This research endeavor will enable academic learners to develop an intricate comprehension of how psychological elements and governmental regulations influence users’ decisions to stop using gas-powered vehicles. The research findings may clarify these industry dynamics to provide vehicle manufacturers with essential insights for understanding consumer needs and guiding investment toward alternative technologies that benefit users while reducing ecological impacts. Advancements that integrate cutting-edge technologies with sustainable environmental practices can improve client retention by meeting modern consumer demands.
The study of consumer behavior has garnered significant attention among marketing scholars, as it enables firms to identify strategies for meeting customer needs and enhancing sales performance. Within this domain, discontinued intention has emerged as a focal point for researchers that provides implications for consumer decisions to cease using specific products or switch to alternative brands in the future. Maier et al. define discontinued intention as an individual’s propensity to discontinue engagement with a firm’s services, whether temporarily or permanently, at a subsequent point in time. Factors contributing to such intentions are often linked to diminishing product popularity and a perceived decline in the benefits associated with the product. These can significantly influence consumer loyalty and retention. Understanding these dynamics is essential for firms seeking to mitigate attrition and sustain competitive advantage in increasingly dynamic markets.
The theory of planned behavior suggests that individuals develop intentions to perform an action once their attitudes and subjective norms transform. A person’s intention produces actual performance, which logically occurs between individuals within this context. The decision to stop using any services from the current provider emerges when any consumer forms an intention to discontinue those services. Pang et al. assert that consumers demonstrate their intent to discontinue services by requesting service cancellation when their intention to quit reaches high levels. The incident will result in major impacts that deeply affect both companies’ financial results and their operational activities within this area. Because discontinuation issues represent a critical challenge for businesses, they must perform thorough research to detect root causes that drive consumers to end their service usage. The existing body of literature presents multiple investigations that address this particular issue.
Various research groups have identified and analyzed a multitude of factors influencing discontinued intention within the vehicle industry, contributing to a complex understanding of consumer behavior. Hardman and Tal examined the impact of satisfaction, price, safety, reliability, convenience, and refueling costs on the propensity to discontinue usage, establishing a foundational framework for subsequent investigations. Building on this foundation, Khan et al. extended the inquiry by evaluating the influence of driving range performance, future viability, safety concerns, and dissatisfaction levels, thereby highlighting the interplay between technological advancements and consumer perceptions. Lu and Shi further enriched the discourse by exploring the roles of perceived risk, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, emphasizing the psychological and social dimensions of decision-making. Then, Dua et al. examined the effects of recharge times, charge unavailability, price replacement costs, and perceived value, shedding light on the practical challenges associated with adopting alternative technologies. Complementing these findings, another study by Lu and Shi incorporated switching costs and perceived value into their analysis, alongside previously studied constructs such as perceived risk, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, thereby offering a comprehensive perspective that integrates economic, psychological, and technological considerations.
Analysis of research gaps indicates that regret influences satisfaction, attitude, and discontinued intention, but researchers also identify satisfaction and attitudes as predictors of discontinued intention. The government policy, which affects individuals’ behaviors and decision-making processes, also shapes consumer discontinued intention. The existing literature lacks extensive examination of how these factors combined can explain the development of discontinued intention in the gas vehicle industry. The existing literature lacks both sufficient information and empirical evidence that would explain current findings. This study seeks to bridge the existing research gap by investigating how regret affects satisfaction levels along with attitudes and discontinued intention. This research distinguishes itself by examining how government policy influences the relationship between regret and discontinued intention. The moderating testing demonstrates the significant relationship between regret as a psychological element and discontinued intention, which represents the choice to stop product usage. Figure 1 displays the novel research model that the study introduces.
Regret refers to an emotion that a person experiences after realizing that his or her situation would be better if only the person had decided differently. Regret is considered a consequential emotion that negatively influences individuals’ well-being and decision-making processes. To illustrate, people who feel satisfied also seem worried about past behaviors that they now regret. Consumers experiencing regret frequently recall their previous service consumption experiences that resulted in negative outcomes. Such a condition increases customers’ worries, which then generate high frustration and stress that impact their service consumption experience. Hence, the presence of a strong tendency to experience regret reduces customer satisfaction with businesses.
