Since the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased the use of personal vehicles in travel, adoption of self-driving autonomous vehicles can radically transform the travel industry. Thus, this study develops and tests a conceptual autonomous vehicle acceptance model that identifies hedonic motivation, trust in autonomous vehicles and social influence as critical determinants of performance expectancy, perceived risk and emotions, which determine travelers’ intentions to use autonomous vehicles (AVs) utilizing the Cognitive Appraisal Theory and the Artificially Intelligent Device Use Acceptance model as conceptual frameworks. Findings indicate that trust is the most powerful determinant of performance expectancy and essential to decrease risk perceptions. Furthermore, performance expectancy and hedonic motivation are critical determinants of travelers’ positive emotions, which in turn determines the acceptance of AVs. Contribution to theoretical knowledge and implications for practice are provided, and limitations and recommendations for future studies are discussed.

由于COVID-19大流行大大增加了旅行中私人车辆的使用，因此采用无人驾驶自动驾驶汽车可以从根本上改变旅游业。因此，本研究开发并测试了概念性自动驾驶汽车接受模型，该模型将享乐动机，对自动驾驶汽车的信任和社会影响力确定为性能预期，感知风险和情绪的关键决定因素，这些因素决定了旅行者使用自动驾驶汽车的意图。认知评估理论和人工智能设备将接受模型用作概念框架。研究结果表明，信任是预期绩效的最有力决定因素，并且对于降低风险认知至关重要。此外，预期表现和享乐动机是旅行者积极情绪的关键决定因素，而反过来又决定了人们对自动驾驶汽车的接受程度。提供了对理论知识的贡献和对实践的启示，并讨论了对未来研究的限制和建议。