The role of transaction cost and trust in e-loyalty: a mixed-methods study of ride-sharing

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the trust antecedents and the effect of trust and transaction cost on passengers' e-loyalty in the context of mobile commerce enabled ride-sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-methods research is adopted to investigate the phenomena of interest. The qualitative study was used to identify the context-specific trust antecedents. The quantitative study investigated the effects of trust and transaction cost on e-loyalty by combining the results of qualitative study.

Findings

Three important context-specific trust antecedents were identified in qualitative study, namely online rating score, service quality and driving skills. The quantitative study indicates that driving skills, explicit cost and implicit cost are positively associated with trust. Trust and implicit cost have direct and positive effects on e-loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to understanding passengers' trust towards drivers in the context of mobile commerce enabled ride-sharing and the effect of trust on e-loyalty by including the transaction cost.

Practical implications

Management to enhance passengers' e-loyalty to ride-sharing might involve the measures to promote trust relationship.

Originality/value

Limited research has explored trust relationship for enhancing e-loyalty in the context of ride-sharing. The current study provides a novel contribution through an exploration of trust antecedents and the effects of transaction cost and trust on e-loyalty. The study has thrown light on the use of mixed-methods design in the research of user behavior in sharing economy.

Citation

Hou, T., Cheng, X. and Cheng, X. (2020), "The role of transaction cost and trust in e-loyalty: a mixed-methods study of ride-sharing", Information Technology & People, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-01-2020-0005

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