Comparing Technology Acceptance for Autonomous Vehicles, Battery Electric Vehicles, and Car Sharing—A Study across Europe, China, and North America

The automotive industry today faces three major transitions: the emergence of autonomous driving, electric powertrain replacing the internal combustion engine, and changes in possession of automobiles, e.g., increased usage of car sharing. As all three transitions are fostered by technologies that drive digital transformation of automobiles, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by Davis represents the underlying research model of this paper. Hypotheses are developed and tested for a sample of 1177 participants using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Group differences are investigated for three markets: Europe, North America, and China. The paper confirms the underlying assumptions of the Technology Acceptance Model in the context of automobiles. Further, it illustrates influential societal norms and individual experiences for technology acceptance. In addition, compound effects for technology acceptance are found, e.g., the perceived enjoyment of electric driving affects the acceptance of autonomous driving and car possession behavior. The novel approach to integrate three different technologies within the Technology Acceptance Model requires unifying items to a level which makes them comparable, limiting the results for each individual technology. For practice, automotive manufacturers obtain advice on how to foster technology acceptance. For society, the paper uncovers the role of societal norms for technology acceptance in the context of automobiles. Policy makers can obtain insights on how to successfully increase technology acceptance, e.g., for environmental purposes. Conclusively, the paper applies the Technology Acceptance Model for three developments in the context of automobiles, thereby extending current research using the Technology Acceptance Model.