Abstract
Ecosia is an Internet search engine that plants trees with the income obtained from advertising. This study explored the factors that affect the adoption of Ecosia.org from the perspective of technology adoption and trust. This was done by using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) and then analyzing the results with PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling). Subsequently, a survey was conducted with a structured questionnaire on search engines, which yielded the following results: (1) the idea of a company helping to mitigate the effects of climate change by planting trees is well received by Internet users. However, few people accept the idea of changing their habits from using traditional search engines; (2) Ecosia is a search engine believed to have higher compatibility rates, and needing less hardware resources, and (3) ecological marketing is an appropriate and future strategy that can increase the intention to use a technological product. Based on the results obtained, this study shows that a search engine or other service provided by the Internet, which can be audited (visits, searches, files, etc.), can also contribute to curb the effects of deforestation and climate change. In addition, companies, and especially technological start-ups, are advised to take into account that users feel better using these tools. Finally, this study urges foundations and non-governmental organizations to fight against the effects of deforestation by supporting these initiatives. The study also urges companies to support technological services, and follow the behavior of Ecosia.org in order to positively influence user satisfaction by using ecological marketing strategies.
Highlights
In the last decade, organizations have quickly adapted to the Internet, social networks, and search engines
This study explored the factors that affect the adoption of Ecosia.org
This was done using the second version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) [9]
Summary
Organizations have quickly adapted to the Internet, social networks, and search engines. The appearance of Web 2.0 has allowed users to design, create, and produce content and activities on the Internet [1]. These new forms of online expression have transformed and changed the ideas of users and organizations so that they can achieve their goals. Web 2.0, Social Media, and search engines have transformed how users obtain information about the topics that interest them on the Internet [2]. Search engines are widely used to measure the interest that people have in a certain topic In this way, numerous investigations have evaluated the effectiveness of search engines as sources for obtaining information. Considered the impact that search engines have on the development of Green Business Models by analyzing the Ecosia search engine with the case study methodology. This research seeks to clarify whether search engine users are willing to use a search engine like Ecosia, knowing that it helps to mitigate climate change, favors the planting of trees, and deforestation, or if, on the contrary, these benefits for planet Earth are not enough to change the search engine that they use daily
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