Benefits or Risks: What Influences Novice Drivers Regarding Adopting Smart Cars?

Areej Ahmad Alshaafee, Noorminshah A. Iahad and Mohammed A. Al-Sharafi
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Areej Ahmad Alshaafee: School of Computing, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Malaysia
Noorminshah A. Iahad: Department of Information Systems, Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Malaysia
Mohammed A. Al-Sharafi: Department of Information Systems, Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-20

Abstract: Level 4 autonomous vehicles (AVs) are smart vehicles that can move between two different points without any human interference. In 2018, the Saudi Arabian ban on female drivers was finally lifted, resulting in a large number of novice women drivers of different ages. The Kingdom might therefore be considered a risky place to drive, but AVs would help novices to reduce their fear of driving and reduce accidents. Previous studies focused narrowly on those who already had sufficient driving experience and held a valid driving license, but there were no studies on the adoption of smart cars by novice drivers. Based on a literature search, no studies had used a net valence model (NVM) for the adoption of AVs to understand their benefits/risks. Therefore, this study proposed an adoption model for AVs using an NVM to identify the benefit and risk factors that have an impact on beginner drivers’ adoption of autonomous vehicles. A survey method was applied using the purposive sampling technique. Data were collected from 1400 female Saudi novice drivers who had experience with driving AVs. Data analysis was performed using Smart PLS Version 3. The results showed that individuals tended to ignore potential risks and focus instead on the potential benefits of using AVs. Performance expectancy, enjoyment, and effort expectancy were found to be positively related to the perceived advantages. On the other hand, the perceived risk as a construct did not have an impact on beginner drivers’ adoption of autonomous vehicles. Therefore, the major theoretical contribution of this study was the formation of a new NVM model by incorporating three more constructs, which were social influence, personal innovativeness, and alternatives. Finally, the enhanced NVM model could assist AV developers in identifying the expected benefits and drawbacks of AV adoption.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; alternatives; autonomous vehicles; net valence model; personal innovativeness; social influence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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