Adoption of shared autonomous vehicles: Combined effects of the external environment and personal attributes

Shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) have potential benefits for the society and environment. This study con-structs a novel framework to investigate the combined effects of the external environment and personal attributes on SAVs adoption. Using questionnaire data from 669 Chinese consumers, a range of methods, including partial least squares structural equation modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, were employed to conduct the empirical study. Results show that both the external environment (i.e., policy support, social norms, and media publicity) and personal attributes (i.e., environmental concern, risk preference, and personal innovativeness) significantly affect consumers' intentions to adopt SAVs, while the former plays a greater role. Any single factor of external environment or personal attributes cannot lead to high SAVs adoption, thus four combinations covering different factors are provided to achieve a high adoption intention of SAVs. The findings can help global transportation managers make informed decisions to promote the adoption of SAVs.

Automated summary

This study constructs a novel framework to investigate the combined effects of the external environment and personal attributes on the adoption of shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs). The results show that both the external environment and personal attributes significantly affect consumers' intentions to adopt SAVs, with the external environment playing a greater role. The study also provides four combinations to achieve a high adoption intention of SAVs.