Consumers' intentions to use ridesharing services in Iran

Ridesharing platforms have dramatically flourished in the 'sharing economy'. Despite the unforeseen growth of the sharing economy concept, there are limited studies regarding the behavioral aspects and the acceptance drivers of this phenomenon. This issue is the motivating factor of this study to investigate the best intention-based model for predicting Iranian intention to use ridesharing services by developing an extension model of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Data were obtained from a survey of 318 Iranian users. Structural equation modeling analysis using PLS software was employed to analyze the data. The findings of this study confirmed the effect of perceived usefulness on subjective norms, satisfaction, and behavioral intention. Furthermore, the impact of satisfaction on subjective norms and behavioral intention, and the impact of subjective norms on behavioral intention were confirmed. Finally, the effect of price value on behavioral intention and satisfaction was confirmed, but the effect of perceived ease of use on subjective norms was not significant. This study contributes to the literature by confirming the utility of the TAM and the TPB with price value and perceived satisfaction in predicting consumer intention to adopt ridesharing. The results appear particularly important for developing countries where ridesharing is at the early stage of development and there is disagreement among policymakers and managers about the development of it.

Automated summary

This study investigates the intention to use ridesharing services among Iranian users by combining the Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behavior. The findings confirm the impact of perceived usefulness, satisfaction, and price value on behavioral intention, which is particularly important in developing countries where ridesharing is still at an early stage of development.