Leveraging user-based innovation in vehicle-to-X and vehicle-to-grid adoption: A Nordic case study

Abstract

While vehicle-to-grid technology could provide substantial benefits to consumers and society, its adoption has been confined to a niche and relatively stagnant. In this article, we study the role of user-based innovations in increasing the acceptance and adoption of niche technologies such as vehicle-to-grid. To do so, we connect three interrelated concepts—tinkering, testing and tacit knowledge—and then theorize how they interact in three theories—diffusion of innovation, social construction of technology, and the multi-level perspective. Drawing from a rich set of original data, we then apply the theorization of user-based innovation to the adoption of vehicle-to-grid in the Nordic region, by focusing on how users can influence an emerging state-of-the-art innovation, vehicle-to-X. We find that the three concepts of tinkering, testing, and tacit knowledge should be encouraged in order to accelerate and stabilize the adoption of vehicle-to-grid. We conclude the study by examining how the theorization of tinkering may benefit the understanding of other technologies’ diffusion pathways and recommend directions for future research.