Belief in Environmentalism and Independent/Interdependent Self-Construal as Factors Predicting Interest in and Intention to Purchase Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Abstract

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), the most salient environmentally responsible vehicles, can help to make the world cleaner and more livable. Although studies have yielded an impressive set of findings about consumers’ intention to purchase HEV from the perspective of economic, environmental, and social concerns, much less attention has been paid to self-related concerns for consumers’ intention to purchase HEVs. The present study investigated whether relative level of environmentalism and self-construal jointly predicted degree of interest in and intention to purchase HEVs. Seven hundred and fifty-two respondents (mainly from the U.S. and India) completed a survey, but the results for the different levels of environmental belief and self-construal were based on 289 participants. The results showed that level of environmentalism interacted with self-construal to predict the degree of interest in HEVs and intention to purchase HEVs. Post hoc tests revealed that among participants who had relatively low level of environmentalism, participants with interdependent self-construal had a greater degree of interest in HEVs and greater intention to purchase HEVs than did participants with independent self-construal. In contrast, among participants who had relatively high levels of environmentalism, participants with independent self-construal had a greater degree of interest in HEVs and greater intention to purchase HEVs than did participants with interdependent self-construal. However, the effect of the interaction between relative level of environmentalism and self-construal on intention to purchase HEVs was not significant when the degree of interest in HEVs was controlled.