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

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.