Usage Intention of Internet of Vehicles Based on CAB Model: The Moderating Effect of Reference Groups

Because of the emergence and applications of 5G technology, the internet of vehicles (IoV) has facilitated intelligent transportation and altered people’s means of movement, becoming a crucial force supporting the development of the automotive industry. However, some difficulties and challenges have been encountered during the IoV development process. Because of insufficient public awareness regarding IoV, user trust and intention to use the IoV are currently affected by individual perceptions and reference groups (RGs). Therefore, this study investigated consumers in China—the country with the largest number of cars worldwide—as research subjects and used a combination of online questionnaires and physical field observations to examine IoV-related perceived importance (PI), perceived attraction (PA), perceived cost (PC), perceived trust (PT), usage intention (UI), and RGs. A total of 576 questionnaires were returned, among which 410 valid questionnaires were obtained, posting a valid response rate of 71.78%. The results were as follows: (1) PI, PA, and PT all had significant positive effects on UI, whereas PC had a significant negative effect on UI; (2) PI and PA had significant positive effects on PT, whereas PC had a significant negative effect on PT; (3) PT had a partial mediating effect on the positive relationships between perceived importance of control and safety (PICS) and UI and between PA and UI as well as the negative relationship between PC and UI; on the relationship between perceived importance of social entertainment and UI, PT had a perfect mediating effect; (4) RGs had a significant negative moderating effect on the PICS–PT and PA–PT relationships, whereas they had a marginally significant positive moderating effect on the PC–UI relationship.