The determinants of public acceptance of autonomous vehicles: An innovation diffusion perspective

The adoption of autonomous vehicles is reported to confer numerous benefits such as improved safety, comfort, resource (i.e. land and energy) use, and environmental protection to a society. Public acceptance is necessary for the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles. Drawing on innovation diffusion, perceived value and trust theories, we developed a theoretical model to identify the latent factors influencing public acceptance of autonomous vehicles and examined their interrelationships. A survey questionnaire was designed and administered to 526 residents in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Thereafter, structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the survey data. The results reveal that the influence of the innovation diffusion attributes (i.e. relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability) on public acceptance is fully mediated by the public's perceived value of autonomous vehicles. Further, the effect of perceived value on public acceptance is partially mediated by the public's trust in autonomous vehicles. This study differentiates from the literature by employing a theory-driven approach to explain autonomous vehicles acceptance. It applies three diverse research paradigms anchoring on innovation diffusion, customer utility and social psychology. In addition, it synthesises the theories and provides a coherent explanation of individuals’ cognition process that leads to acceptance. In sum, this study enriches existing theoretical research on the acceptance of autonomous vehicles, offers insights into understanding and managing technology–human interactions and implicates transport policies and practices.