Exploring user heterogeneity in autonomous vehicle acceptance: A moderated mediation model based on extended TAM

초록

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to revolutionize personal mobility. However, public acceptance remains a significant barrier to their adoption. This study developed an extended technology acceptance model by integrating behavioral, technological, and personalityrelated factors. Using survey data from 509 respondents in South Korea, we applied partial least squares structural equation modeling and bootstrapped multi-group analysis to examine moderated mediation effects across five demographic variables: age, gender, education, income, and driving experience. The results indicate that intention to use is the strongest predictor of actual use, with attitude and trust exerting significant influences on behavioral intentions. Technological perceptions, such as relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity, also influenced perceived usefulness, ease of use, and trust. Personality traits played a minimal direct role: openness was positively associated with subjective norms, while neuroticism was linked to privacy concerns, but other hypothesized effects were not statistically supported. Significant subgroup differences emerged, with gender and income being the most influential moderators of indirect pathways, highlighting the conditional nature of AV adoption. These findings extend the TAM framework by integrating demographic moderators and personality factors while underscoring their limited explanatory contribution, and they provide practical implications for tailoring AV deployment strategies to diverse user groups.

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