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Consumer heterogeneity and the development of environmentally friendly technologies

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 22:53 authored by Paul Windrum, Tommaso CiarliTommaso Ciarli, Chris Birchenhall
The paper examines the effect of heterogeneous consumer demand on the generation and diffusion of environmentally benign technology paradigms. The history of the shift from horse-based to car-based transport provides the basis for an empirically grounded multi-agent model of sequential technology competitions. Firms compete on price, product quality, and the environmental sustainability of their products, and improve their market position through product innovation. The trajectory of product innovation is shaped by the distribution of heterogeneous consumer preferences with regards to quality, price, and the environmental impact of consumption. The distribution of consumer preferences determines whether cleaner designs are developed within a technology paradigm, whether new, more environmentally benign paradigms are developed, and whether these new paradigms replace older, environmentally harmful technology paradigms.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Technological Forecasting and Social Change

ISSN

0040-1625

Publisher

Elsevier

Issue

4

Volume

76

Page range

533-551

Department affiliated with

  • SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2015-10-22

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