVs mediates the positive relationship be­ between attitude towards EVs and the adoption intention.
tween perceived usefulness and the adoption intention.
H8b: Attitude towards EVs mediates the positive relationship be­ 3. Data and methodology
tween perceived ease of use and the adoption intention.
H8c: Attitude towards EVs mediates the negative relationship be­ 3.1. Sample and data collection
tween perceived risk and the adoption intention.
The current study is based on the cross-sectional approach of online
2.3.5. Moderating role of financial incentives policy survey strategy. To test the hypotheses, an online questionnaire was
Empirical studies on EV preference have shown that higher initial developed to collect the responses from young and educated participants
purchasing price and maintenance costs are among the major obstacles in the target population of India. For this, students enrolled in gradua­
in the acceptance of green technology vehicles (EVs) by the potential tion, post-graduation and doctorate programs ranging from social sci­
consumers (Heffner et al., 2007; Zhang et al., 2013; Helveston et al., ence, science and humanity disciplines from the various colleges and
2015; Wang et al., 2017b). Additionally, the potential consumers are universities in the National capital territory of Delhi (NCT) were selected
often price sensitive towards the adoption of EVs (Lieven et al., 2011; as the sample of the study.
Wang et al, 2017a) however, they may consider it because of the lower The reasoning behind selecting students as the desired respondents
fuel costs than the conventional vehicles (Zhang et al., 2013). The price was that they expectedly represent an informed and educated group of
of green-clean technology vehicles (EVs) is usually higher than that of young adults, which implied not only a better understanding of the
gasoline vehicles making price an important decision-making variables phenomenon of environmental sustainability (Jaiswal et al., 2021), but
for prospective or new customers in adopting innovative fuel-efficient also the familiarity with the internet-based technology (Kumar et al.,
vehicles (EVs).To cope with the issue of high price effects, the govern­ 2017; Policarpo and Aguiar, 2020). Scholars (Kumar et al., 2017; Wang
ment and financial supportive agencies of industrialized and emerging et al., 2018a) have opined that students find participation in online
economies have initiated some monetary and non- monetary benefits surveys to be convenient and respond more adequately, chiefly because
such as direct purchase subsidies, tax rebates in the usage of EVs, and they are young and progressively inclined towards usage of the infor­
charging infrastructure augmentation etc. in order to stimulate the de­ mation technology. Besides, responses from students have also been
mand of such zero emission vehicles in their mobility markets (Zhang used with a greater degree of validity by several researchers in the field
et al., 2013; Klöckner et al., 2013; Bjerkan et al., 2016; White and Sin­ of consumer psychology including EV adoption behavior (e.g., Mostafa,
tov, 2017; Wang et al., 2017b; Kim et al., 2018). Suggestive of some 2007; Lee, 2008; Cheah and Phau, 2011; Egbue and Long, 2012; Poli­
contradiction to the presented context, few studies have argued that the carpo and Aguiar, 2020).
governments’ direct support of financial incentives is not as influential Furthermore, the primary reason for selecting National Capital Ter­
as expected and report that the other stimulus like performance benefits ritory of Delhi (NCT) was due to the higher churning rate of working
is more influential than direct financial support (Zhang et al., 2013; Li population, almost encapsulating representation from the entire coun­
et al., 2018). Literature documenting effects of financial incentives on try. NCT is also a special union and capital territory of India having a
EVs adoption has remained conflicting, where some endorse them as cosmopolitan culture, also holds reputation of being an education hub in
favorably influencing EVs sales (Gallagher and Muehlegger, 2007; the country’s north with a population of over 16 million (Census of
Beresteanu and Li, 2011; Lane and Potter, 2007), others differ from that India, 2011). In addition, it has the highest motor vehicle ownership
viewpoint (Wang et al., 2017a; Kim et al., 2018). among all the major metropolitan cities of India (Mohan et al., 2014).
Although studies have attempted to confirm the direct positive effect About 30 % of the air pollution in NCT, which has been reported as the
of financial incentives policy on EV adoption diffusion (Wang et al., city with world’s highest air pollution levels (India today Report, 2019),
2018b; Hong et al., 2019), a little attention has been paid to explore the is attributable to the vehicular movement that has made the speedy
moderating role of such incentive mechanisms as an external motive in adoption of zero emission electric vehicles nearby indispensable (Elec­
encouraging EV adoption. In line with this, it may be argued that limited tric Vehicle Policy, 2018).
attention has been paid the moderating role of incentive policies in To administrate an online survey, the entire NCT was subdivided into
influencing pro-environmental behavior (Hong et al., 2019; Fu et al., four zones and the sample was selected approximately identical across
2020). At prima facie, no obvious study considered the moderation of all the zones to ensure its representation. The survey process involved
this incentive mechanism in the relationship between users’ attitude the filling up of online questionnaire made available through social
towards EV or related eco-friendly vehicles and their adoption behav­ networks of academic communities to students enrolled in major col­
iour. Additionally, such an important phenomenon largely remains leges and universities across all zones of NCT (India) using non-
understudied in the Indian mobility market. probabilistic i.e., purposive sampling. Researchers have (Malhotra and
Furthermore, the prices of EV are considerably higher than the Dash, 2014; Saunders et al., 2009; Yeo et al., 2017) suggested that

