I did my bit! The impact of electric vehicle adoption on compensatory beliefs and norms in Norway

Abstract

The conception that undertaking a certain pro-environmental behaviour may encourage people to adopt other pro-environmental behaviours is appealing, but the evidence is inconsistent. Based on the literature, we propose that the relative strength of relevant personal norms and compensatory beliefs following an initial pro-environmental behaviour are decisive for whether people are more, less, or equally likely to perform other pro-environmental behaviours. Using survey data (N = 217) collected in Norway among ‘to-be owners’ of battery electric vehicles and recent owners of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles regarding their performance of pro-environmental behaviours, we tested a multiple indicators and multiple causes model where intrinsic normative process and compensatory beliefs predict a behavioural score obtained by a Rasch model. The analysis showed that the personal norm was the strongest predictor of pro-environmental behaviours, while compensatory beliefs exert a significant negative influence on both personal norm and behaviours. Further, a significant difference in compensatory beliefs was found between ‘to-be owners’ of battery electric vehicles and recent owners of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Some background variables included in the model as covariates were also found to influence certain constructs in the model. Implications for theory and policy and limitations of the study are discussed.