Lifestyle practices and pro-environmental technology

Preference and lifestyle heterogeneity among potential plug-in electric vehicle buyers

“…Spaargaren (2003) applies aspects of Giddens' theory to the case of sustainable consumption, arguing that engagement in proenvironmental activities is a function of the individual's self-concept as well as their overall context. Axsen et al (2012) further develop and apply "lifestyle theory" to the case of consumer interest in proenvironmental technologies, analyzing empirical data collected from car buyers in San Diego, California to find that pro-environmental technologies can be attractive to consumers engaging in a proenvironmental lifestyle, a technology-orientated lifestyle, or some combination of the two. For example, a pro-environmental lifestyle might include regular engagement in activities such as recycling and composting, while a technology-oriented lifestyle might include activities relating to researching and purchasing new technologies.…”

“…We presently focus only on responses to ten of these questions which relate to the two lifestyle types previously found to be associated with interest in pro-environmental technology: environment-and technologyoriented lifestyles (Axsen et al, 2012). The five environment-oriented activities included "engaging in environmental conservation activities," "attending environmental meetings" and "promoting environmental conservation (talking to people about the environment)", which together have a Cronbach's alpha of 0.85 (indicating a high degree of internal consistency).…”

“…To quantitatively explore heterogeneity in consumer motivations, we also construct consumer segments based on "lifestyle theory"-which describes consumer behavior as at least partially motivated by the need to engage in coherent patterns of lifestyle that represent aspects of selfidentity (Axsen et al, 2012;Giddens, 1991). Lifestyle theory postulates that a consumer is more likely to purchase and use a new technology like a PEV if it fits into a lifestyle that they currently engage in or want to engage in, such as an environment-or technology-oriented lifestyle.…”

A segmentation analysis: the case of photovoltaic in the Netherlands

“…Most interesting is the study of Axsen et al (2012), who grouped their sample into the greens that are Bengaged,^those who are Baspiring^and those who are Blow-tech,^and the nonenvironmental groups, whereby it is distinguished between the Btraditional^and the Btechies.^However, in our opinion, it highly depends on the technology in question whether people are willing to adopt, even within a group Bgreen-engaged^it is impossible to predict the decision. A study by Pedersen (2000) showed that even inconsistency in the purchase of various green products and/or technologies exists.…”

Enhancing the Understanding of Urban Systems for Sustainability Transition: A Study of Urban Environmental Management in the Natural Resource-Based Industrial City of Jinchang, China

“…This involves actively enhancing the guiding function of urban green infrastructure, as well as propagandising the values and providing behavioural instructions for a sustainable lifestyle. Examples include information dissemination to advocate a minimalist culture and encourage alternative ways of sustainable living with moderate consumption (Axsen et al, 2012).…”