“Freedom–enslavement” paradox in consumers’ adoption of smart transportation: A comparative analysis of three technologies

Xiaodi Liu, Dezhen Zhang, Cam Tu Nguyen, Kum Fai Yuen and Xueqin Wang

Transport Policy, 2025, vol. 164, issue C, 206-216

Abstract: Rapid advancement in urbanisation has profoundly altered consumer travel using intelligent transportation technologies. However, as technological progress persists, inherent tensions in consumer–technology interactions have surfaced. Based on the technological paradox and learning tension theories, this study examines how consumers' interactions with intelligent transportation technologies influence the systems' adoption. Three representative transportation technologies–electronic toll collection systems, ride-sharing platforms and fully autonomous vehicles–are compared. Data were collected using a questionnaire administered to 524 participants. The findings revealed that, while these technologies allowed consumers’ significant freedom perception, they also introduced new dependencies, invoking a perception of enslavement. Surprisingly, the induced learning tensions showed a positive relationship with technology adoption, which suggests that the challenges encountered during the learning process can enhance user engagement and acceptance. Furthermore, the study emphasised how perceptions of freedom and enslavement evolve with technological advancement in different transportation contexts, indicating their complex interplay with technology adoption intention. The findings enhance our understanding of the technological paradox theory and elucidate the dual role of learning tensions. The results also provide theoretical and practical guidance for technology developers and policymakers to design more human-centric intelligent transportation systems.

Keywords: Technology paradox; Learning tensions; Adoption intention; Smart transportation; Ride-sharing platform; Fully autonomous vehicle (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X25000538
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:trapol:v:164:y:2025:i:c:p:206-216

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
https://shop.elsevie ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2025.01.041

Access Statistics for this article

Transport Policy is currently edited by Y. Hayashi

More articles in Transport Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().