Roles of Managers and Stakeholders Perception on Solar Technology Adoption Intention: A Case of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

Powers shortages is rampant in Africa of which Nigeria is not an exception and solar technology as a viable alternative source of electricity which would mitigate this problem has meted slow adoption. This study aimed to explore the impact of mindset/attitude from Theory of planned behavior (TPB), Disruptive Innovation Theory (DIA), awareness-knowledge, opportunity and barrier over managers (owners) of MSMEs intention to adopt solar technology for their businesses. A questionnaire was administrated to collect data from a sample of 400 managers (owners) of MSMEs respondents’ in Lagos State, Nigeria. A multivariate technique was applied to test the hypotheses using Structural Equation Modeling (AMOS-23). The findings showed that mindset/attitude, (DIA) and opportunity have a significant impact on solar technology intention, however, awareness-knowledge and barrier were not significant. These independent variables explained 71% variance of the dependent variable intention. In addition, DIA was found to have a significant impact on opportunity, barrier and mindset/attitude however, barrier on mindset/attitude was not significant. These findings not only provide evidence for MSMEs strategic planning to ensure sustainable business growth for their businesses but also provide new knowledge to policy and decision makers, the manufacturing & installation (suppliers) companies and other stakeholders for renewable energy as a part of long term sustainable development.