IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v190y2024ics0965856424003173.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Media attention and electric vehicle adoption: Evidence from 275 cities in China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhao, Xiaolei
  • Li, Xuemei
  • Zhao, Ziyao
  • Luo, Tianyi

Abstract

Can changes in consumer psychology induced by media attention lead to pro-environmental transportation behaviors or choices? In response, we match a unique dataset on media attention with electric vehicle (EV) sales data in China, employing a two-way fixed effects model and an instrumental variable (IV) method to estimate the impact of media attention on EV adoption. Our research found that media attention significantly accelerates the market diffusion of EVs. This result is substantiated through IV tests and a series of robustness checks. Additionally, the mediation effect model revealed that media attention indirectly influences EV adoption through consumer EV attention, government EV focus, EV technological innovation, and EV purchase subsidies. We also discovered that the effect of media attention on EV adoption is not only positively moderated by the level of consumer policy awareness and education but is also more pronounced in areas with high population density, high income, high education levels, and a high air quality index. Our findings not only provide empirical evidence for understanding the role of social psychological factors and external media stimuli in promoting behavioral changes towards environmental protection but also offer guidance for policymakers and businesses in implementing effective market promotion strategies and formulating relevant policies, especially in enhancing public cognition and acceptance of EVs.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhao, Xiaolei & Li, Xuemei & Zhao, Ziyao & Luo, Tianyi, 2024. "Media attention and electric vehicle adoption: Evidence from 275 cities in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:190:y:2024:i:c:s0965856424003173
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2024.104269
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856424003173
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tra.2024.104269?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:190:y:2024:i:c:s0965856424003173. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.