IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/engenv/v36y2025i1p356-373.html

Eco-label knowledge versus environmental concern toward consumer's switching intentions for electric vehicles: A roadmap toward green innovation and environmental sustainability

Author

Listed:
  • Wanli Fang
  • Yongrong Xin
  • Zhenhua Zhang

Abstract

The Chinese authorities firmly encourage the use of electric cars to decrease global pollution and fossil fuel consumption (electric vehicles). Nevertheless, research aimed at determining customers’ switching intentions toward electric vehicles and pro-environmental behavior are scarce in the country. The purpose of this study is to fill the knowledge gap by scrutinizing the linkage among general environmental knowledge, environmental concern, eco-label knowledge, eco-label attitude (ATT), switching intentions(SIN), and pro-environmental behavior that might affect customers’ SIN and PEB in the Chinese context. The present research has additionally improved the theoretical foundation of the Theory of Planned Behavior by adding three new aspects in along with the ongoing customers’ motive elements (eco-label knowledge, general environmental knowledge, and ATT). In a survey, 549 electric vehicle users in China were polled and their data were analyzed. The structural equation modeling method is used to assess theories that have been put forth. According to empirical evidence, general environmental knowledge, environmental concern, and eco-label knowledge have a favorable and substantial impact on ATT. In a similar vein, ATT has a positive impact on consumers’ SIN and PEB. The research adds to the field of study on renewable buying behavior and offers crucial and practical future paths for researchers and professionals.

