Characteristics of innovation in adopting a renewable residential energy system

Abstract

Purpose-This paper investigates the criteria influencing the adoption of innovation in the empirical context of renewable residential energy solutions, particularly the wood pellet heating system. Design/methodology/approach-The study carried out an extensive literature review on Rogers' characteristics of innovation theory and then complemented it with a content analysis on empirically perceived characteristics on wood pellet heating systems. Findings-The literature review shows that most of the previous studies employ the characteristics of innovation but do not confirm the usability of the Rogers framework as a whole. In addition, our empirical results demonstrate that relative advantage is the predominant characteristic in the adoption of residential energy systems. Research limitations-The limitations of the literature review and the biases of empirical findings are discussed. For instance, there are limitations that the study is based on single country data and its theoretical approach relies on only one theory, Rogers' characteristics of innovation. Practical implications-In order to achieve sustainable strategic advantage, firms providing renewable energy solutions should attempt to communicate clearly the relative advantages instead of attempting to, for instance, offer an opportunity for trialling such green energy systems. Originality/value-The paper highlights the use of characteristics of innovation and further empirically examines the perceived characteristics of an innovation considering green investments in residential heating systems. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, the results provide a gateway to a number of possible avenues for future research.

Open data and its usability: an empirical view from the Citizen’s perspective

“…Many studies of the past have acknowledged the importance of relative advantage in consumers forming favourable use intentions towards a given innovation. This attribute has marked its presence across varied innovation-types (Mallat et al 2006(Mallat et al , 2008Schierz et al 2010;Bae and Chang 2012;Jung et al 2009;Chou et al 2012;Tapaninen et al 2009). Based on the revelations and evidences from many such studies, it was expected that relative advantage would have a significant impact on the behavioural intentions of the users of open data.…”

Examining consumer acceptance of green innovations using innovation characteristics: A conceptual approach

“…According to Pannell et al (2006), in the long run, relative advantage determines the ultimate level of adoption for most innovations. Literature on green innovations have reported a significant influence of relative advantage on users' behavioral intentions; for instance -study on adoption of electronic indicator for capturing the household energy use by Vollink et al (2002), study on adoption of domestic solar power systems by Faiers et al (2007), study on residential renewable energy systems adoption by Tapaninen et al (2009b), and the study on green practice adoption by Chou et al (2012). As previously stated, these home solar equipments clearly bear advantages over the conventional form of electricity that is in present use by most homes.…”

The Role of Knowledge-based Consumption in the Consumers’ Purchase Decisions of Heating Products

“…• Economic factors: annual costs, investment costs, price-performance ratio (Mahapatra and Gustavsson, 2008;Tapaninen et al, 2009;Kaenzig and Wüstenhagen, 2008) • Technical factors: reliability, durability (Mahapatra and Gustavsson, 2008) • Personal factors: risk of affordability and security of supply (Mahapatra and Gustavsson, 2008;Tapaninen et al, 2009) or • Social factors (Tapaninen et al, 2009) But, none of the reviewed models considered the source of experience at the diverse stages of the purchase process.…”