Motivating small-displacement car purchasing in China

Due to the rapid development of the automobile industry and the ever-increasing quantities of produced and sold automobiles in China, many problems such as fuel scarcity and air pollution have emerged. To alleviate such problems, one solution is to promote households to purchase small-displacement (engine) cars (SDCs). Based on the theory of planned behavior, we develop a theoretical framework to examine how influencing factors such as environmental attitude, subjective norm, self-image and environmental knowledge motivate SDC purchasing behavior through SDC purchasing intention in China. We further extend the research framework to examine whether the factor of economic incentives moderates the relationships between SDC purchasing intention and behaviors. Using an empirical study with 232 usable questionnaire responses, we observe that SDC purchasing intention partly mediates the relationship between three of four influencing factors (environmental attitude, self-image, environmental knowledge) and SDC purchasing behavior. Statistical results also show that the factor of economic incentives moderates the relationship between SDC purchasing intention and behavior. Our results indicate that three of four influencing factors can yield SDC purchasing behavior, especially when SDC purchasing intention exists. Economic incentives such as financial support from the government could promote SDC purchasing intention to transform into purchasing behavior.