Motivation

This section examines the two consumer attitude barriers identified during the literature review:

attitude towards owning a car and environmental concern.

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7.1.1. Attitude towards owning a car

The first potential motivational barrier is that cars in general are losing its meaning and place among the young generation. This could be an indication that an overall change in the consumers’

mind set, both those with and without a car, is occurring. Questions surrounding this possible barrier seem to be mostly relevant for those who do not own a car, however the questions were given to both segments, as it was interesting to explore whether or not car owners shared this outlook.

Demand

Overall there seem to be consensus among the carless consumers that the concept of a car is of less importance to them. When asked about what the concept of a car meant to them, two out of the three respondents expressed their thoughts in the following way:

“Jeg har jo ikke nogen bil selv og eftersom jeg ikke har en bil til rådighed hele tiden så har jeg jo indrettet mit liv derefter og det er jo ret nemt her i København. ... Bilen er ikke så nødvendig for unge i dag, som den måske var engang.” (Interview 2) The last respondent however goes against the other statements and emphasizes the notion of freedom that it provides for a lot of people. This could indicate that there are still some who appreciate the image, freedom and value that a car provides. However when asked if he had seen a change in his own attitude towards owning a car or the general public’s attitude towards it he responded that:

”... Der bliver mindre plads til dem og mere plads til bus og metro og det tror jeg er en afspejling af at unge i mindre grad end før ønsker at eje en bil selv hvis de som mig bor i byen. …” (Interview 3)

The two other respondents shared the belief that young consumers would rather take their bicycle, bus or metro because it is quicker and cheaper. That cars seem redundant for the young urban living consumer is further cemented in the following statement:

“… Folk tager hellere deres cykel, bussen eller metro hvis de skal rundt i byen. Det er hurtigere og mere effektivt end en bil som bare sidder fast i kø alligevel.”

(Interview 1)

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From the responses it can be argued that young consumers are less interested in owning a car and have a negative perception of cars generally. This should be viewed as a possible barrier for MinbilDinbil to overcome in order to ensure future demand for their service.

Supply

Not surprisingly, when respondents that owned a car were asked what their car meant to them, they were in agreement that it means quite a lot. All of their statements were along the lines of the following:

“Jamen min egen bil er vigtig fordi det er et transport middel som får mig sikkert og hurtigt til og fra arbejde. Derudover giver den mig en masse frihed. ...” (Interview 6) If we compare the responses with the demand segment’s we clearly see differences in opinion.

While car owners see the car as an important, safe and quick transportation method, carless consumers experience the opposite. They view public transportation as a preferred method, because of its effectiveness and the view that it is cheap. The differences in opinion becomes even clearer when the car owners were asked if they had seen a chance in their own attitude towards the car or the general public’s attitude towards it, they responded that:

“Bilen er stadig er utroligt vigtigt redskab for rigtig mange mennesker tror jeg. Folk vil hurtigt frem og tilbage og her er bilen den letteste mulighed. ...” (Interview 5)

And

”… Jamen jeg tror da at bilen er et vigtigt værktøj for rigtig mange mennesker som skal på arbejde og bruger den i forbindelse med jobbet. Personligt vil jeg gerne selv kunne tage let frem og tilbage og her er bilen bare det bedste valg.” (Interview 4) When exploring whether or not consumer attitude towards owning a car could be interpreted as a possible barrier it was expected that there would be differences in opinion differences between supply and demand segments’. Demand consumers have strong apprehension about car ownership and do not show any interest in cars generally because of issues such as traffic jams, costs and a strong public transportation net. While mostly a demand issue, it was tested among car owners to review if they shared the same concerns. Supply did not express any awareness towards a change in the minds of carless consumers.

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7.1.2. Environmental concern

The second motivational barrier that was explored was the consumers’ environmental concern. It was found through the literature review that there is a positive correlation between concern for the environment and the willingness to join a car sharing service.

Demand

Firstly, the respondents were asked what was of importance when choosing a transportation method. This was done to investigate whether or not some of the respondents would mention the environment as a theme themselves, thereby stating its importance. Initially none of the respondents mentioned the environment instead they put emphasis on price, time and speed.

Afterwards, when asking questions about the environment and its connection to cars, the general attitude of the respondents changed significantly. They all agreed that cars were one of the most harmful objects towards the environment. When asked if they thought peer to peer car sharing was helping the environment, they all answered with positive remarks such as:

“Det synes jeg er helt rigtigt. Der vil blive produceret færre biler, hvis folk deler dem i stedet. Det er helt sikkert den rigtige udvikling som vi har brug for. ...” (Interview 1) Respondent 3 also responded positively, however interestingly he mentioned the following:

”… Men jeg synes at det hele lyder lidt pop smart og jeg ved ikke hvor stor effekt det egentlig har i sidste ende. …” (Interview 3)

Overall there seems to be a truth to the finding that concern for the environment increases the willingness to participate in peer to peer car sharing among the carless consumers. However, an indication of social desirability bias seems to be present. This will be further explored in the discussion section.

Supply

When exploring the supply segment the same pattern emerged as with the demand. None of the respondents mentioned the environmental issue initially when asked why they owned the car type they do. However once talk of it emerged, almost all adhered that cars generally are bad for the environment and that a service like MinbilDinbil could be a solution to some of the problems. The most noticeable response included:

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”… Som jeg sagde tidligere, så er et af det største problemer at mange kører i deres bil helt alene. Hvis vi kan få flere til at kører sammen eller deles om en bil, så tror jeg vi kan sparer verden for mange problemer og her er deres ide jo rigtig god.”

(Interview 4)

The barrier stated that the more environmentally conscious a consumer is, the more likely he or she is to use a car sharing service. Through the interviews, evidence of this belief was found in both segments. In accordance with the demand segment it seems that everyone is in agreement that MinbilDinbil’s idea is positive for the environment. Initially they seemed not to be bothered about the environment and their transportation method but when the respondents contemplate over the issue, they reveal that a positive concern for the environment may lead to a higher chance of using the service.