Advancing societal readiness toward renewable energy system adoption with a socio-technical perspective
Introduction
For a technological innovation to be successfully deployed and diffused in the market there must be sufficient user demand for it (Mowery and Rosenberg, 1979). If the demand-pull force does not clearly exist or is immature for a new technology, technological advances, even when seemingly useful, are only cases of scientific invention, rather than innovation. Renewable energy technologies are a prime example where consumers' participation and their active response are necessary to spur market demand. Even though past advancements in renewable energy technologies have led to increased energy efficiency and cost reduction, various obstacles related to sustainable energy demand still hinder the growth of renewable energy market (IEA (International Energy Agency), 2013; Kemp et al., 1998). In particular, energy is a societal good in which various stakeholder interests exist and their collective consensus must be formed in order for transition to occur. This demand formation issue is confounded by the supply side conditions such as the relatively high prices of energy generation and distribution in renewable energy industry compared to conventional fossil fuel sources including the newly industrialized shale gas.
As such, the growth of renewable energy market has been slow. In order to overcome the barriers to the new technology diffusion and demand expansion, it is necessary to consider socio-technical dimensions in adopting renewable energy. While past studies have focused on policy measures to eliminate major mostly technological and economic barriers for renewable energy industry, one must consider both societal and technical factors that influence the characteristics of renewable energy industry growth. According to Jobert et al. (2007), conventional systems are locked into a dominant market segment so that all stakeholders related with renewable energy need to participate and act together for effective diffusion of renewable energy in society. Wüstenhagen et al. stress that if social supports and needs are strong, renewable energy technologies can be adopted despite having lower energy efficiency than market-leading technologies (Wüstenhagen et al., 2007). Hence, it is appropriate to introduce a socio-technical framework; the one employed in this paper and apply it to analyze demand creation strategy for renewable energy industry. To increase the adoption of renewable energy technologies, it is necessary to consider equally both social and technical issues (Sovacool and Sovacool, 2009).
Previous studies on adoption of renewable energy technology focus on personal characteristics such as environmental consciousness and knowledge, or products' characteristics like complexity, compatibility, and perceived relative advantages (usefulness). On one hand, when consumers adopt renewable energy, they perceive benefits such as environmental protection, long-term savings from reduced utility bills, and independence from traditional energy suppliers (Claudy et al., 2011). On the other hand, people perceive the risk of incompatibility with traditional energy systems, difficult operations, and initial installation costs (Claudy et al., 2011, Harmon and Cowan, 2009). Therefore, market is not easily created due to cost disadvantages in comparison to traditional technologies, as well as lack of direct benefits for the individuals (Kemp, 1994). It is clear that these consumer perspectives must be considered beyond simple technical and economic logics for successful creation of market demand. Note that the social influence is more important than technical advantages in persuading people to adopt renewable energy systems. In the case of large renewable energy plants, the aspect of gaining social acceptance becomes more important (Mallet, 2007, Sauter and Watson, 2007) Roger also emphasizes that successful diffusion of innovation requires proper communication (Rogers Everett, 1995). Innovative firms must not only develop renewable energy technologies and produce renewable energy systems, but also put immense efforts to shape the market through persuasion and education of consumers in increasing their perceived benefits and decreasing perceived risk (Kemp, 1994, Lee et al., 2006). Therefore, we should incorporate such consumer-related, social factors in developing our research model to be tested.
A number of researchers have attempted to use a technological assessment framework supplemented with social–technical point of view in order to reveal social and technical barriers that impede the market diffusion in macro system of innovation (Batley et al., 2001, Grünewald et al., 2012). However, there is only limited research work to find the relationship between socio-technical external factors and consumers' psychological behavior in renewable energy industry (Claudy et al., 2011, Bang et al., 2000, Rowlands et al., 2002, Rowlands et al., 2003, Bamberg, 2003). While a number of studies have discovered that external, societal environment significantly influences the decision making process of consumers (Fraj and Martinez, 2006, Lin and Hsu, 2013), there is a lack of empirical studies which consider such external environment and social factors in the case of renewable energy technology adoption (Lin and Hsu, 2013). Theory of planned behavior (TPB) is one of the considered models for social influence through the subjective norm; however, Kling points out that the use of new technologies is affected by more complex social environment where institutional, cultural, and technological elements are associated together (Kling, 2000). Therefore, this research has blended factors ranging from “social” issues such as social trust and social support and to “technical” issues such as the technical facilitating conditions and perceived system quality.