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convenience sampling enables scholars to choose the target respondents 131 (31.3%) respondents owned two vehicles, while remaining 52
based on their subjective judgment which is easily accessible in highly (12.4) responded that they had more than two vehicles in their family as
economical way. In addition, online survey method enables maximum shown in Table 1.
geographical coverage of young respondents in timely and cost-effective In addition, all the respondents were young adults (18 or above),
manner (Paul et al., 2016). The language used was the Indian English as which ensured that minors weren’t part of the study. Thus, the young
it is also the official language of India and the scale items were reversely and educated segment of Indian population (NCT) was approached, as
coded. Before administering, the survey instrument was discussed with they considerably think and behave in an eco-friendly manner, and thus
experts and scholars, and thereafter administered on 40 students to can be targeted by policymakers and automobile marketers as current
ensure appropriateness from the target population’s point of view. A and potential buyers of EV. In the current study, researchers believed
total of 440 responses were received and only 418 responses were found that the target respondents were expectedly the early adopters for
to be valid for the research purpose after screening the outliers and envisaged India’s zero emission mobility market only if they perceived
incompleteness. The sample size (418 > 22*15 = 330) required for this EVs to be of higher value as compared to the conventional/gasoline
study was found to be suitable based on the recommendation of scholars vehicles in respect to the eco-friendliness, pocket friendliness (cost
(Hair et al., 2015) for a desired level of 15 observations per item variable effective in long term), and also in terms of the performance. Therefore,
for applying structural equation modelling (SEM). In addition, we have internet-based survey in NCT may broadly represent the country’s
also the considerable representation of both the genders, diverse youth, educated, and techno-savvy population (Saunders et al., 2009).
educational backgrounds, and age groups, followed by assessing They may be the early adopters and potential buyers of EVs in the near
normality, common method bias, multicollinearity, and reliability and future. This argument corresponds with the recent studies on EV pref­
validly etc., to eliminate the sample error and biases. Hence, we believe erence in the varied market contexts based on the survey of young and
that the sample size of 418 has explained adequately the study popu­ educated respondents (Sovacool et al., 2018; Westin et al., 2018; Hab­
lation and may have a representation of our target population of ich-Sobiegalla et al. 2019).
interests.
Table 1 presents the demographic profile of respondents which 3.2. The research measures
comprised of 236 (56.5%) male students and 182 (43.5%) female stu­
dents. Education wise, majority of students 330 (78.9%) were pursuing The survey questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part
graduation, 64 students were in Master’s degree while only 24 research elicited personal details of the respondents such as gender, age, quali­
students were pursuing Ph.D. in various fields. In terms of families’ fication, household income, type of vehicle, and numbers of vehicles
monthly household income, 100 (23.9%) respondents answered owned by the family. The second part was based on pre-validated
belonging to the below income group of Rs. 25000, and 104 (24.9%) measures adapted from earlier studies of green consumer psychology.
responded belonging to the income group Rs. 25001–Rs. 50000, fol­ This comprised of 22 items of six cognitive measures namely, perceived
lowed by 129 (30.9%) respondents belonging to the income group Rs. usefulness, perceived ease of use perceived risk, financial incentives
50001–Rs. 75000 and 85 (20.3%) to the above income group of Rs. policy, attitude towards EV adoption, and adoption intention for EV:
75000. Regarding the types of vehicle owned by family, 181 (43.3%) construct items with sources reported in the annexture-1. The scales
students’ family owned two wheelers and 159 (38.0%) participants’ were operationalised by 7-point Likert scale where respondents were
family owned economy four wheeler cars (e.g., Maruti Alto, Wagon R asked to share their perception towards EV adoption ranging from
and Hyundai i10 etc.), while 59 (14.1%) participants’ family owned ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly agree’ (7).
premium cars such as sedan and luxury cars, however only 19 (4.5%)
respondents’ family did not own any vehicle. With respect to numbers of 4. Analysis and results
vehicles owned by family, 216 (51.7) participants owned one vehicle,
4.1. Statistical analysis: common method bias, reliability, and validity

