Short answer
To encourage the adoption of sustainable mobility services like MaaS, designers and strategists must actively work to build positive emotional and symbolic associations with the service, while simultaneously highlighting the drawbacks (both practical and emotional) of existing, less sustainable options like private car ownership.
- Field
- Resource Management
- Source
- Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2023)
- Method
- Qualitative research (Focus Groups)
- Evidence
- Strong effect
Users' deep-seated emotional and symbolic attachments to private car ownership act as a significant barrier to adopting Mobility as a Service (MaaS), often outweighing practical benefits or superior service offerings. This resource management research insight is drawn from a 2023 study published in Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Using Qualitative research (focus groups), researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: To encourage the adoption of sustainable mobility services like MaaS, designers and strategists must actively work to build positive emotional and symbolic associations with the service, while simultaneously highlighting the drawbacks (both practical and emotional) of existing, less sustainable options like private car ownership.
Symbolic Value of Private Cars Hinders MaaS Adoption, Even with Superior Functionality
Users' deep-seated emotional and symbolic attachments to private car ownership act as a significant barrier to adopting Mobility as a Service (MaaS), often outweighing practical benefits or superior service offerings.
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives · 2023
Key Findings
- 01Socio-economic factors play a less significant role in MaaS adoption than anticipated.
- 02The added value of MaaS over regular transit apps is often unclear or irrelevant to users.
- 03Strong symbolic and affective motives associated with private car ownership prevent some users from considering MaaS, regardless of its functionality.
- 04Users can develop symbolic and affective motives for MaaS as well.
- 05Highlighting the car as a burden and MaaS as a solution to that burden is a key strategy for adoption.
Application
Design takeaway
To encourage the adoption of sustainable mobility services like MaaS, designers and strategists must actively work to build positive emotional and symbolic associations with the service, while simultaneously highlighting the drawbacks (both practical and emotional) of existing, less sustainable options like private car ownership.
How to apply
When designing a new service that aims to replace a traditionally owned product (e.g., a subscription service for tools instead of buying them), consider how to build emotional attachment to the service and highlight the negative aspects of ownership.
Project actions
- 01When researching user needs for a sustainable product, ask about their feelings and associations with current products.
- 02Consider how your design can evoke positive emotions or a sense of identity for the user.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Focuses on both users and non-users, providing a balanced perspective.
- +Utilizes qualitative methods to delve into the 'why' behind user behaviour.
Limitations
Focus groups can be influenced by group dynamics; individual user motivations might differ significantly.
Reliability & validity
Reliability could be improved by using a larger, more diverse sample size and potentially triangulating findings with quantitative data. Validity is strong in capturing nuanced psychological motivations due to the qualitative approach.
Think critically
To what extent can emotional marketing overcome deeply ingrained habits and symbolic values associated with traditional products, and what are the ethical considerations of leveraging these psychological drivers?
Design Principles
"Emotional and symbolic value can be a more powerful driver of adoption than functional superiority, especially when challenging deeply ingrained ownership habits."
This insight is crucial for understanding user adoption of sustainable transport solutions. Designers must consider the psychological and emotional dimensions of product/service use, not just functional efficiency, when aiming to shift user behaviour towards more sustainable practices.
What This Means for Your Design
People love their cars for reasons beyond just getting around – they feel like a part of their identity or a status symbol. This makes it hard for them to switch to something like a transport app (MaaS), even if the app is really good. To get people to use MaaS, you need to make them feel good about it emotionally, not just show them it's convenient.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use this insight to justify why your sustainable design needs to appeal to users' emotions or symbolic values, not just function.
- 2.Inform your user research by asking questions about emotional attachments to existing products.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
The adoption of sustainable mobility solutions like Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is significantly influenced by psychological factors beyond mere functionality. Research indicates that deep-seated symbolic and affective attachments to private car ownership act as a substantial barrier, often overriding the perceived benefits of a superior service. Therefore, for MaaS to achieve widespread adoption and contribute to sustainability goals, designers must focus on cultivating positive emotional and symbolic associations with the service itself, while also reframing private car ownership as a burden that MaaS can alleviate. This approach acknowledges that user behaviour change is not solely driven by logic or convenience, but also by emotional resonance and identity.
Source
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Access over ownership: Barriers and psychological motives for adopting mobility as a service (MaaS) from the perspective of users and non-users
journal · 2023
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about symbolic value of private cars hinders maas adoption, even with superior functionality?
- To encourage the adoption of sustainable mobility services like MaaS, designers and strategists must actively work to build positive emotional and symbolic associations with the service, while simultaneously highlighting the drawbacks (both practical and emotional) of existing, less sustainable options like private car ownership. Evidence: Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2023).
- Why does "Symbolic Value of Private Cars Hinders MaaS Adoption, Even with Superior Functionality" matter for design?
- This insight is crucial for understanding user adoption of sustainable transport solutions. Designers must consider the psychological and emotional dimensions of product/service use, not just functional efficiency, when aiming to shift user behaviour towards more sustainable practices.
- How can designers apply this research?
- To encourage the adoption of sustainable mobility services like MaaS, designers and strategists must actively work to build positive emotional and symbolic associations with the service, while simultaneously highlighting the drawbacks (both practical and emotional) of existing, less sustainable options like private car ownership.
- What were the main findings?
- Socio-economic factors play a less significant role in MaaS adoption than anticipated.. The added value of MaaS over regular transit apps is often unclear or irrelevant to users.. Strong symbolic and affective motives associated with private car ownership prevent some users from considering MaaS, regardless of its functionality.. Users can develop symbolic and affective motives for MaaS as well.
- What research method was used?
- Qualitative research (Focus Groups).
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2023 journal from Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing a new service that aims to replace a traditionally owned product (e.g., a subscription service for tools instead of buying them), consider how to build emotional attachment to the service and highlight the negative aspects of ownership.
- What are the limitations?
- Focus group findings may not be generalizable to all populations or contexts; the study was specific to Berlin.