A theoretical stakeholder model of automotive industry and policy implications for sustainable transport after Dieselgate

As an issue of ethical decision making, Dieselgate reveals that secondary stakeholders might be highly influential in electric vehicle (EV) diffusion. Thus, in this research, first a theoretical stakeholder model of automotive industry is developed, and previous EV diffusion studies are reviewed from the perspectives of different stakeholders. Then, to understand how some automobile manufacturers such as Volkswagen Group companies might have engaged in an unethical practice, a retrospective analysis of the EV diffusion into German passenger car market is conducted as an aftermath by using a simulation-optimization based integrated decision model. The results obtained from the analysis indicate that poor design of EV policies, and the failure or inability of secondary stakeholders in incorporating into the EV diffusion process and fulfilling their auditing mission created an appropriate environment for automobile manufacturers to engage in fraud. The present research contributes to the literature by highlighting the importance of contextual factors in ethical decision making regarding EV diffusion, and the necessity of secondary stakeholders for building a sustainable transport system from a transdisciplinary standpoint which is not an aspect of previous related studies.