Table 1
Prior to conducting data analysis, the data were also tested to check
Demographic profile of respondents (n = 418)
missing responses, outliers, and normality using the suggested measures
Frequency Percent of box plot, Z-score, skewness, and kurtosis, which were found within
Gender the acceptable range based on recommended guidelines (Hair et al.,
Male 236 56.5 2015; Malhotra and Dash, 2014). Next, Harman’s one factor test was
Female 182 43.5 performed to estimate the existence of common method bias (CMB). The
Age
18-24 357 85.4
result revealed that the all the 22 measured items were divided into six
25-34 53 12.7 factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 and representing 75.587
35 & Above 8 1.9 percent of the variance. The first factor only explained 29.237 percent of
Enrolled in higher education level the variance, which was less than the benchmark value of 50.0 percent
Bachelor Degree 330 78.9
(Harman, 1976) ensuring that data was free from common method bias
Master Degree 64 15.4
Ph.D. 24 5.7 (Podsakoff, et al., 2003). After getting the status of common method
Monthly household income (Rs.) bias, confirmatory factor analysis was performed using AMOS with
Less than 25000 100 23.9 maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to evaluate construct reliability
25001-50000 104 24.9 and validity of the multi-item measurement scales. To test the reliability
50001-75000 129 30.9
More than 75000 85 20.3
and validity, the loadings of all items were obtained. According to Hair
Types of vehicles owned in family et al. (2015), the loadings of items should be higher than the cut off
Two wheelers 181 43.3 value of 0.70. When the loading is lower than 0.70, the item should be
Economy four wheeler 159 38.0 dropped and thus, one item of perceived usefulness (0.409) was dropped
Premium four wheeler 59 14.2
as its loading was below the cut off value of 0.70. The items retained and
No vehicle owned 19 4.5
Numbers of vehicles owned in family dropped in conjunction with the loadings are shown in Table 2.
One 216 51.7 Construct reliability was used to test the internal consistency of the
Two 131 31.4 items of each construct. Construct validity is used to measure the level of
More than two 52 12.4 the measurement scale that really reflects the constructs (Golafshani,
Zero 19 4.5
2003; Wang et al., 2016). In practice reliability of latent construct was

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D. Jaiswal et al. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 173 (2021) 121089

Table 2
Reliability and validity analysis
Construct Item Loading Cronbach’s alpha Average variance extracted Composite Reliability

Perceived ease of use (PE) PE1 0.836 0.870 0.691 0.870

PE2 0.834
PE3 0.824
Perceived risk (PR) PR1 0.845 0.913 0.727 0.914
PR2 0.828
PR3 0.87
PR4 0.866
Perceived usefulness (PU) PU1 0.833 0.857 0.668 0.858
PU2 0.81
PU3 0.808
PU4 0.409(dropped)
Attitude towards EVs (AT) AT1 0.867 0.913 0.778 0.913
AT2 0.88
AT3 0.899
Adoption intention for EVs (INT) INT1 0.843 0.905 0.705 0.905
INT2 0.855
INT3 0.85
INT4 0.811
Financial incentives policy (FP) FP1 0.789 0.843 0.575 0.844
FP2 0.75
FP3 0.761
FP4 0.733

Note: All loadings are significant at 0.001 level.

Measurement model fit summary:(Chi square/df=1.47, GFI=0.945, AGFI=0.926, IFI=0.985, NFI=0.954, CFI=0.985, RMSEA=0.034).

