THEORIES OF NEW TECHNOLOGY PURCHASE DECISIONS: THE CASE OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLES

The introduction of alternative fueled vehicles (AFV) will increase the diversity, complexity and uncertainty of the personal-use vehicle market. Several AFVs will have attributes unfamiliar to consumers including home refueling, refueling ranges, noise levels, safety, and performance. Also, AFV selection and use will become a prominent public issue. It is not known what these differences in vehicle attributes and prominence of social concerns will have on vehicle purchase and travel behavior. Choice modeling has been the dominant method used to analyze and forecast consumer responses to transportation alternatives. The assumptions of these models are unsupportable for the AFV market. This study reviewed theories of consumer behavior from economics, sociology, psychology and marketing with respect to 3 critical features of the alternative fueled vehicle market: increased market complexity; new product attributes; social benefits. Elements of the approaches were synthesized into a conceptual model that can be used to guide interdisciplinary research on purchase and travel behavior responses to alternative fueled vehicles.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Features: Figures; References;
  • Pagination: 34 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00646284
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: Working Paper No.129
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Apr 4 1994 12:00AM