In this context, it is necessary to examine how socio-technical factors affect consumers' intention to use renewable energy systems. The factors to be considered in this paper have perception effects including attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. The structural equation modeling (SEM) is employed to test the social–technical research model and hypothesized relationships empirically. The findings of this study will provide empirical evidence that strengthens the theoretical basis for predicting and explaining consumers' intention to use a renewable energy system. From an academic standpoint, this study evaluates the extended theory of planned behavior model with reference to social–technical factors for the market adoption of an innovative technological system in transitional periods. Moreover, applying the socio-technical perspectives in a quantitative manner helps to extend the theory of planned behavior model for sustainable innovation where understanding user response is most critical. From a managerial practice perspective, given the importance of renewable energy systems in contemporary business discourse, the findings of this study offer corporate managers and policy makers with effective strategies to approach their customers to develop clean energy marketing programs and various sustainability initiatives in a community.
Section snippets
Theory of planned behavior
The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is a social cognitive research framework frequently used to understand individuals' pro-environmental behavior. TPB assumes that human action is guided by three kinds of specific beliefs: behavioral, normative, and control. Behavioral beliefs are those which produce a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the behavior; normative beliefs are those which result in perceived social pressure or subjective norms to perform to that specific behavior; and
Residential renewable energy systems case in the U.S
The U.S. is the second largest energy consuming nation after China and the residential and commercial sectors consume most energy within all energy sectors (EIA (Energy Information Administration), 2011). Thus the U.S. residential energy consumers' behavior could be well observed for renewable energy system usage and market diffusion. Recently, American households have continued to increase the installation of renewable energy systems in their residential areas. The National Geographic has
Measurement reliability and validity
Hair et al. (2006) have proposed a two-stage model-building process for applying SEM. Firstly, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to examine the validity of the measurement model, and secondly the structural model also was analyzed to test the associations hypothesized in the research model. For that reason, before testing the hypothesis, the confirmatory factors analysis was conducted. As a result, two items were excluded from social trust (one item) and perceived system quality
Implication and limitation
Previous studies attempted to consider a socio-technical perspective in investigating barriers to renewable energy technology market diffusion at the national or industrial level. However, in consumer adoption model, there is a lack of empirical studies which consider external variables of socio-technical factors (Lin and Hsu, 2013). Innovation research on renewable energy systems needs to examine the gradual process of departing from traditional energy systems. Nonetheless, the socio-technical
Conclusion
The development of renewable energy technologies has put a major emphasis on technical progress rather than examination of ways to foster societal demand to diffuse the new energy technologies. This research, however, has articulated that social climate is an important factor for the diffusion of renewable energy technologies. This study re-confirms this recommendation as the results advance society's readiness to accept renewable energy systems, the development of which requires a
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant No. 2012S1A5A2A01019597) and by the KAIST research grants (No. 2013-1-2). The authors would like to thank all survey respondents and anonymous reviewers for this paper.
Sunyoung Yun received a doctoral degree in the Graduate School of Innovation & Technology Management and Department of Business and Technology Management at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). As a research associate at KAIST Industrial Management Research Institute, Dr. Yun is currently a visiting researcher at the Energy Institute in University College London. Her research interests include sustainable innovation, technology strategy, technology adoption, and R&D
References (82)
How does environmental concern influence specific environmentally related behaviors? A new answer to an old question
J. Environ. Psychol.
(2003)- et al.
Citizen versus consumer: challenges in the UK green power market
Energy Policy
(2001) - et al.
Infrastructure transformation as a socio-technical process—implications for the governance of energy distribution networks in the UK
Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang.
(2015) - et al.
Public attitudes toward nanotechnology applications in Taiwan
Technovation
(2013) - et al.
Social network, social trust and shared goals in organizational knowledge sharing
Inf. Manag.-Amst.
(2008) - et al.
The diffusion of micro generation technologies: assessing the influence of perceived product characteristics on home owner' willingness to pay
Energy Policy
(2011) - et al.
Towards a contemporary approach for understanding consumer behavior in the context of domestic energy use
Energy Policy
(2007) - et al.