tested via Cronbach’s α coefficients and composite reliability. Table-2 4.2. The structural model
demonstrates the alpha value of all the construct range from 0.843 to
0.913, which were above the threshold of 0.70, as recommended by After ensuring the satisfactory model fit of the measurement model,
Malhotra and Dash (2014). Thus, construct reliability of latent con­ the structural equation model was estimated using path analysis. Path
structs was found to be reasonably good. After testing reliability of the coefficients of beta weight (ß) show the strength of relationships be­
constructs, next is to assess convergent validity and discriminant val­ tween the dependent and independent variables and the (R2) value-
idity. Convergent validity of each construct was verified by using factor amount of variance explained by independent variables. Both, the R2
loading and average variance extracted (AVE) empirically suggested by and the path coefficients indicate how well the model is performing
(Hair et al. 2015). Average variance extracted (AVE) which were (Nath et al., 2013). The estimation of the structural model was done
calculated as per the procedure suggested by Hair et al (2015) were using AMOS using maximum likelihood estimate (MLE). The test of
found within the acceptable range of 0.575 and 0.778 whereas stan­ overall fit of the model depend on goodness-of-fit index (GFI), incre­
dardized loadings of all measurement items, as presented in Table 2, mental fit index (IFI), normed fit index (NFI) and comparative fit index
were beyond the suggested cut-off of 0.60. As shown in Table 3, the (CFI) and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) (Malhotra
square root of AVE of each construct was found to be larger than the and Dash, 2014).
squared correlation between the constructs, thus confirming the ade­ Table-4 demonstrates the research model (extended TAM2) fit sum­
quacy of discriminant validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., mary, which was found to be satisfactory results meeting the recom­
2015). Thus, it can be concluded that the measurement model achieved mended levels, i.e., Chi square/df = 1.53, GFI = 0.954, AGFI= 0.935,
adequate reliability and validity. IFI = 0.987, NFI = 0.965, CFI= 0.987, RMSEA= 0.036 (Hair et al., 2015;
In addition, multicollinearity assessment was done by using varia­ Malhotra and Dash, 2014). In the similar vein, the proportion of vari­
tion inflation factor (VIF) value of all the measured constructs which ance explained by R2 that represents the explanatory power of the
were ranged from 1.085 to 1.606 found to be within the acceptance cut research model. The R2 value for the endogenous variable of adoption
off between 0.20 and 5 (Hair et al., 2015). Thus, this result established intention for EVs was 0.483 (i.e., all the predictor variables jointly
that there was no multicollinearity among the constructs in the model. explained for 48.3% of total variance of adoption intention). Thus, it
In the similar vein, measurement model fit was also tested. The model fit confirmed the strong explanatory power for extended TAM2 (the
was tested using multiple indicators and found to be fit and satisfactory
within the acceptable limit recommended by Hair et al. (2015) (Chi
square/df = 1.47, GFI = 0.945, AGFI = 0.926, IFI = 0.985, NFI = 0.954, Table 4
CFI = 0.985, RMSEA = 0.034). Results of goodness fit statistics of the models
Goodness of fit statistics & R2 TAM1 Extended Cut-off
TAM2 values
Table 3 CMIN/DF (χ2/df) 1.49 1.53 >1 & <5
Results of discriminate validity Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) 0.968 0.954 ≥ 0.90
Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI) 0.951 0.935 ≥ 0.90
INT PU PR PE AT FP
Incremental Fit Index (IFI) 0.991 0.987 ≥ 0.90
INT 0.840 Normed Fit Index (NFI) 0.974 0.965 ≥ 0.90
PU 0.502 0.817 Comparative Fit Index (CFI) 0.991 0.987 ≥ 0.90
PR -0.232 -0.163 0.852 Root mean square error of 0.035 0.036 ≤ 0.08
PE 0.451 0.419 -0.347 0.831 approximation (RMSEA)
AT 0.391 0.227 -0.018 0.291 0.882 R2 (Adjusted) 0.435 0.483
FP 0.517 0.443 -0.354 0.429 0.324 0.759
Note: Cut-off value recommended by Hair, et al (2015), Kline (2015).
Note: The diagonal bold elements are the square roots of AVEs, and the off- TAM1= comprises of PU, PE, AT, & INT. Extended TAM2 = comprises of PU, PE,
diagonal elements are the correlations among constructs. PR, AT, FP, & INT.

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D. Jaiswal et al. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 173 (2021) 121089

