Acceptance of autonomous delivery robots in urban cities: Fid-Bau Portal

Acceptance of autonomous delivery robots in urban cities

Yuen, Kum Fai / Koh, Le Yi / Anwar, Muhammad Haziq Danish Bin / Wang, Xueqin

Abstract Autonomous Delivery Robots (ADR), an innovative last-mile delivery method, can be seen as a sustainable solution for the distribution of goods in urban cities. This study combines the modified-TAM (encompassing the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and threat elements of the health belief model) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) into the stimulus-organism-response framework to explain consumer intention to use ADRs. The responses of 500 respondents living in Singapore were collected via an online questionnaire, and the collected results were obtained using structural equation modelling. Using the modified-TAM and TPB constructs as the main conceptual framework for analysis, the results show significant results for consumers' ADR usage. Based on total effects analysis, attitude shows the largest effect on consumers' intention to use ADRs, followed by perceived usefulness, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. Overall, the findings give an extensive insight into the key determinants influencing consumers' intention to use ADRs and offer strategic policy recommendations to encourage the use of ADRs.

Highlights • Applied technology acceptance model (TAM) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB). • Categorized TAM's and TPB's constructs into stimulus-organism-response framework. • These constructs have direct and indirect impacts on ADR adoption in urban cities. • TPB's constructs mediate the effects of modified-TAM's constructs on ADR adoption. • Attitude has the largest total effect on ADR adoption intention in urban cities. • Theoretical and practical implications are listed.