Suggested Citation

  • Wanli Fang & Yongrong Xin & Zhenhua Zhang, 2025. "Eco-label knowledge versus environmental concern toward consumer's switching intentions for electric vehicles: A roadmap toward green innovation and environmental sustainability," Energy & Environment, , vol. 36(1), pages 356-373, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:36:y:2025:i:1:p:356-373
    DOI: 10.1177/0958305X231177735
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0958305X231177735
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0958305X231177735?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dogan, Eyup & Madaleno, Mara & Taskin, Dilvin, 2021. "Which households are more energy vulnerable? Energy poverty and financial inclusion in Turkey," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. Dogan, Eyup & Madaleno, Mara & Taskin, Dilvin & Tzeremes, Panayiotis, 2022. "Investigating the spillovers and connectedness between green finance and renewable energy sources," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 709-722.
    3. Bilal Ahmad & Da Liu & Mirza Huzaifa Asif & Muhammad Ashfaq & Muhammad Irfan, 2022. "Ambidextrous Leadership and Service Recovery Performance Under B2B Selling Context: An Examination Through Service Innovation Capability," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    4. Xiangzhi Bu & Wilson V.T. Dang & Jianming Wang & Qiu Liu, 2020. "Environmental Orientation, Green Supply Chain Management, and Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-17, February.
    5. Guomin Li & Wei Li & Zihan Jin & Zhihao Wang, 2019. "Influence of Environmental Concern and Knowledge on Households’ Willingness to Purchase Energy-Efficient Appliances: A Case Study in Shanxi, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.
    6. Ahmad, Wasim & Kim, Woo Gon & Anwer, Zaheer & Zhuang, Weiqing, 2020. "Schwartz personal values, theory of planned behavior and environmental consciousness: How tourists’ visiting intentions towards eco-friendly destinations are shaped?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 228-236.
    7. Octav-Ionut Macovei, 2015. "Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior in Predicting Proenvironmental Behaviour: The Case of Energy Conservation," Acta Universitatis Danubius. OEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 11(4), pages 15-32, August.
    8. Gao, Lan & Wang, Shanyong & Li, Jun & Li, Haidong, 2017. "Application of the extended theory of planned behavior to understand individual’s energy saving behavior in workplaces," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 107-113.
    9. Zhang, Xinghui & Li, Zhao & Luo, Lingai & Fan, Yilin & Du, Zhengyu, 2022. "A review on thermal management of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PA).
    10. Eyup DOGAN, 2014. "Energy Consumption and Economic Growth: Evidence from Low-Income Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 4(2), pages 154-162.
    11. Li, Wenbo & Long, Ruyin & Chen, Hong, 2016. "Consumers’ evaluation of national new energy vehicle policy in China: An analysis based on a four paradigm model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 33-41.
    12. Dogan, Eyup & Hodžić, Sabina & Šikić, Tanja Fatur, 2023. "Do energy and environmental taxes stimulate or inhibit renewable energy deployment in the European Union?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 1138-1145.
    13. Xiaoping He & David Reiner, 2017. "Why Consumers Switch Energy Suppliers: The Role of Individual Attitudes," The Energy Journal, , vol. 38(6), pages 25-54, November.
    14. repec:aen:journl:ej38-6-xiaoping is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Wang, Xia & Yu, Chunling & Wei, Yujie, 2012. "Social Media Peer Communication and Impacts on Purchase Intentions: A Consumer Socialization Framework," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 198-208.
    16. Dash, Ganesh & Paul, Justin, 2021. "CB-SEM vs PLS-SEM methods for research in social sciences and technology forecasting," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Anisur Rehman, 2025. "Impact of environmental values, pro-environmental behavior, and pricing on purchase intention of electric vehicles," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 22(4), pages 929-955, December.
    2. Maleknia, Rahim & Hălălişan, Aureliu Florin, 2025. "Purchasing certified forest products to participate in sustainable forest management: Unveiling the drivers of consumers' intention," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    3. Thi-Trang Tran & Quang-Khai Cao & Minh-Huong Tang, 2026. "Psychological and social drivers of willingness to pay for electric vehicle services: evidence from Vietnam," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 6(4), pages 1-28, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. ShiYong Zheng & Hua Liu & Weili Guan & Yuping Yang & JiaYing Li & Shah Fahad & Biqing Li, 2022. "Identifying Intention-Based Factors Influencing Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Electric Vehicles: A Sustainable Consumption Paradigm," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Lin, Boqiang & Lan, Tianxu, 2023. "Progress of increasing-block electricity pricing policy implementation in China's first-tier cities and the impact of resident policy perception," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    3. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Hoang, Thi Hong Van & Mahalik, Mantu Kumar & Roubaud, David, 2017. "Energy consumption, financial development and economic growth in India: New evidence from a nonlinear and asymmetric analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 199-212.
    4. Liu, Qian & Shao, Zhen & Fan, Weiguo, 2018. "The impact of users’ sense of belonging on social media habit formation: Empirical evidence from social networking and microblogging websites in China," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 209-223.
    5. Lipeng Xu & Chongwang Tian & Chunjiang Bao & Jinsheng Zhao & Xuning Leng, 2023. "Improving the Electrochemical Performance of Core–Shell LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 Cathode Materials Using Environmentally Friendly Phase Structure Control Process," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-17, May.
    6. Hussain, Hadia & Murtaza, Murtaza & Ajmal, Areeb & Ahmed, Afreen & Khan, Muhammad Ovais Khalid, 2020. "A study on the effects of social media advertisement on consumer’s attitude and customer response," MPRA Paper 104675, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Kusa, Rafał & Suder, Marcin & Duda, Joanna, 2023. "Impact of greening on performance in the hospitality industry: Moderating effect of flexibility and inter-organizational cooperation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    8. Rehman, Anisur & Behera, Rajat Kumar & Islam, Md Saiful & Elahi, Yasir Arafat & Abbasi, Faraz Ahmad & Imtiaz, Asma, 2024. "Drivers of metaverse adoption for enhancing marketing capabilities of retail SMEs," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Xiong, Siqin & Yuan, Yi & Yao, Jia & Bai, Bo & Ma, Xiaoming, 2023. "Exploring consumer preferences for electric vehicles based on the random coefficient logit model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PA).
    10. Chen, Yufeng & Ni, Liangfu & Liu, Kelong, 2021. "Does China's new energy vehicle industry innovate efficiently? A three-stage dynamic network slacks-based measure approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    11. Morais, Ana Catarina & Ishida, Akira & Matsuda, Ruriko, 2024. "Ethical food consumption drivers in Japan. A S–O-R framework application using PLS-SEM with a MGA assessment based on clustering," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    12. Ouyang, Yaofu & Li, Peng, 2018. "On the nexus of financial development, economic growth, and energy consumption in China: New perspective from a GMM panel VAR approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 238-252.
    13. Kautish, Pradeep & Paço, Arminda & Thaichon, Park, 2022. "Sustainable consumption and plastic packaging: Relationships among product involvement, perceived marketplace influence and choice behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    14. Ran, Qiying & Yang, Xiaodong & Yan, Hongchuan & Xu, Yang & Cao, Jianhong, 2023. "Natural resource consumption and industrial green transformation: Does the digital economy matter?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    15. Hassan S. Hayajneh & Xuewei Zhang, 2020. "Logistics Design for Mobile Battery Energy Storage Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-14, March.
    16. Mingyue Li & Jingjing Wang & Kai Chen & Lianbei Wu, 2020. "Willingness and Behaviors of Farmers’ Green Disposal of Pesticide Packaging Waste in Henan, China: A Perceived Value Formation Mechanism Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-18, May.
    17. Wang, Le & Luo, Xin (Robert) & Li, Han, 2022. "Envy or conformity? An empirical investigation of peer influence on the purchase of non-functional items in mobile free-to-play games," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 308-324.
    18. Younes Gholizadeh, 2020. "Causality Relationship between Energy Consumption and Economic Growth in the European Union Countries," EERI Research Paper Series EERI RP 2020/12, Economics and Econometrics Research Institute (EERI), Brussels.
    19. Chien, Yu-Shyun & Lu, Chung-Cheng, 2025. "Investigating users’ intention to re-use shared electric scooters through a combined behavioral model," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 533-544.
    20. Andi Amran Asriadi & Muslim Salam & Rahmawaty Andi Nadja & Letty Fudjaja & Didi Rukmana & Muhammad Hatta Jamil & Muhammad Arsyad & Rahmadanih & Rafiqah Maulidiyah, 2024. "Determinants of Farmer Participation and Development of Shallot Farming in Search of Effective Farm Management Practices: Evidence Grounded in Structural Equation Modeling Results," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-30, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:sae:engenv:v:36:y:2025:i:1:p:356-373. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.