research model) than its original TAM1, which was 0.435, reported in measure of perceived risk was insignificant in the second stage, indi­
Table 4. cating no mediation effect of attitude in the relationship between risk
and intention, thus, H8c hypothesis was not accepted. Therefore, H8 was
4.2.1. Direct effects partly supported in the model with confirming partially mediation of
After getting the satisfactory results of structural model fit, research ‘attitude’ between the effects of two optimistic internal beliefs namely,
hypotheses were examined to find the impact of variables. The results of ‘usefulness’ and ‘ease of use’ on ‘adoption intention’.
the path analysis are examined with the help of coefficient (β) and the p
value shown in Table 5. 4.2.3. Moderating effect of financial incentives policy
The results of path analysis of SEM revealed that perceived useful­ In the present study, the external stimulus measure of financial in­
ness (H2; β= 0.346, p<0.01) had the greatest positive significant impact centives policy (FP) was employed to moderate the relationship between
on adoption intention followed by EV attitude towards EVs (H7; β= attitude towards EVs and adoption intention of EVs. Table 7 summarizes
0.254, p<0.01) and perceived ease of use (H4; β= 0.196, p<0.01) as the the result of moderating effect of financial incentives policy (H9). To test
key antecedents of consumers’ intention to adopt EVs. Meanwhile, the this underlying moderation, multi-group analysis (MGA) was performed
direct path between perceived risk and adoption intention (H6; β= using AMOS software based on the recommended procedures of Chin
-0.103, p<0.05) was found significant, which confirmed an inverse (2000), Soper (2021). As per suggested procedure, mean of the sample
direct relationship with adoption intention of EVs, thus H6 was accepted. was used to split into two groups such as, higher level of FP (N1 = 259)
Additionally, the path between perceived ease of use and attitude to­ and lower level of FP (N2 = 159) for making the comparison between
wards EVs (H3; β= 0.270, p<0.001) was found to be higher positive and their regression coefficients using t-value (Singh et al., 2020; Soper,
significant followed by perceived usefulness (H1; β= 0.129, p<0.05). 2021). The compared results confirmed that there was a significant
While perceived risk (β= 0.096) was insignificant and reported no in­ difference (t = 3.121, p<0.001) between the coefficients of higher level
verse hypothesized relationship with attitude towards EVs, thus H5 was of FP (β = 0.263, p<0.001) and lower level of FP (β = 0.489, p<0.001)
not accepted. Therefore, the findings of this study reported that all the shown in Table 7. Hypothesis (H9) was accepted. Thus, the results of
direct hypothesized relationships were accepted (H1, H2, H3, H4, H6, & moderation elucidate that consumers with a high level of financial in­
H7) except the negative hypothesized relationship between perceived centives policy (β = 0.263) exhibit a lower intensity in the hypothesized
risk and adoption intention, thus the H5 was not supported the research relationship between EVs attitude and the adoption intention, than
model. consumers with a low level of incentives policy (β = 0.489). Therefore,
the hypothesis (H9) supports the moderation of financial incentives
4.2.2. Mediating effects of attitude towards EVs policy in the proposed model, in line with the previous findings (Kim
Table-6 presents the results of mediating effect of attitude towards et al., 2018). Hence, the findings contribute immensely to the existing
adoption intention of EVs. The analysis of mediation effect was carried body of knowledge as extended TAM by filling this important research
out according to the three steps procedure suggested by Baron and gap of the EV adoption framework in the emerging sustainable mobility
Kenny (1986), which is widely accepted in consumer psychology market.
including social sciences research. This method was increasingly adop­
ted by recent scholars to test mediation in the research domain of EV 5. Discussion and implications
adoption or EV buying behaviour (Wang et al., 2016; He et al., 2018;
Eccarius and Lu, 2020). In the first step, the independent variable should To confront with the challenge of air pollution caused by trans­
have a significant influence on the dependent variable. In the second portation sector, adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has arguably
step, the independent variable should significantly influence the medi­ become a coveted solution from the demand side of mobility market. An
ator. In the last step, if the mediator significantly influence the depen­ increased sense of urgency in promoting consumers’ adoption of EVs by
dent variable while the independent variable does not significantly policymakers and marketers is warranted. The present study employed
influence the dependent variable, this confirms the condition of full the extended approach of TAM with the measures of perceived risk and
mediation. If, both the independent variable and the mediator signifi­ financial incentives policy to understand and capture the phenomenon
cantly influence the dependent variable, this indicates the satisfying of consumers’ adoption intention of EVs in the context of an emerging
condition of partial mediation (He et al., 2018). Furthermore, it is worth zero emission mobility market in line with the global agenda of zero or
noting that if the independent variable does not significantly influence no emission transportation. The research endeavored to explore the
the dependent variable or does not significantly influence the mediator direct, mediated, and moderated relationships in order to fill the
in the first or second step, thus, no mediation effect can be confirmed research gap in the context of consumer psychology of EV adoption. The
(Wang et.al., 2016). path analysis was performed to test direct hypothesized relationships in
As Table 6 shown that the mediation results confirmed that attitude the research model based on the framework of ‘beliefs-attitude-inten­
towards EVs partially mediated both perceived usefulness and perceive tion’ derived from cognitive theories, while mediation and moderation
ease of use on adoption intention of EVs positively based on the rec­ approaches were used to predict indirect effects. Moreover, influence of
ommended procedure of Baron and Kenny (1986) in the present model. cognitive measures of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and
Thus, H8a and H8b hypotheses were accepted. However, the pessimistic perceived risk were analyzed on both attitude towards EVs and the
adoption intention of EVs followed by the indirect effect of cognitive
measures on the endogenous variable of adoption intention via the
Table 5
Structural model: Results of direct effects mediating role of attitude. The external motive of financial incentives
policy was also employed to test the moderation effect in the relation­
Hypotheses Path Standard Coefficient þ value Results
ship between attitude and the adoption intention.
H1 PU ———> AT 0.129* 0.032 Accepted The results of direct paths revealed that perceived usefulness (β =
H2 PU ———> INT 0.346** 0.001 Accepted
0.346) had the greatest significant effect on consumers’ intention to
H3 PE ———> AT 0.270** 0.001 Accepted
H4 PE ———> INT 0.196** 0.001 Accepted adopt EVs directly as the antecedent of adoption intention followed by
H5 PR ———> AT 0.096ns 0.083 Rejected the measure of EVs attitude (β = 0.254), perceived ease of use (β =
H6 PR ———> INT -0.103* 0.033 Accepted 0.196), and perceived risk (β = -0.103). These results are partly in line
H7 AT ———> INT 0.254** 0.001 Accepted with the recent studies conducted (Wang et al., 2018b; Featherman,
Note: *, ** The coefficient is significant at 0.05, and 0.01 levels, respectively. ns et al., 2021) in the emerging economies. In regard to the attitude, pos­
= not significant. itive belief of perceived ease of use (β= 0.270) was found to have

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D. Jaiswal et al. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 173 (2021) 121089

Table 6
Results of mediating effects of attitude towards EVs
Hypotheses IV M DV IV -> DV IV -> M IV þ M -> DV Mediation role
IV -> DV M -> DV

H8a PU AT INT 0.521** 0.241** 0.453** 0.282** Partial

H8b PE AT INT 0.476** 0.293** 0.395** 0.276** Partial
H8c PR AT INT -0.246** -0.028ns -0.235** 0.385** No Mediation

Note: IV = independent variable, M = mediator, DV=dependent variable, ** p<0.01, ns = not sig.

