Influences of Perceived E-Service Risks: The Moderating Role of Perceived Benefits

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The purpose of this study is to test effects of risk dimensions on customers' attitude toward using e-services, and to investigate whether risk effects are moderated by utilitarian and hedonic benefits associated with the service. A survey of 436 users of a digital mailbox system, where citizens securely receive mail from the public sector, was undertaken to test the relationship proposed by the research model. The data was analyzed using linear regression analysis, and interactions were probed using the Johnson-Neyman technique. The effects of each risk dimension on attitude towards using the e-service were reduced by hedonic benefit associations, but not by utilitarian benefit associations. Interaction analyses suggest that customers who perceive the e-service as hedonic may have more positive attitude towards using the service if it involves certain risk aspects. Managers of e-services should consider the effect that different risk dimensions have on customers' usage attitude. E-service design should incorporate elements that adds to the hedonic value of the service, which may reduce negative effects of risk. Customers should be segmented according to their hedonic motivations, as they will differ in terms of vulnerability to risk. Existing research on acceptance of e-services is scarce in terms of theoretically derived explanations for boundary conditions for risk effects. This paper fills this gap by testing the interaction effects between individual risk dimensions and utilitarian/hedonic benefits on users' attitude to use an online mailbox.