What Drives Trust Transfer? The Moderating Roles of Seller-Specific and General Institutional Mechanisms

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

140 Scopus Citations
View graph of relations

Author(s)

Detail(s)

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)261-289
Journal / PublicationInternational Journal of Electronic Commerce
Volume20
Issue number2
Online published30 Nov 2015
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Link(s)

Abstract

Trust transfer theory posits that trust can be transferred from the selling platform to the sellers and has been widely applied in the e-commerce environment. However, prior research has overlooked the boundary conditions under which trust can be transferred. Understanding of the general institutional mechanisms is necessary to ensure the trust environment underlying e-commerce. The present study identifies two key moderators that affect the relationships between trust-in-platform, trust-in-seller, and purchase intention in consumer to consumer (C2C) online shopping contexts: perceived effectiveness of e-commerce institutional mechanisms (PEEIM) and perceived website quality of the seller (PWQS). Using a sample of 294 online buyers from TaoBao (a major Chinese C2C portal), we find that trust-in-platform positively affects trust-in-seller; meanwhile, trust-in-seller positively influences purchase intention. In addition, PEEIM negatively moderates the relationship between trust-in-platform and trust-in-seller, whereas it positively moderates the relationship between trust-in-seller and purchase intention. PWQS positively moderates the relationship between trust-in-platform and trust-in-seller but negatively moderates the relationship between trust-in-seller and purchase intention. Our findings complement trust transfer theory by demonstrating how PEEIM and PWQS have different moderating effects on the trust transfer process. For C2C platform providers and sellers, the findings suggest that they should strategically build buyers trust according to different levels of PEEIM and PWQS in order to promote buyers purchasing behavior. © 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Research Area(s)

  • Institutional Mechanisms, Signaling Theory, Trust, Trust Transfer, Website Quality

Download Statistics

No data available