A Living Room on Wheels! Mechanisms Behind Customers’ Perceived Fun of Self-Driving Cars

Abstract The market of self-driving cars (SDCs) is rising, resulting in research needs and opportunities for investigating customers’ attitudes toward SDCs. Focusing on the niche market of turning SDCs into living rooms, this study examines the mechanisms behind customers’ perceived fun of SDCs. Taking attitudes toward new technology and driving conventional cars as two major antecedents, our hypothetical model is based on the theoretical support of the technology acceptance model. A total of 411 online survey responses were collected from Japanese car owners. Images showing SDCs as living rooms on wheels were presented in the survey. The results revealed that the perceived usefulness and ease of use of SDCs increased the fun of SDCs, while the perceived risk of SDCs reduced the fun of SDCs. The acceptance and rejection of new technology exerted opposite effects on the perceived usefulness and fun of SDCs and perceived risk of SDCs. The fun of driving conventional cars increased the perceived risk of SDCs, whereas the frustration of driving conventional cars led to the perceived usefulness and ease of use of SDCs. The findings of this study offer meaningful theoretical and practical implications.