The Role of Target Groups and Gatekeepers in the Deployment of More Sustainable Photovoltaic Systems: a Participatory Approach

In the challenge of supporting a sustainable energy transition, societal innovation is a powerful tool for enabling new technologies to reach their full potential. With the goal of designing effective action strategies, this paper argues for the relevance of participatory target group structuration in motivational approaches based on green purchase behavior research. Building on insights from environmental and marketing psychology, limitations of one-size-fits-all strategies are highlighted, and a workshop format designed for collaborative target group identification is introduced. In a use case on promoting more sustainable photovoltaic modules, researchers and practitioners jointly participated in the format, combining brainstorming and touchpoint mapping, in order to identify and prioritize relevant target groups. The workshop proved effective in structuring target groups for transdisciplinary cooperation, while also underlining the challenges of well-adapted stakeholder involvement. Findings revealed a focus on Business-to-Business dynamics for the present case, shaped by the gatekeeping role of organizational actors in the photovoltaic market. Since existing green purchase behavior models center mostly on individual consumers, the study concludes that further research on motivational factors in B2B contexts is essential for developing effective and context-specific strategies.