Tourists’ pro-environmental behaviour in an autonomous vehicle’s adoption: aligning the integration of value-belief-norm theory and the theory of planned behaviour

Automated vehicles powered by artificial intelligence (AI) represent some of the most disruptive technologies with broad social implications, including increasing safety for travelers and drivers, protecting the environment, and upholding equity. This study aims to develop a unified conceptual framework combining the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory with the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to understand how tourists accept autonomous vehicles. The PLS-SEM results of 586 tourists’ data show that altruistic and biospheric values positively affect the awareness of consequences, whereas egoistic values negatively affect it. Moreover, the findings of this study validate the suggested relationships between value-based constructs, including awareness of consequences, ascription of responsibility, and pro-environmental personal norms. The relationship between behavioural intention and pro-environmental personal norms was confirmed by attitudes toward behaviour, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. This study offers theoretical and practical implications that enhance the likelihood of travelers’ acceptance of autonomous vehicles.