PurposeRecent research on the energy system highlights the need for understanding the bandwidth of drivers and inhibitors of household investor's behaviour in rooftop PV (or photovoltaic power system) and to fit the broader socio-economic context in which they are deployed. However, apart from few exceptions, these newer perspectives have not been duly applied in the research on rooftop PV. This paper aims to fill this gap and to shed new light on rooftop PV investment decisions.Design/methodology/approachThis study has been conducted with the primary data collected using two data sets of 237 households and 387 households of Indian southern state Kerala using survey-based questionnaire. The findings from first data set revealed that households considering the adoption of PV were likely influenced by six distinct factors, three motivators and three inhibitors. Second data set for multi-state analytic approach was proposed whereby the research model was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). The outcomes of SEM were used as inputs for an artificial neural network (ANN) model for forecasting investor investment decision in in renewables. The ANN model was also used to rank the relative influence of significant predictors obtained from SEM.FindingsIn line with the risk–return framework, government subsidies act as primary motivator which helps in overcoming the initial risk of investment in the new technology. Further, low prices and low cost of maintenance are some of the financial motivators which may likely mitigate the long-term apprehension of returns and maintenance cost. Lastly, the strongest motivators of PV investment come from the environmental and financial motivator in the form of PV subsidies, which further solidifies the role of policy interventions in investment decision. The ANN model identified the technical barrier and knowledge and awareness factors play a significant role in forcasting the investor investing decision.Practical implicationsThe study results will be useful for policymakers for framing strategies to attract and influence their investment in renewable energy.Originality/valueBuilding upon behavioural finance and institutional theory, this paper posits that, in addition to a rational evaluation of the economics of the investment opportunities, various non-financial factors affect the household's decision to invest in renewables.

Purpose Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is growing rapidly and the e-retailers are finding it pertinent to enhance customers’ online shopping experiences and engage them with e-commerce portals. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual model of customer engagement, where credibility and usefulness of online reviews are found to trigger the adoption of reviews and customer trust that augments customer engagement. Design/methodology/approach A survey method design has been used to capture responses from 219 young customers (university students) of a reputed university in India. The hypothesized relationships have been examined through multiple regression analysis. Findings The findings of this study corroborate that the credibility and information usefulness of online reviews induce the adoption of reviews and propensity to trust e-commerce websites. The propensity to trust the reviews has been found to lead the adoption of reviews. The adoption of reviews is found to have a significant impact on the customer’ engagement with these portals. Research limitations/implications The present study contributes to the theories of online marketing in the space of e-shopping, online reviews, customer trust, customer engagement and online shopping behavior. Further, this study provides a framework for managers to engage customers by triggering customers’ online trust through the facilitation of credible and useful reviews. Originality/value The study aims at understanding the role of different attributes associated with the online reviews’ credibility and information usefulness in driving customer engagement with specific focus on online shopping through the utility of online devices. The study is one of the pioneering empirical studies that explore the role of online reviews in driving customer engagement.

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In the hyper-competitive Indian airline industry, the low-cost carriers as well as full-service airlines are in dire need of innovative marketing strategies to engage their customers. To understand the dynamics behind the process of customer engagement, the purpose of this paper is to gain insights into the lived experience of consumers about their online air-ticket bookings experiences. In total, 60 frequent air travellers were approached to participate in the study and the self-completion diary method was incorporated to record their ticket booking experiences. The responses recorded in the diaries were analyzed on the basis of their content from which eight themes were derived. The findings bring forth the importance of hedonic experiential values along with utilitarian experiential values toward the engagement of customers during the online air-ticket booking process. The current study is one of the pioneers in conceptualization of customer engagement as a third-order construct by uncovering the sub-dimensions of the second order factors—utilitarian and hedonic experiential values.