Ashwini Kumar Aggarwal, Asif Ali Syed and Sandeep Garg
Rooftop (RT) solar in India has grown to 4.4 GW by the end of March 2019 – but it is still under-performing vs national solar mission target of 40 GW. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Rooftop (RT) solar in India has grown to 4.4 GW by the end of March 2019 – but it is still under-performing vs national solar mission target of 40 GW. This paper aims to understand the drivers of the purchase intent (PI) for RT solar will enable policymakers to improve the penetration of this new and promising green technology.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper builds a structural equation modeling model for triggers of the PI of a residential RT solar photo-voltaic (SPV) buyer. The empirical study conducted in Delhi/national capital region of Delhi and Bangalore validates the role of the Unified Theory of Acceptance & Use of Technology (2) constructs in the PI of the residential sector RT solar buyer in India. It also explores a few myths – prior green habits have no relationship with the PI and self-efficacy has been dropped in the final path analysis to improve model fit.
Findings
This research explores the myth that financial self-efficacy – or prospect’s perception of his capability to fund (through own or credit finance) – will mean that the prospect is likely to be more conducive to an SPV purchase in the city contexts studied. It is more relevant for policymakers to work on factors such as social influence/ beliefs, effort expectancy and price-value beliefs. Other relevant triggers are performance expectancy, hedonic motivation and environmental beliefs.
Originality/value
This is the first Indian research leveraging multi-city survey of actual households build an empirically verified consumer behavior model for RT SPV in the residential sector leveraging the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 constructs.
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Keywords
Ashwini Kumar Aggarwal, Asif Ali Syed and Sandeep Garg
The solar energy sector has been growing with dramatic reduction in commercial pricing, improved efficiencies and improved deployments/usage conveniences. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
The solar energy sector has been growing with dramatic reduction in commercial pricing, improved efficiencies and improved deployments/usage conveniences. The purpose of this study is to understand the drivers of the purchase intent for rooftop (RT) solar. This will enable policymakers to improve the penetration of this new and promising green technology.
Design/methodology/approach
This research leverages the framework of unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) to identify and build a quantitative approach to identify factors (and their relative impact on) the purchase intent of a domestic RT solar buyer. The 400 respondents’ field data were collected in Bangalore (a high RT solar penetration region) and Delhi NCR (relatively lower RT solar penetration region).
Findings
The exploratory factor analysis study revealed that the consumers’ purchase intention of RT Solar is shaped by seven main factors, namely, environmental concerns, social beliefs, hedonic motivation, performance expectancy, price value, self-efficacy and effort expectancy, and that these factors explain 79.2 per cent of the field data. This study finds that social beliefs followed by effort expectance concerns are key factors explaining approximately 20 per cent of the purchase intent each, while unit change in price value beliefs explain about 18 per cent of the purchase intent.
Practical implications
Suggested policy measures include building on strengthening emergence of local solar evangelist groups in the communities and easing effort expectance items (e.g. building legal, regulatory frameworks and financial tools for solar penetration models such as renewable energy services companies).
Originality/value
This paper is the first attempt to model the consumer behavior of the Indian RT solar photovoltaic buyer leveraging the UTAUT2.
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Manoj Joshi, Apoorva Srivastava and Varun Ashwini Aggarwal
The case aims to deal with multigenerational entrepreneurship. The family business of sports goods was initiated by Yashpal Aggarwal and his friends in the 1950s. Yashpal acquired…
Abstract
Purpose
The case aims to deal with multigenerational entrepreneurship. The family business of sports goods was initiated by Yashpal Aggarwal and his friends in the 1950s. Yashpal acquired the art of doing business and started initially with trading of sporting goods in Mumbai. Yashpal had three sons, Ashok, Ashwini and Rajesh, who ventured into sports trading business as well. After the demise of Yashpal, Ashok shifted to Jalandhar and started a manufacturing unit, producing roller skates. Ashwini, being entrepreneurial and innovative, had always desired to professionalise the business and hence started with Okini Sports. Okini Sports emerged as the first organised professional sports mall in India.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on case research, individual interviews at different levels, testing the case several times and filling the case gaps during the process to authenticate information, multiple sources of information have been used.
Findings
Businesses largely compete on the basis of available talent, competency and capability. Family businesses must be open to induct competent people within the family with the required skills to lead the company. If a family nurtures a member with requisite skills, values, to keep shareholders, key customers, and suppliers loyal to the business, then family leadership is the best option. As the business grows in dimension, differential capabilities are required to run the business competitively, hence, inducting talented individuals as professionals is a better option. A family must be realistic about the talents available internally.
