Integrated Theoretical Framework for a Homeowner's Decision in Favor of an Innovative Residential Heating System

FCN Working Paper No. 2/2010

41 Pages Posted: 4 Jun 2010 Last revised: 30 Aug 2012

See all articles by Carl Christian Michelsen

Carl Christian Michelsen

RWTH Aachen University

Reinhard Madlener

RWTH Aachen University; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) - Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management

Date Written: February 1, 2010

Abstract

Insight into the homeowner’s adoption decisions in favor of a specific innovative residential heating system (RHS) helps us to understand and assess the dynamics of the adoption and diffusion of such technological systems as a "social" phenomenon. This phenomenon emerges from the individual decisions of a set of heterogeneous actors on the market. In our research, we develop an integrated theoretical framework for assessing a homeowner’s adoption decision in favor of a specific innovative RHS. Taking the theory of planned behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) and the perceived characteristics of innovations (PCI) (Moore and Benbasat, 1991) as a starting point, we propose a framework that explicitly accounts for external factors (esp. economic aspects) and personal-sphere determinants. This allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the role of a homeowner’s personal-sphere as well as of the influence of perceived economic and other external factors on the RHS adoption process. We motivate our research with background on the case of Germany. Our theoretical framework can serve as a basis for empirically researching homeowners’ adoption decisions in favor of a specific RHS and for developing a conceptual multi-agent simulation model for investigating the diffusion of RHS.

Keywords: Technological Adoption, Consumer Behavior, Economic Psychology, Residential Heating Systems

JEL Classification: D83, O33, R22

Suggested Citation

Michelsen, Carl Christian and Madlener, Reinhard, Integrated Theoretical Framework for a Homeowner's Decision in Favor of an Innovative Residential Heating System (February 1, 2010). FCN Working Paper No. 2/2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1620520 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1620520

Carl Christian Michelsen (Contact Author)

RWTH Aachen University ( email )

Templergraben 55
52056 Aachen, 52056
Germany
00492418049836 (Phone)
00492418049829 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.eonerc.rwth-aachen.de/fcn

Reinhard Madlener

RWTH Aachen University ( email )

HOME PAGE: http://www.eonerc.rwth-aachen.de/fcn

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) - Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management ( email )

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.ntnu.edu/employees/reinhard.madlener

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