ItemArticle

Disentangling homeowner motives for solar PV: Psychometric development, validation and invariance test of the Motivation for Rooftop Solar Adoption Scale

Title
Disentangling homeowner motives for solar PV: Psychometric development, validation and invariance test of the Motivation for Rooftop Solar Adoption Scale
Creator
Gillariose, Jiju; Joseph, Joshin; Sijo, P.
Description
The rooftop photovoltaic (PV) adoption of households is shaped by heterogeneous motives of the household that extend beyond economic calculus, yet prior research often measures these motives using ad hoc or single-item indicators, limiting comparability across studies. This study develops and validates the Motivation for Rooftop Solar Adoption Scale (MRSAS) to disentangle the key motivational dimensions that drives the household PV adoption. Following established scale-development guidance, we generated an initial item pool from theory and recent PV-adoption evidence, assessed content adequacy using a structured Q-sort, and then conducted exploratory factor analysis (N = 295), followed by confirmatory factor analysis (N = 312). Results support a parsimonious 22 item six-factor model with Social Influence, Financial Motivation, Environmental Protectionism, Energy Self-Reliance, Facilitating Conditions, and Technophile Attitude as dimensions. The model exhibits excellent confirmatory model fit along with strong reliability and discriminant validity. Multi-group CFA establishes scalar invariance between adopters and non-adopters, aligning with theory, adopters score higher across all six motivational dimensions. The MRSAS provides a psychometrically robust and transferable tool for profiling why households adopt solar, supporting cumulative theory-building and enabling practitioners to tailor incentives, communication and programme design to the motivations that matter. 2026 The Authors.
Source
Social Sciences and Humanities Open;Volume;13;Issue;;Article No.;102802;
Date
01-01-2026
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd
Subject
Green home; Motives for solar; pv motives; Residential solar; Rooftop solar; Solar photovoltaic adoption
Coverage
Gillariose J., Department of Statistics and Data Science, Christ University, Hosur Road, Karnataka, Bangalore, 560029, India; Joseph J., SCAPS, Marian College Kuttikkanam, Kuttikkanam P.O. Peermade, Kerala, Idukki, 685531, India; Sijo P., SCAPS, Marian College Kuttikkanam, Kuttikkanam P.O. Peermade, Kerala, Idukki, 685531, India
Rights
All Open Access; Gold Open Access
Relation
ISSN: 25902911;
Format
online
Language
English
Type
Article

Citation

Gillariose, Jiju; Joseph, Joshin; Sijo, P., “Disentangling homeowner motives for solar PV: Psychometric development, validation and invariance test of the Motivation for Rooftop Solar Adoption Scale,” CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Institutional Repository, accessed June 18, 2026, https://archives.christuniversity.in/items/show/22461.

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