Table 7
Moderating effect of financial incentives policy
H9 Effect High financial incentives policy (N1 ¼ 259) Low financial incentives policy (N2¼159) t-value Difference
Beta S.E. p-value Beta S.E. p-value

AT—> INT 0.263 0.036 0.000 0.489 0.053 0.000 3.121** Yes

Note: ** p<0.01, Estimation was done using the procedure suggested by Chin (2000), Soper (2021) for performing multi-group analysis.
b1 − b2
based on formulation t = √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅, df = n1+n2-4
S2b1 + S2b2
Where Beta denotes regression weights and S.E. is the standard error of the path in the structural model.

greatest positive influence on consumers’ EV attitude followed by 5.1. Theoretical implications

perceived usefulness (β= 0.129). Whilst the measure of perceived risk
was not significantly related with attitude (β= 0.096). Thus, all the The research contributes to the ongoing discourse on technology
direct hypotheses were accepted except the hypothesized relationship acceptance by extending TAM in the light of the ongoing impetuses
between perceived risk and attitude (H5). being offered by the propagating entities. The study documented the
In the view of cognitive behavioral framework, the study also moderating effects of the incentives policy in the interplay of customer
confirmed that the sum of positive and negative beliefs or perceptions attitude towards electric vehicles and their intentions to adopt. Theo­
such as usefulness, ease of use, and risk were the predictor variables of retically, research sheds focus on this latent association in an emerging
EV attitude and adoption intention. This finding is congruent with some market in the backdrop of attitude-intention gap towards electric vehicle
recent studies (Wang et al., 2018b; Wu et al., 2019), particularly, in the adoption.
context of emerging EVs markets. In the similar vein, the findings also The study also underscores the relevance of ‘beliefs-attitude-inten­
pointed out that perceived risk was negatively influence the consumers’ tion’ framework in the EV adoption studies, which in turn impresses
intention to adopt EVs. Thus, it suggested that uncertainty or negative upon several existing theoretical frameworks. To this end, study also
perceptions of consumers does certainly affect their decision making advances understanding on the mediating role of attitude. While support
choice for the usage intention of EV in the Indian mobility market, and for perceived risk in driving customer attitude wasn’t established, con­
thus, validates, to certain degree, the finding of Featherman, et al. structs of Perceived usefulness and Perceived ease of use were found to
(2021). These results are partly in line with the recent studies (Wang be empirically driving attitude toward EV, which further accounted for
et al., 2018b) conducted in the emerging transportation markets. EV adoption intentions. Findings impress upon the fundamental role of
The findings of this research also explored that attitude towards EVs attitude in terms of direct and indirect effects in the proposed frame­
was employed as the mediating variable between adoption intention and work. This along with the earlier highlighted moderation oriented
its predicator variables of usefulness, ease of use and risk based on findings are key insights for the researchers.
‘beliefs-attitude-intention’ approach in order to estimate its indirect Also, of interest to researchers would be the direct effects of risks
effect via the mediator. EV attitude partially mediated the effect of related to financial losses, safety, and performance concerns along with
perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on consumers’ adoption other inconveniences, on the adoption intentions were significant. This
intention. However, the attitude was not found to be mediating the is a vital aspect to the theory oriented towards the emerging markets,
relationship between perceived risk and intention. H8 was partly sup­ given the inspectional stage of EV adoption in Indian context. Finally,
ported in the model. Thus, the study confirms that attitude is the the theory substantiated and underscored the longstanding constructs of
fundamental antecedent of the adoption intention both directly and perceived usefulness and ease of use in both directly and indirectly
indirectly corroborating with the similar studies in past (Degirmenci and affecting the attitude and intentions to adopt electric vehicles.
Breitner, 2017; Wang et al., 2018b; Policarpo and Aguiar, 2020).
Meanwhile, the moderating effect of external motive of financial
incentives policy was positively significant in the relationship between 5.2. Managerial implications
the attitude toward EV and the adoption intention. Thus, the hypothesis
(H9) supports the moderation of this important external stimulus in the The findings also offer some valuable insights to market pro­
proposed model, part in line with the previous findings (Kim et al., 2018; fessionals and policymakers how the adoption of EVs can be augmented
Fu, et al., 2020). Hence, the results of this study using the extended in the backdrop of an emerging transportation market. It is observed that
approach of TAM indicated that the consumers’ intention to adopt EVs the positive impact of ease of use on attitude toward EV is higher than
was directly or indirectly influenced by the predictor variables of atti­ perceived usefulness. The results indicate that the measure of perceived
tude, usefulness, ease of use, and risk along with the moderating factor ease of use with usefulness, perform vital role in the formation of
of financial incentives policy. This confirmed the stronger explanatory favorable attitude towards adopting green vehicles as new technology,
power of the existing model adopted in this study, and thus supports the meaning that when consumers perceive EVs to be useful and simple to
studies done by other scholars (Wang et al., 2018b; Zhang et al., 2019) in use, they are more likely to adopt it, which remains consistent with prior
the context of varied automobiles acceptance. studies (Wu et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2018b). Moreover, the consumers’
pessimistic belief of ‘risk’ was found to have a negative significant
relationship with adopting EVs, treated as uncertainty or resistant factor

