earticle

영어

Trust and perceived risk have been identified as the two primary factors affecting engagement in online transactions. However, earlier studies have conceptualized the directionality of the causal link between these two factors differently. Some researchers have conceptualized trust as an antecedent to risk, while others see it as a consequence. To resolve this issue, we develop a mutual model in which trust and perceived risk bidirectionally influence each other. We then test the ability of the mutual model to provide a more realistic explanation of buyers’ decision-making than previously offered one-way models. We find a nearly equal effect of trust and perceived risk, which means that the bidirectional model should be more preferred by researchers than others. Based on these empirical findings, we discuss the implications of our research, including the appropriateness of our research question and several paradoxes identified in prior studies.