Potential adoption of robotaxi service: The roles of perceived benefits to multiple stakeholders and environmental awareness

Vehicle automation is a revolutionary trend in urban mobility, and robotaxi—that is, a service providing shared autonomous vehicles (AVs)—are expected to reduce energy consumption and hinder the growth of car ownership. This study investigates consumers' intention to use robotaxi and to buy AVs, particularly focusing on the roles of perceived benefits to multiple stakeholders (i.e., users and pedestrians) and consumers' environmental awareness in the adoption process. Based on a nationwide survey in China, our empirical analysis reveals the following important findings: (1) users' perceptions of the benefits of AVs for pedestrians and users influence their attitude toward and intention to use robotaxi and to buy AVs; (2) perceived drawbacks are negatively related to intention to buy AVs and to use robotaxi, but not to attitude toward AVs; (3) attitude positively predicts intention to use robotaxi, but not intention to buy AVs; (4) intention to use robotaxi is positively associated with intention to buy AVs; (5) incorporating the perceived benefits of AVs for pedestrians significantly improves the behavioral model; and (6) environmental awareness strengthens the positive influence of perceived benefits on attitude, and exacerbates the negative association between perceived drawbacks and intention to use robotaxi. We contribute to the literature on AV adoption by furthering understanding of the influence of benefits to multiple stakeholders and environmental awareness; we also present key business and policy implications relating to facilitating the transition of AVs.