Consumers’ adoption of autonomous cars as a personal values-directed behavior

B. Crisafulli, R. Guesalaga and R. Dimitriu

Journal of Business Research, 2025, vol. 189, issue C

Abstract: Autonomous cars are the future of transportation. Manufacturers’ success is, nonetheless, dependent on consumers’ adoption of such innovation. Past studies distinguish between factors contributing to autonomous cars’ adoption and those prompting resistance. Extant evidence does not explain, however, when and why certain factors both facilitate and inhibit adoption. Addressing this gap, we propose a personal values-directed perspective on consumers’ adoption of autonomous cars. Through a means-end chain analysis of 54 laddering interviews and an online survey, we show that personal values function as a sense-making mechanism in innovation adoption decisions. We propose a comprehensive set of consumer-perceived consequences arising from autonomous cars’ attributes, which explain adoption and non-adoption based on personal values. Notably, we show an innovative application of means-end chain analysis based on bipolar hierarchical value maps to investigate the adoption of highly novel innovations. Findings have implications for managers seeking to encourage the adoption of yet-to-be-commercially-launched innovations.

Keywords: Technological innovation; Consumer adoption; Personal values; Means-end chain analysis; Laddering; Autonomous cars (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:189:y:2025:i:c:s0148296324006106

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115106

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