The diffusion of dynamic pricing in the European parking industry

Despite its potential, the application of dynamic pricing (DP) remains the exception rather than the rule in car parks across Europe. This paper conceptualizes DP as a practice and leverages mechanisms of practice diffusion and organizational implementation to explain its slow diffusion. Among European car park operators the lack of technical and cultural fit of DP is identified as one of the main reasons for the slow diffusion process. It appears that more time is needed for an acceleration of the diffusion process as data management improves and prevalence of increasing digital solutions in a rather analogue industry become more accepted. As parking customers will eventually become more susceptible to digital solutions, more market participants are likely to adopt DP as the driving pricing scheme.