Research limitations/implications
This case is restricted to sports family business entrepreneurship in the context of India, but has a great learning towards multigenerational entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
The case is original with the family in its fourth generation, the youngest looking to diversify and professionalize the business, set his family dreams of setting up the biggest sports mall in India.
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Balcony solar panels are popular and widespread in most EU Member States, except in Hungary, where their use is currently banned. However, the lifting of this strict ban is…
Abstract
Purpose
Balcony solar panels are popular and widespread in most EU Member States, except in Hungary, where their use is currently banned. However, the lifting of this strict ban is expected to be approved in the near future. The aim of this research is to investigate which factors influence residents’ intention to use balcony solar panels in Hungary and how strong these impacts are.
Design/methodology/approach
Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) is applied to predict which factors may influence residents’ behavioral intention to use this technology. Six components are tested: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation and price value. Data were gathered in Hungary in 2023 using an online survey. A quota sampling method was employed during the data-collection process.
Findings
Our results confirm the importance of all components except effort expectancy. In addition to the economic benefits that can be achieved, citizens consider energy independence and a sense of freedom to be important in the adoption of such systems.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the large share of positive responses (expressed intention) that is identified, a gap between intention and action can be expected.
Practical implications
To increase the rate of acceptance, transparent regulation, simplified administration and the application of nudges may be crucially important. However, the widespread use of balcony solar systems is hindered by the lack of a modern, energy-efficient building stock, emphasizing the urgency of deep renovation in the Hungarian household sector.
Originality/value
This research is the first to use the UTAUT2 model to analyze the technology acceptance of balcony solar systems in a late-adopter country.
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Yin Shi, Liping Ding, Chenchen He, Fan Zhang, Zumeng Zhang and Qiyao Dai
This study aims to analyze those factors affecting the rural resident’s willingness to adopt solar photovoltaic (PV) which is important for accelerating the popularization of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze those factors affecting the rural resident’s willingness to adopt solar photovoltaic (PV) which is important for accelerating the popularization of clean energy in China.
Design/methodology/approach
This study contained a sample of 653 households in 8 provinces/regions by stratified, and random sampling in rural China. Descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis techniques have been used for analytical purposes.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that financial incentive and social interaction have positive effects on rural residents’ adoption willingness, while village leaders’ engagement can indirectly influence their adoption willingness through social interaction and residents’ cognition.
Research limitations/implications
This study mainly considers external and internal factors but ignores the effect of technical factors. In addition, the samples are just selected from the residents who have adopted solar PV.
Practical implications
This study is expected to be useful for the government, regulators, village leaders, village leaders and other institutions.
Originality/value
This study conducts a systematic analysis and clarifies the relationship between factors (external and internal) and rural residents’ adoption willingness. The village leaders’ engagement is first added to the conceptual model as an external factor, which is very essential in rural residents’ adoption in China.
Details
Keywords
Marketing strategy, strategic innovation.
Abstract
Subject area
Marketing strategy, strategic innovation.
Study level/applicability
Strategic brand management or marketing strategy courses at MBA level.
Case overview
It seemed likely that a company with the highest number of product variants would consider product innovation to be its key source of sustenance in a crowded marketplace. Especially so, when the local and global competition was hotting up to a new launch every week. In the case of Micromax, a mobile handset maker from India tried to drive home the point that sustainability in emerging markets did not lie in inventing a new technology like Apple or Nokia or Sony did, albeit accompanied with a premium price tag. For the emerging markets, it was important to optimize the offering for the consumers. Strategic optimization could result from bridging the gaps in performance, infrastructure and organization design, which came naturally to this marketing-savvy mobile maker. Any company could make a cost-effective phone, but few could position, brand and sell it the way Micromax did. Shubhodip Pal, Head of Marketing at Micromax Informatics Pvt Ltd, India, pondered the marketing strategy which could pave the way into maintaining the company's national leadership position while creating a roadmap for its global foray. For Micromax, marketing strategy innovation, and not product innovation, would fulfil the goal of long-term growth in India and overseas markets.
Expected learning outcomes
The students studying this case are expected to learn: marketing strategy in emerging markets such as India, marketing strategy as the critical success factor for upcoming Indian companies rather than product innovation and doing business in emerging markets.
Supplementary materials
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