Urban drone adoption: Addressing technological, privacy and task–technology fit concerns

Cutting-edge technologies are changing the operations of urban last-mile delivery. In particular, innovative technologies, such as delivery drones, have shown promising results in commercial applications. When considered alongside the ongoing pandemic, contactless technologies have become even more important to the daily lives of consumers in highly urbanized areas. This study investigates underlying factors influencing consumers' acceptance of drone delivery in urban cities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, a model was created by fusing the technology acceptance model, task–technology fit, and privacy calculus theory. Four hundred and fifty survey responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings suggested that perceived usefulness, attitude, and perceived privacy risks directly influence consumers' behavioral intentions. In addition, perceived ease of use, task characteristics, technology characteristics, task–technology fit, and privacy concerns indirectly impact consumers' behavioral intention. This study offers an insightful perspective on consumers’ perception of urban last-mile delivery drones while providing insights into urban transport planning and regulation of drone delivery services.