Integrated Theoretical Framework for a Homeowner's Decision in Favor of an Innovative Residential Heating System

Carl Michelsen and Reinhard Madlener

No 2/2010, FCN Working Papers from E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN)

Abstract: Insight into the homeowner’s adoption decisions in favor of a specific innovative residential heating system (RHS) helps us to understand and assess the dynamics of the adoption and diffusion of such technological systems as a “social” phenomenon. This phenomenon emerges from the individual decisions of a set of heterogeneous actors on the market. In our research, we develop an integrated theoretical framework for assessing a homeowner’s adoption decision in favor of a specific innovative RHS. Taking the theory of planned behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) and the perceived characteristics of innovations (PCI) (Moore and Benbasat, 1991) as a starting point, we propose a framework that explicitly accounts for external factors (esp. economic aspects) and personal-sphere determinants. This allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the role of a homeowner’s personal-sphere as well as of the influence of perceived economic and other external factors on the RHS adoption process. We motivate our research with background on the case of Germany. Our theoretical framework can serve as a basis for empirically researching homeowners’ adoption decisions in favor of a specific RHS and for developing a conceptual multi-agent simulation model for investigating the diffusion of RHS.

Keywords: Technological adoption; consumer behavior; economic psychology; residential heating systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 O33 R22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2010-02
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:fcnwpa:2010_002

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