Social support, source credibility, social influence, and solar photovoltaic panels purchase intention

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic panels are green products that can alleviate the threat of global warming, but the rate of adoption remains low. This research explores the social influence on consumers' purchase willingness or intention of solar photovoltaic panels in the online context. According to social influence theory, we identify two social influence dimensions: informational social influence and normative social influence. Moreover, we analyze the antecedents of social influence: source credibility and social support and the moderating effects of perceived monetary benefits and environmental concerns. Data were collected from individuals, and A.M.O.S. is used to analyze the data. The results reveal that both informational social influence and normative social influence positively affect purchase willingness. When perceived monetary benefits or environmental concerns are higher, the positive relationships are stronger. Moreover, we find that source credibility (including expertise and trustworthiness of peers) and social support (including informational social support and emotional social support) positively affect two social influence types. The findings provide insights into enhancing individuals' willingness or intention to purchase solar photovoltaic panels.

Keywords: Environmental concerns; Perceived monetary benefits; Social influence; Social support; Solar photovoltaic (P.V.); Source credibility.