Adopting autonomous vehicles: The moderating effects of demographic variables

Autonomous vehicles (AV) are considered one of the most disruptive technology innovations due to issues of customers' acceptance based on safety, ethics, etc. Along with the rapid advancement of smart cities' demand for this technology, getting customer acceptance of this futuristic technology is a serious concern in the AV industry. This paper modified the technology acceptance model to find out factors influencing customers' intention to use AV such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influence, and facilitating condition, and the moderating effects of demographic variables (gender, age, family size, income, education level, and marital status) on the relationship between predictors and intention to use AV. Online questionnaires were distributed to 318 participants in South Korea and the data was analyzed through multiple regression and integration moderation test. The findings show that social influence, facilitating conditions, and perceived usefulness are three important variables of AV usage intention. In addition, demographic variables (age, marital status, family size, and educational level) can moderate effect of PU and SI on intention to use AV. Strategic directions are suggested to managers to increase the possibility of customers’ acceptance of AV.