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D. Jaiswal et al. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 173 (2021) 121089

to some extent with their pro-usage of these vehicles. This observation emission mobility by 2030.
corresponds to some extent with findings noted by Wang et al. (2018b),
Featherman, et al. (2021), which indicates that such an anxious belief of 6. Conclusions and future research
potential consumers would adversely translate into their EV preference,
when they feel to adopt or continue this. Thus, the finding is essential to The study aimed to propose and test technology acceptance model
let manufactures and policymakers recognize their responsibility in with financial incentives policy as a moderator to predict adoption
reducing the risk or loss factors related to EV performance, charging intention of electric vehicles in Indian market. Further on, the study also
facilities, and infrastructure in the Indian consumer mobility market so evaluated the association of perceived risk with attitude in the backdrop
that the prospective consumers can adopt EVs as preferred vehicles of the EV acceptance theory. An important contribution of the research
without any hesitation akin to gasoline vehicles’ performance and has been the moderating role played by the financial incentives policy in
expediency. the relationship between attitude held by customers and intentions
The result of moderating effect of financial incentives policy in­ displayed towards EV adoption. This way the considered model tested
dicates that the government financial support may have an influential the extended framework of TAM including its fundamental positive and
role in terms of subsidies, tax rebate in purchasing or using EV etc. in negative motives to adopt EVs along with incorporating financial in­
stimulating the demand, which affect indirectly as a third party (Gov­ centives policy as an external stimulus factor. The paper also distinc­
ernment) support system, consumers’ negative psyche or anxiety related tively explored the mediation of attitude between the relationship of its
to high price and cost bearing of maintenance of such vehicles compared key antecedents including positive and negative internal beliefs and
to gasoline vehicles. For a country like India the need of creativity in their fundamental consequence of adoption intention. The proposed
making EVs dominant has been quintessentially stressed, to the extent model is based on the ‘beliefs-attitude-intention’ framework, thus
that the direct subsidies aren’t seen as sustainable solutions, rather operationalised, and tested for direct, mediation and moderation effects.
tradable auto-emission coupons, or credits dependent on the levels of Although the research model endeavours to propose significant
CO2 emission is being suggested as a way forward (NITI Aayog, 2018). contribution in the existing literature for understanding the consumer
In addition, the sample of this study is related to young adults (18 or psyche for the usage of EV and also offers some interesting findings for
above), which represents a well-educated segment of the Indian pollu­ policymakers and manufacturers in the context of emerging mobility
tion. India is home to one of the youngest populations in the world. This market, some limitations have been acknowledged in the direction of
has garnered a colloquial reference for the country- ‘YOUNGISTAN’ in possible future research. The sample in the study was comprised of
the popular media. This portmanteau word roughly translates into ‘place students from National Capital Territory’s universities and colleges, who
of the young’, encapsulating this generation’s nimble expectations, swift are relatively young and educated, but this may restrict the generaliz­
adopting behaviour towards the newer innovative technologies, and ability of the findings. While young and educated people are receptive to
their growing concern and interest in eco-friendly aspects. This large prefer innovative technology products or services like EVs and battery
portion of the population is often targeted by the policymakers and car sharing services etc. Future studies should consider responses from
marketers alike who acknowledge them as prospective consumers of more diverse samples and regions. Moreover, the research findings are
EVs. Therefore, the authors too believe these participants to be the early based on ‘beliefs-attitude-intention’ derived from cognitive behavioural
adopters of EV in Indian zero emission mobility market because they theories to postulate the extended TAM, however the linkage between
perceive EVs to be of higher value as compared to the conventional intention and actual behaviour is still a matter of investigation. Follow-
vehicles with respect to reducing air pollution (carbon emissions) and up studies should extend this model as ‘attitude-intention-behaviour’
long term cost effectiveness. approach to capture the phenomenon of actual behaviour of adopting
At present the world is being overwhelmed by the pandemic Covid- EV, thus may provide the external validity to the research model.
19 and as a result India too is experiencing the lockdown. In the shadow
of this unfortunate event, one silver lining has been the improved CRediT authorship contribution statement
ecosystem offering better air quality due to the ongoing lock down,
which has almost stopped the major chunk of transportation across Deepak Jaiswal: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft,
India. Some crucial lessons can be taken from the positive outcome of Methodology, Validation, Writing – review & editing. Vikrant Kaushal:
lockdown, one could be the adoption of EV as zero emission transport Methodology, Writing – review & editing, Supervision. Rishi Kant:
model, which can play a vital role in becoming an enduring solution to Formal analysis, Data curation, Validation. Pankaj Kumar Singh:
the looming problem of air pollution. Going forward, to aid such desired Writing – review & editing, Supervision.
transformation in mobility, policymakers and marketers would have to
address the fundamental issues related to charging infrastructure, price, Declaration of Competing Interest
passive benefits, and so on to promote EV adoption. Perhaps this is the
right time when all the stakeholders promote EVs as an eco-friendly and The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to
clean technology product in the pursuit of national agenda of Zero the research, authorship and/or publication of this article

