From innovativeness to sustainable transportation: Managing electric vehicles adoption in a circular economy progressor

Although numerous studies have explored the electric vehicles (EVs) adoption, the theory of reasoned action (TRA) is underutilized, while the role of consumer innovativeness in predicting purchase intent and behavior remains unclear. This study focuses on the interplay among attitude towards EVs, subjective norm, consumer innovativeness, purchase intention and actual behavior. A structured survey was applied in 2024 to collect data, and a sample composed of 212 respondents from the United Arab Emirates was properly balanced across various characteristics. TRA was extended using the consumer innovativeness construct, which resulted in a new hypothetical model. Once evidence was provided for both validity and reliability of the measures, the hypotheses were tested. Structural equation modelling (SEM) results show that subjective norm does not have significant direct effects on purchase intention, while the consumer innovativeness affects attitude towards EVs. While both attitude towards EVs and consumer innovativeness appear to be direct predictors of purchase intention, attitude towards EVs played a significant mediating role in a relationship between consumer innovativeness and purchase intention. The results of logistics regression revealed that purchase intention directly affects purchase behavior. The paper contributes to significant theoretical and practical implications, which are further discussed.