How personalization-privacy trade-offs influence Robotaxi adoption: Insights from mobile Third Places

With the development of autonomous driving technology and the sharing economy, robotaxis are expected to transform from traditional transportation tools to the future mobile Third Places. The focus is shifting from mere mobility to the enhancement of comfort, with an emphasis on delivering personalized services across diverse in-cabin scenarios. However, accessing more advanced personalized services in robotaxis may require users to disclose additional personal information, thereby creating a trade-off between the desire for personalization and concerns about privacy. Therefore, based on the privacy paradox theory and privacy calculus theory, this study incorporates privacy-related psychological latent variables and attributes of personalized services for robotaxis to construct an integrated choice and latent variable (ICLV) model. A stated preference survey questionnaire was conducted to investigate choice behavior and relevant attitudes, and a sample of 651 responses was collected for model analysis. The results reveal that in the context of robotaxi services entertainment enhancement services, and comprehensive personalization services have a positive impact on robotaxi choice, whereas environment adjustment services do not. Additionally, privacy invasion experience and privacy concern negatively influence the choice of robotaxis with a higher level of personalized services, while perceived usefulness and hedonic benefit have a positive influence. The findings provide practical implications for robotaxi system design, suggesting that personalized services and privacy-friendly human-system interaction designs should be jointly considered.