Master thesis on driverless cars
Fully autonomous vehicles are due to be launched in the market within the next few years. Insight into key drivers of adoption intention is vital for managers in the industry in order to develop and communicate a product that fulfills consumer expectations and needs.
In his master thesis, A. Johannes T. Solbraa Bay wanted to expand the knowledge by developing a theoretical model to explain consumer intentions to adopt fully autonomous vehicles (AVs).
Best master thesis 2016
His thesis «Innovation Adoption in Robotics: Consumer Intentions to Use Autonomous Vehicles» (Professor Herbjørn Nysveen as supervisor) won The Department of Strategy and Management prize for Best Master Thesis in 2016.
Fully autonomous vehicles are designed to be capable of operating without a driver, apart from destination and navigation input, and are expected to have major positive impacts on the environment, traffic safety, mobility and productivity, Bay writes in his thesis.
«As AVs may constitute the biggest transition in personal transportation since the invention of the car itself, insight into key drivers of adoption intention is vital for managers in the industry in order to develop and communicate a product that fulfills consumer expectations and needs.
Failure to understand
Failure to understand these influences, Bay writes, may lead to the decay of several established carmakers, and the rise of new entrants in the market who do appreciate the changed conditions.
The results from this study indicate that marketing managers should be particularly aware of motivational variables, such as perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, perceived self-identity and perceived risk, in addition to attitude toward use and the compatibility of AVs with consumers established lifestyle and habits».
This master thesis is one of a series of papers and reports published by the Center for Service Innovation (CSI). This is a coordinated effort by NHH to focus on the innovation challenges facing the service sector and involves 20 business and academic partners. It aims to increase the quality, efficiency and commercial success of service innovations and to enhance the innovation capabilities of its business and academic partners.