Factors Affecting Electric Bike Adoption: Seeking an Energy-Efficient Solution for the Post-COVID Era

ABSTRACT

Sustainability think tanks such as the United Nations Organization have a strong focus on achieving economic and environmental sustainability goals globally. On the road to sustainable development, electric bike (E-bike) adoption is crucial. Nevertheless, research on the factors associated with E-Bike use, especially the psychological, financial, and capacity factors, has remained unexplored. This paper extends the theory of planned behavior with six novel factors related to individual choices to analyze E-bike adoption behavior. A sample of 507 Chinese bike riders is collected through the snowball sampling technique. The sample is estimated through structural equation modeling. The key findings are as follows first, speed capacity, mileage capacity, and real-time camera positively drove E-bike adoption intention. Second, price differentiation negatively affected E-bike adoption intention. Third, the theory of planned behavior factors, including perceived relative advantage, cost savings, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and attitudes toward E-bike adoption, proved to be drivers of E-bike adoption intention. Finally, cost savings are the most critical factor of E-bike adoption intention, whereas perceived behavior control is the least critical factor. These results will help green transportation companies and emerging economies promote E-bike adoption to reach the environmental sustainability goals of the United Nations.