Interactive effects of advising strength and brand familiarity on users' trust and distrust in online recommendation agents
Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews (RGC: 21, 22, 62) › 21_Publication in refereed journal › peer-review
Author(s)
Related Research Unit(s)
Detail(s)
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1920-1947 |
| Journal / Publication | Information Technology and People |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Online published | 24 May 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - 18 Nov 2021 |
Link(s)
Abstract
Purpose - This paper investigates the effects of advising strength of a recommendation agent on users' trust and distrust beliefs and how the effects are moderated by perceived brand familiarity.
Design/methodology/approach - A research model is evaluated using a laboratory experiment with 149 participants.
Findings - Results reveal that a strong advising tone leads to higher trust in terms of users' credibility and benevolence beliefs and lower distrust in terms of their discredibility beliefs (the trustor's concerns regarding the trustee's dishonesty and competence in engaging in harmful behavior) when perceived brand familiarity is high. By contrast, when brand familiarity is low, strong advising tone results in low trust in terms of users' credibility belief and high distrust in terms of their beliefs in discredibility and malevolence (concerns regarding the trustee's conduct in terms of a malicious intention that can hurt the trustor's welfare).
Originality/value - This paper contributes to the trust and distrust literature by studying how each of the dimensions of trust and distrust can be affected by an RA's design feature. It extends the attribution theory to the RA context by studying the moderating role of brand familiarity in determining the effects of the advising strength of an RA. It provides actionable guidelines for practitioners regarding the adoption of an RA's appropriate advising strength to promote different types of products.
Design/methodology/approach - A research model is evaluated using a laboratory experiment with 149 participants.
Findings - Results reveal that a strong advising tone leads to higher trust in terms of users' credibility and benevolence beliefs and lower distrust in terms of their discredibility beliefs (the trustor's concerns regarding the trustee's dishonesty and competence in engaging in harmful behavior) when perceived brand familiarity is high. By contrast, when brand familiarity is low, strong advising tone results in low trust in terms of users' credibility belief and high distrust in terms of their beliefs in discredibility and malevolence (concerns regarding the trustee's conduct in terms of a malicious intention that can hurt the trustor's welfare).
Originality/value - This paper contributes to the trust and distrust literature by studying how each of the dimensions of trust and distrust can be affected by an RA's design feature. It extends the attribution theory to the RA context by studying the moderating role of brand familiarity in determining the effects of the advising strength of an RA. It provides actionable guidelines for practitioners regarding the adoption of an RA's appropriate advising strength to promote different types of products.
Research Area(s)
- Trust, Distrust, Recommendation agents, Advising strength, Brand familiarity, Attribution theory
Citation Format(s)
Interactive effects of advising strength and brand familiarity on users' trust and distrust in online recommendation agents. / Liu, Tao; Wang, Weiquan; Xu, Jingjun (David) et al.
In: Information Technology and People, Vol. 34, No. 7, 18.11.2021, p. 1920-1947.Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews (RGC: 21, 22, 62) › 21_Publication in refereed journal › peer-review
