Modelling sustainable mobility adoption from the urban population view (SMAUP model): The moderating effect of household size

Sustainable mobility is an initiative to address the problems generated by transportation in cities. Electric cars in particular have the potential to improve transport sustainability in the urban context. This study proposes a behavioural model based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) to analyse the views of the urban population on the adoption of the electric car. For this purpose, data were collected from 336 individuals and analysed through structural equation modelling. The results indicate that urban consumer intention to adopt an electric car, mediated by attitude and subjective norms, is reinforced by word-of-mouth communication, care of environmental consequences and personal innovativeness and, as a barrier, the switching cost to an electric car. The moderating effect reveals that the impact of switching cost is lower in smaller households. Practical recommendations are offered.