The influence of consumers' environmental beliefs and attitudes on energy saving behaviors
Energy Policy
(2011) Community perspectives of wind energy in Australia: the application of a justice and community fairness framework to increase social acceptance
Energy Policy
(2007)- et al.
The socio-technical transition of distributed electricity storage into future networks: system value and stakeholder views
Energy Policy
(2012)
A multi perspectives view of the market case for green energy
Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang.
Psychological factors influencing sustainable energy technology acceptance: a review-based comprehensive framework
Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev.
Stimulating the diffusion of photovoltaic systems: a behavioral perspective
Energy Policy
Local acceptance of wind energy. Factors of success identified in French and German case studies
Energy Policy
Technology and the transition to environmental sustainability: the problem of technological regime shifts
Futures
Analyzing the innovation process for environmental performance improvement
Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang.
Car and the city: socio-technical transition pathways to 2030
Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang.
Moving forward or slowing-down? Exploring what impedes the Hellenic energy transition to a sustainable future
Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang.
The influence of market demand upon innovation: a critical review of some recent empirical studies
Res. Policy
Why does renewable energy diffuse so slowly? A review of innovation system problems
Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev.
Factors influencing the public intention to use renewable energy technologies in South Korea: effects of the Fukushima nuclear accident
Energy Policy
Strategies for the deployment of micro-generation: implications for social acceptance
Energy Policy
An empirical study on predicting user acceptance of e-shopping on the Web
Inf. Manag.-Amst.
Solar systems diffusion in local markets
Energy Policy
The governance of sustainable socio-technical transitions
Res. Policy
Identifying future electricity-water tradeoffs in the United States
Energy Policy
NIMBY or not? Exploring the relevance of location and the politics of voiced opinions in renewable energy sitting controversies
Energy Policy
Social acceptance of renewable energy innovation: an introduction to the concept
Energy Policy
The theory of planned behavior
Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process.
Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory
Consumer concern, knowledge, belief, and attitude toward renewable energy: an application of the reasoned action theory
Psychol. Market.
Significance tests and goodness-of-fit in the analysis of covariance structures
Psychol. Bull.
Amazon's Mechanical Turk a new source of inexpensive, yet high-quality, data?
Perspect. Psychol. Sci.
Reexamining the theory of planned behavior in understanding wastepaper recycling
Environ. Behav.
Advancing the theory of adaptive structuration: the development of a scale to measure faithfulness of appropriation
Inf. Syst. Res.
Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology
MIS Q.
A study of normative and social influences upon individual judgments
J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol.
Social Trust: Toward a Cosmopolitan Society
Annual Energy Outlook 2011
Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error
J. Mark. Res.
Environmental values and lifestyles as determining factors of ecological consumer behavior: an empirical analysis
J. Consum. Mark.
Cited by (71)
Public acceptance towards plastic waste-to-energy gasification projects: The role of social trust and health consciousness
2024, Journal of Environmental ManagementOvercoming Premature Smartphone Obsolescence amongst Young Adults
2024, Cleaner and Responsible ConsumptionCharting the complexities of a post-COVID energy transition: emerging research frontiers for a sustainable future
2024, Energy Research and Social ScienceFactors affecting the social acceptance of agricultural and solar energy systems: The case of new cities in Egypt
2024, Ain Shams Engineering JournalImplementing and scaling artificial intelligence: A review, framework, and research agenda
2023, Technological Forecasting and Social Change
Sunyoung Yun received a doctoral degree in the Graduate School of Innovation & Technology Management and Department of Business and Technology Management at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). As a research associate at KAIST Industrial Management Research Institute, Dr. Yun is currently a visiting researcher at the Energy Institute in University College London. Her research interests include sustainable innovation, technology strategy, technology adoption, and R&D policy. She has published in the Asian Journal of Technology Innovation and Asian Research Policy. She is currently focusing on transitional management of sustainable innovation.
Joosung Lee is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Innovation & Technology Management and Department of Business and Technology Management at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). His research is focused on sustainable systems design, environmental policy and industry innovation. With expertise in transportation, energy and IT industries, Dr. Lee has held research and teaching positions at Tokyo University and Yonsei University and published in leading journals including Transportation Research and Technological Forecasting and Social Change. He has served as a managing editor of the Technology and Innovation Management journal published by Korea Industrial Technology Association.