Özet:

Biofuels are drawing increasing attention on worldwide as substitutes for fossil fuels to help address energy cost, energy security and global warming. Vietnam is an agricultural country and high rates of economic growth last decade led to growing energy demands. When the fossil fuel is becoming exhausted, petroleum price is continuously increasing; finding new power resource, renewable power, to replace fossil fuels is an essential solution. This study aims to investigate factors affecting consumers’ adoption and intention to use biofuels. Combining the Innovation Diffusion Theory with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the present study proposed an extended technology acceptance model. The proposed model was tested with data collected from 302 consumers using biofuels in Vietnam. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed with the Amos program to explain the acceptance process. We explored the relationships between five innovative characteristics and the perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), as well as between PU, PEU, attitude and intention to use biofuels. Overall, the research model and the hypotheses were confirmed. PU is positively affected by relative advantage, compatibility and complexity. On the other hand, observatability and trialability have significant relationships with PEU. The results also show that the TAM holds true for biofuels in Vietnam. We showed that PU, PEOU have positive relationship with attitude of biofuel, whereas attitude significantly influenced intention to use it. The authors suggested that there was potential for application and development of biofuels in Vietnam. Thus, it was necessary that the government should help consumers confirm or increase their perception positively through biofuels. Key Words: Biofuels, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

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