Explaining EV adoption sustainability through the lens of pro-environmental behavior: A Middle East cross-economy analysis

The Middle East stands among the most active regions in advancing sustainability goals and pro-environmental practices by deploying low-carbon solutions, including decarbonizing the transportation sector. Empirical research on how consumers’ environmental behaviors could influence decisions towards the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) remains very limited. The present study aims to fill this gap by focusing on two key Middle Eastern contexts: Qatar and Jordan and proposing key enablers that bridge the gap between responsible pro-environmental behavior and effective adoption of EVs. Using PLS structural equation modeling, this study employed a quantitative survey to collect cross-sectional data through convenience sampling of 480 real users in Qatar and Jordan, aged 18 to over 60 years (Mean age = 40 years, SD = 10.3). The results show that EV adoption sustainability is significantly impacted by relative advantages, price value, country of origin, hedonic motivation, and ecological worldview. Pro-environmental behavior and government incentives were found not to directly impact the sustainability of EV adoption. Ecological worldview, instead, was found to fully mediate the relation pro-environmental behavior and EV sustainable adoption. Gender was found to be a significant moderator of the relationship between country of origin and ecological worldview and EV sustainable adoption. The findings offer a grounded understanding of how responsible behavioral views and practical drivers can lead to the effective deployment of clean transportation for a sustainable future.