How do self-transcendent values and institutional forces influence consumer intentions to purchase new energy vehicles under subsidy withdrawal? Evidence from China

Enhancing new energy vehicle (NEV) market consumption is essential for a country to implement its manufacturing industry upgrading and ‘dual-carbon’ goals. While current literature has investigated consumer green purchasing intentions from the perspectives of rational preference and government subsidies, few studies have explored the effects of consumer self-transcendence values and institutional forces on electric vehicle purchasing intentions in the context of government subsidy withdrawal. This paper introduces self-transcendence values, builds a conceptual model based on TPB and the technology acceptance model, and empirically analyzes the influence of transcendence values on the purchase intention of Chinese domestic NEVs under subsidy withdrawal. The findings show that self-transcendent values influence the purchase intention of Chinese NEVs significantly and positively. The perceived usefulness of NEVs has a direct positive effect on behavioral attitudes. Behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control partly mediate the effect between transcendent values and purchase intention. Institutional forces positively regulate the relationship between behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, and purchase intention and negatively regulate the relationship between perceived behavioral control and purchase intention. Moreover, institutional forces positively regulate the mediating effect of behavioral attitudes, perceived behavioral control on transcendent values, and purchase intention of NEVs. According to the findings, automobile manufacturer firms can profit from the institutional forces under the government subsidy regression and cultivate consumers' preference intention for NEV consumption while propagating and guiding them regarding environmental awareness and altruistic values.