CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION OF ELECTRIC AVIATION IN MACAO: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY BASED ON THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR

Abstract

BATTERY ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT (BEA) TECHNOLOGY IS GAINING ATTENTION DUE TO THE POTENTIAL TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS AND NOISE POLLUTION, CONTRIBUTING TO GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY. GROUNDED IN THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR (TPB), THIS PAPER EXPLORES THE DETERMINANTS OF ATTITUDE, SOCIAL NORM, BEHAVIOURAL CONTROL, AND PERCEIVED RISKS RELATED TO THE INTENTION OF MACAU RESIDENTS TO USE ELECTRIC AEROPLANES WITHIN THE GREATER BAY AREA (GBA). THIS RESEARCH USES A QUANTITATIVE APPROACH. DATA IS COLLECTED THROUGH STRUCTURED SURVEYS DISTRIBUTED TO POTENTIAL ADOPTERS. TO ASSESS THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE DETERMINANTS IN OUR MODEL, STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING (SEM) IS EMPLOYED. THE FINDINGS REVEAL THAT A FAVOURABLE ATTITUDE AND PERCEIVED BEHAVIOURAL CONTROL POSITIVELY INFLUENCE INDIVIDUALS’ INTENTIONS TO ADOPT ELECTRIC AEROPLANES. HOWEVER, PERCEIVED RISKS STRONGLY IMPACT ADOPTION INTENTIONS, SUGGESTING THAT ADDRESSING SAFETY AND RELIABILITY CONCERNS IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROMOTING THE TECHNOLOGY WITHIN THE REGION. THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS RESEARCH EXTEND BEYOND ACADEMIC INTERESTS, AS MACAU’S UNIQUE POSITION WITHIN THE GBA OFFERS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ELECTRIC AEROPLANES’ ADOPTION. FURTHER, THE REDUCED CARBON EMISSIONS AND NOISE POLLUTION ALIGN WITH THE CITY’S OBJECTIVES AND CREATE A HARMONIOUS BALANCE BETWEEN ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. THIS STUDY OFFERS IMPORTANT INSIGHTS FOR INTEGRATING ADVANCED COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES INTO BEA SYSTEMS TO ENHANCE ELECTRIC AEROPLANES’ OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND SAFETY TO SUPPORT THEIR ADOPTION. IT ALSO PROVIDES A PATH FOR POLICYMAKERS AND INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS TOWARD SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION OF MACAU WITHIN THE GBA.