Cognitive and institutional predictors of initial trust toward an online retailer
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
ISSN: 0959-0552
Article publication date: 29 March 2011
Abstract
Purpose
Via an initial trust‐building model, the purpose of this paper is to examine consumers' initial trust in an unfamiliar online retailer, considering cognitive perceptions of the retailer and institutional beliefs about the online environment.
Design/methodology/approach
A random sample of 2,000 US households, resulting in 477 usable responses, was surveyed by assigning subjects to one of the two shopping scenarios portraying an online insurance retailer with a weak or strong reputation.
Findings
Structural equation modelling revealed that second‐hand cognitive and first‐hand institutional information have comparable and contrasting effects on purchase intent through formation of initial trust.
Research limitations/implications
Results imply that consumers form initial trust using a combination of cognitive perceptions about the online retailer and consumers' institutional beliefs regarding the online environment. Ways in which researchers and online retailers can shape initial trust formation via these antecedents are suggested.
Originality/value
The influence of an institutional belief, situational normality of the online environment, on initial trust has not been previously investigated by simultaneously assessing relative influences of institutional beliefs and cognitive perceptions of the online retailer.
Keywords
Citation
Eastlick, M.A. and Lotz, S. (2011), "Cognitive and institutional predictors of initial trust toward an online retailer", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 234-255. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590551111117527
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited