The determinants of the intention to use autonomous vehicles

Abstract

This study measures the relative importance of the determinants of the intentions to use autonomous vehicles. We hypothesize that the intention to use is influenced by perceived usefulness and perceived ease and that the perceived usefulness will be determined by driving pleasure and psychological ownership. The perceived risk may also negatively affect the intention to use autonomous vehicles. We also hypothesize that an external variable, public transportation, will too influence psychological ownership and the intention to use. We integrate this in a modified Technological Acceptance model. We use an online questionnaire to collect data. Based on our sample, we find that public transportation availability is not related to the intention to use and that psychological ownership is not associated with perceived ease of use. The significant direct relationships are that intention to use autonomous vehicles is influenced positively by psychological ownership, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use, and negatively by psychological driving pleasure and perceived risk. The primary recommendations for manufacturers of vehicles would be to indicate that the autonomous vehicle is not risky or that its risk is considerably less than that of a human-driven vehicle.