Regret functions as a psychological element that affects emotions and reshapes people’s attitudes toward both previous and present product experiences by altering their beliefs and perceptions. Consumers who feel regret over a specific product use typically experience both guilt and dissatisfaction with their choice. Their emotional reaction to regretful experiences causes a reassessment of their past product usage while questioning the actual benefits promised by the product. The emergence of skepticism leads people to distrust products and develop adverse attitudes because they start seeing them as potential risks. This perceptual shift creates a higher chance of avoidance behaviors because consumers want to prevent additional contact with expected risks.
Regardless of its relationship with discontinued intention, when a person regrets doing something, he or she often recognizes the negative outcome of his or her past choice. This psychology triggers his or her own fear and alerts the person to avoid repeating harmful behaviors or patterns that can lead to consequences. Furthermore, it has been found that when regret arises, guilt and disappointment start increasing significantly. At this rate, it can drive the person to halt his or her behavior, attitude, and decision. Therefore, the rise of regret significantly promotes the intensity of discontinued intention. Hence, the hypotheses are proposed below:
Regret negatively influences traveler satisfaction.
Regret negatively influences traveler attitude.
Regret positive influences discontinued intention.
The achievement of customer satisfaction is determined by comparing the customer’s expectations of the desired product or service with their actual experience after purchase. The evaluation of customer satisfaction includes two fundamental dimensions, which are cognitive and emotional. The cognitive dimension consists of logical and rational assessments in purchasing products or services, while the emotional dimension reveals customers’ feelings, such as joy or pleasure, to confirm their expectations.
Customers who are content with their product consumption find that the performance aligns with their expectations due to its association with their attitudes. Customers frequently use the product and maintain their trust and confidence in the company. The positive experience leads customers to develop a more optimistic outlook toward the firm. Customers’ positive feelings about a firm persist after receiving satisfying service experiences from it. When customer satisfaction rises, it generates higher customer attitudes toward the firms.
Customer appreciation through satisfaction shows how their responses to product and service offerings relate to discontinued intention. Customer appreciation allows them to maintain confidence in using additional services and products from the companies. The customer’s loss of confidence in service or product offerings is triggered by their dissatisfaction with them. As a result, customers develop an increased likelihood of discontinuing service or product use with these firms. Hence, the following hypotheses are proposed:
Satisfaction positively influences traveler attitude.
Satisfaction negatively influences a traveler’s intention to discontinue gas vehicles.
A consumer attitude represents a mental state that combines beliefs and emotions, which drive people to take action toward buying services or products. By understanding consumer attitudes, we can identify decision-making information and behavior patterns regarding brand selection among firms.
People decide whether to keep or stop using particular services based on how their attitude measures against discontinued intention. Individuals who possess positive or high attitudes towards existing service firms will likely continue using them in the future based on behavioral intentions. A low attitude towards service firms results in a reduced likelihood of continued use. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed:
Attitude negatively influences a traveler’s intention to discontinue gas vehicles.
The government policy represents an official statement made by a country’s government that guides its political activities and plans related to a particular issue. Government policy determines both how individuals make decisions and the overall direction of their lives. Research has demonstrated that modifications in government policy significantly affect how different elements influence consumer decisions and behaviors towards businesses. Government policies direct individual behavior through several mechanisms, which include incentives and regulations as well as awareness campaigns. When government policy becomes involved, individual users experience regret about side effects of a certain product, which then increases their desire to stop using the product. Through decision-making process modifications and regret behavior mitigation mechanisms, government policy amplifies the link between regret and discontinuation intentions.
Particularly, the Malaysian government has warned about the effects of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from gas vehicles on air quality and environmental conditions. Subsequently, this policy motivates travelers to use bioethanol- and biodiesel-powered vehicles as alternatives to hydrocarbon fuels to achieve environmental sustainability and carbon neutrality. Similarly, the Thai government urges travelers to transition to transportation options that emit lower levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) or utilize renewable energy sources to achieve better environmental sustainability. Ground transportation between Malaysia and Thailand serves as the primary support system for tourist destinations up to this point. Government policy involvement educates gas vehicle travelers about how carbon dioxide (CO₂) impacts both individual health and environmental conditions. This situation triggers feelings of guilt in travelers about their past decisions to use gas vehicles, which contributed to environmental damage. A growing number of travelers between Malaysia and Thailand have adopted a new trend of environment protection. This emphasizes environmental awareness and leads them to abandon the use of gas vehicles. Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:
Government policy moderates a link between regret and discontinued intention.
