The Roles of Trust and Risk in Electronic Commerce Acceptance among Virtual Community Users

Many existing studies have addressed the topics of electronic commerce (EC) and virtual communities (VCs). Analyses of information systems usage based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) have proven to be successful across most online service contexts. However, previous studies have focused only on either EC or VCs, and have rarely tried to analyze the relationship between them. The effects of factors on user intentions have been demonstrated through the application of theories like TAM, but few studies have explored the salient relationships of VC members’ EC acceptance. To fill this gap in VC and EC research, this paper attempts to develop a research model that extends the TAM perspective, taking into account the additional contributions of trust in service providers and VC members on factors that affect EC and VC adoption. In doing so, we propose a model that analyzes the effect of transferring trust between TAMs. In particular, we examine the mediating role of perceived risk. The research model was empirically tested in the context of a social networking service.