Abstract
Despite the intensive research on residential photovoltaic adoption, there is a lack of understanding regarding the social dynamics that drive adoption decisions. Innovation diffusion is a social process, whereby communication structures and the relations between sender and receiver influence what information is perceived and how it is interpreted. This paper addresses this research gap by investigating stakeholder influences in household decision-making from a procedural perspective, so-called stakeholder dynamics. A literature review derives major influence dynamics which are then synthesized based on egocentric network maps for distinct process stages. The findings show a multitude of stakeholders that can be relevant in influencing photovoltaic adoption decisions of owner-occupied households. Household decision-makers are mainly influenced by stakeholders of their social network like family, neighbors, and friends as well as PV-related services like providers and civil society groups. The perceived closeness and likeability of a stakeholder indicate a higher level of influence because of greater trust involved. Furthermore, the findings indicate that social influence shifts gradually from many different stakeholders to a few core stakeholders later on in the decision-making process. These insights suggest that photovoltaic (PV) adoption may be more reliably predicted if a process perspective is taken into account that not only distinguishes between different stakeholders but considers their dynamic importance along the process stages. In addition, especially time- and location-bound factors affect the influence strength. This clearly shows the importance of local and targeted interventions to accelerate the uptake.
Highlights
Its main contribution is to define the stakeholder landscape involved in low-carbon technology decision making and review the social influence that stakeholders bring about in the decision-making process
The findings from a literature review indicated a multitude of different stakeholders can influence the decision-making process regarding residential PV adoption
Findings indicate that social influence gradually shifts from many different stakeholders to a more concentrated number of core stakeholders that influence the decision making later on
Summary
The complexity of residential decision-making with respect to low-carbon technologies such as rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems is vividly shown by the richness of theorized drivers and barriers that facilitate. Energies 2020, 13, 6283 or hinder individual adoption decisions and the lack of a commonly agreed-upon decision process [1,2,3,4] These studies aim at identifying antecedents of intention or behavior or drivers and barriers that facilitate or hinder adoption at the individual level (e.g., [5,6]). Despite individual low-carbon technology adoption processes having been studied intensively and the acknowledgment of them having a complex, intrapersonal nature [1,3,7], there is a substantial gap regarding social influences (or in other words stakeholder influences) driving adoption decisions [8]. “social influence is often poorly theorized or absent from behavior models” [11], reducing their usefulness to explain and predict adoption behavior
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
