Nowadays a technology push isn’t enough for the success of innovations; people make this success happen! An insight into the consumer behaviour can help to evaluate the market potential of a coming technology even before it enters the market. The success of innovations is not only the challenge of research and development; it is the capacity of foresight.
We are facing the future of narrow primary energy sources, rising energy costs and increasing regional political and economical instability due to the dependence on energy imports. Now, more than before, the need for a new, renewable, energy carrier is evident. Especially for the transport sector, which constitutes more than 30% of the world’s energy consumption and consumes more than 60% of the world’s oil production (IEA 2007; EC 2006), alternative solutions are evidently needed.
Sustainable mobility is nowadays essential for the world economy (WBCSD 2004); adding the severe problem of climate change, seeking for C02-free renewable energy sources has become a priority for scientists all over the world. Among the candidates for this new fuel are bio diesel, bio ethanol, solar power and hydrogen. Hydrogen has the potential of becoming oil’s successor and spread out throughout the world in this new hydrogen based economy.
Producers and scientists are developing new technologies based on renewables; consumers, the demand side, with their choices, will play a strong role in the diffusion of these innovations. From the producer side, it is very important to gain information about the consumer side in order to develop a better marketing strategy.
This work was developed with the Linde-hydrogen marketing department, with the goal to gaining deeper insights of potential early adopters in order to deploy strategies which place hydrogen as a leader in the renewable energy market. Focused on hydrogen based innovations, at this early stage, it is very important to achieve a positive attitude towards the innovation. A positive attitude could enforce adoption when launching the product (s) to the market.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Aim of the Thesis
- Structure of the Thesis
- Research Process
- LINDE AG
- Theory
- Diffusion of Innovations
- The Innovation Decision Process
- Adoption Criteria
- Factors that influence the Diffusion of Innovations
- Consumer Behaviour
- The Theory of Reasoned Action TRA
- Attitude-Behaviour Paradigm
- Hydrogen
- Characteristics
- The Innovation
- Challenges
- Diffusion of Hydrogen and Energy Innovations
- Actual Status
- Existing Consumer Research on Energy Adoption
- Surveys about Attitude towards Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier
- Survey on the Attitude towards Adoption of Hydrogen
- Exploratory research
- Development of hypotheses
- Person centred hypotheses
- Hypotheses regarding the Ajzen Model
- Hypotheses regarding the Rogers' Model
- The Model
- Operationalization of Theoretical Constructs
- Independent Variables
- Dependant Variables
- Results
- The Sample
- Descriptive Statistics
- Multivariate Statistics
- Regression Model I: Attitude towards hydrogen
- Regression Model II: Pull Effect
- Regression Model III: Willingness to pay
- Discussion of Results
- A general view
- Hypotheses
- A new Model for Hydrogen Attitude-Adoption Criteria
- Further Research
- Limitations
- Transition into Marketing Strategy
- Summary
- Literature
- Appendix
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This thesis aims to provide an insight into consumer attitudes toward hydrogen as an energy carrier. By analyzing the theoretical frameworks of diffusion of innovations and consumer behavior, the author investigates the factors that influence the adoption of hydrogen technologies. The study utilizes an empirical survey to gather data on consumer perceptions, beliefs, and willingness to pay for hydrogen-powered innovations. The key themes explored in the thesis include: * **Consumer adoption of energy innovations:** The study explores the factors influencing consumer acceptance of new energy technologies, specifically hydrogen. * **The role of consumer attitudes and beliefs:** The thesis examines how consumers' attitudes and beliefs towards hydrogen impact their willingness to adopt hydrogen technologies. * **The importance of adoption criteria:** The study investigates the key criteria consumers consider when evaluating hydrogen as an energy source. * **The impact of perceived risks and benefits:** The thesis analyzes the influence of perceived risks and benefits associated with hydrogen technologies on consumer adoption decisions. * **Developing a model for hydrogen attitude-adoption criteria:** The research aims to construct a model that explains the relationship between consumer attitudes, beliefs, and their intention to adopt hydrogen technologies.Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
* **Introduction:** This chapter introduces the topic of hydrogen as an energy carrier and outlines the objectives and structure of the thesis. It provides background information on the Linde Group and its involvement in hydrogen-powered innovations. * **Theory:** This chapter reviews relevant theoretical frameworks, including the Diffusion of Innovations theory and the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), which are used to understand consumer adoption processes. * **Hydrogen:** This chapter explores the characteristics, potential, and challenges associated with hydrogen as an energy source. It examines the technology's current state and its future prospects. * **Diffusion of Hydrogen and Energy Innovations:** This chapter discusses the diffusion of hydrogen and energy innovations globally, including existing consumer research and surveys on consumer attitudes towards hydrogen as an energy carrier. * **Survey on the Attitude towards Adoption of Hydrogen:** This chapter describes the methodology employed in the empirical study, including the development of hypotheses, the model used, and the operationalization of key constructs. * **Results:** This chapter presents the findings of the empirical survey, analyzing both descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses to explore the relationships between consumer attitudes, beliefs, and their willingness to adopt hydrogen technologies.Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The primary keywords and focus topics of this research include hydrogen, energy carrier, consumer attitudes, adoption, diffusion of innovations, consumer behavior, theory of reasoned action, adoption criteria, perceived risks, perceived benefits, willingness to pay, and empirical survey. This thesis examines the factors influencing the adoption of hydrogen technologies, focusing on consumer perceptions and beliefs, and ultimately contributing to the development of a model that explains the relationship between attitudes, beliefs, and adoption intentions.- Quote paper
- Dipl. Ing. Pedro Montes de Oca (Author), 2008, Hydrogen powered innovations - Insight into the Attitude of Consumers towards Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/128743