Annexure 1: Construct items and sources

Perceived usefulness(Wu et al., 2019, Wang et al., 2018)

PU1 I believe that the use of electric vehicles can reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption.
PU2 I believe that the use of electric vehicles can make me healthier.
PU3 I believe that the use of electric vehicles can reduce my household expenditures on transportation.
PU4 I believe that the use of electric vehicles can improve my travel efficiency.
Perceived ease of use(Wu et al., 2019)
PE1 I think it would be simple to use electric vehicles.
PE2 I think it would be easy for me to drive electric vehicles.
PE3 My interaction with electric vehicles would be clear and understandable.
Perceived risk(Wang et al., 2018; He et al., 2018; Kim & Jo, 2018)
PR1 I am afraid of suffering financial losses when using electric vehicles.
(continued on next page)

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(continued )
PR2 I would not feel totally safe when I drive an electric vehicle on the road.
PR3 I worry about whether electric vehicles will really perform likewise traditional vehicles.
PR4 I worry about inconveniences when using electric vehicles (such as limited driving range, charging infrastructure and recharging time).
Attitude towards EVs adoption(Han et al., 2017; Cheng et al., 2019)
AT1 I am interested in electric vehicles.
AT2 I like the idea of using electric vehicles.
AT3 It gives me positive feeling to adopt electric vehicles as one of my travel choices.
Financial incentive Policy(Wang et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2018; He et al., 2018)
FP1 I think subsidy policy will encourage for adopting electric vehicles.
FP2 I think relaxation in tax policies will be helpful to adopt electric vehicles.
FP3 Subsidy and tax policies are important to me for purchasing electric vehicles.
FP4 The government should provide other incentives for using electric vehicles.
Adoption intention for EVs(Wang et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2018; He et al., 2018; Han et al., 2017)
INT1 I am willing to adopt electric vehicles when choosing a vehicle in the near future.
INT2 I plan to adopt electric vehicles when choosing a vehicle in the near future.
INT3 I intend to adopt electric vehicles when choosing a vehicle in the near future.
INT4 I would like to recommend others to adopt electric vehicles when they planned to choose a vehicle.

Note: All the constructs were measured using by 7-point Likert scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly agree’ (7).

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Yang, H., Yu, J., Zo, H., Choi, M., 2016. User acceptance of wearable devices: An includes Destination Branding, Sustainable Development and Management, Educational
extended perspective of perceived value. Telematics and Informatics 33 (2), Perspectives in Tourism and Hospitality, and Higher Education Marketing and Branding.
256–269. He has published articles in several reputed international journals including International
Yeo, V.C.S., Goh, S.K., Rezaei, S., 2017. Consumer experiences, attitude and behavioral Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Inter­
intention toward online food delivery (OFD) services. Journal of Retailing and national Journal of Emerging Markets, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Benchmarking:
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and perceived risk in public’s acceptance of automated vehicles. Transportation
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Dr. Rishi Kant ([email protected]) is an Assistant Professor at Central University of
Zhang, X., Wang, K., Hao, Y., Fan, J.L., Wei, Y.M., 2013. The impact of government
Haryana, Mahendergarh, Haryana, India. He obtained his Ph.D. from Central University of
policy on preference for NEVs: the evidence from China. Energy Policy 61, 382–393.
Himachal Pradesh in the field of service quality management and consumer behaviour. He
holds more than five years of teaching experience along with decent research experience.
Dr. Deepak Jaiswal ([email protected]) is an Assistant Professor of Marketing, Amity He is keen in doing research work with new and innovative ideas. Being a keen desirous of
School of Business, Amity University Patna, India. He earned his Ph.D. from Central research, author has many of research publications to his credit and many of them are
University of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala, India. His research interests include sus­ published in Scopus/SSCI Indexed Journal.
tainability marketing, green consumer behaviour, and service quality model. His research
work has been published a couple of esteemed peer reviewed journals like Journal of
Dr. Pankaj Kumar Singh ([email protected]) has been a marketing professor with
Retailing and Consumer Services, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Bench­
ICFAI Business School (IBS), Hyderabad since 2017. He received his PhD degree in mar­
marking: An International Journal, International Journal of Productivity and Performance
keting from IIT(ISM), Dhanbad. Prior to IBS, he was working with Banasthali Vidyapith.
Management, International Journal of Emerging Markets etc.
He also worked as a research intern at IIM-A and ISB-Hyderabad. His area of research is in
the domain of branding and green marketing. He has published his research work in some
Dr. Vikrant Kaushal ([email protected]) is an Assistant Professor at the of the journal of repute. He has attended and presented his research work in various na­
Indian Institute of Management, Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh, India. His area of research tional and international conferences in India.

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