Word-Of-Mouth, Trust, and Perceived Risk in Online Shopping: An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model

This paper aims to understand the role of word-of-mouth, trust and perceived risk in extended technology acceptance model on online purchase intention. Firstly, EFA was used to test the dimensionality of these constructs. Next the reliability and validity of these constructs have been established using CFA in AMOS 16.0. Then the hypotheses were tested using SEM in AMOS 16.0. It was found that word-of-mouth has a positive and significant impact on online purchase intention whereas perceived risk has a negative and significant impact on online purchase intention. It was also found that word-of-mouth has a positive and significant impact on trust and trust has negative and significant impact perceived risk. Word-of-mouth, trust and perceived risk should be viewed as the levers in the adoption process of online shopping in the extended technology acceptance model. Examining the role of these three constructs on online purchase intention explicated the dual process of perceived risk acting as an inhibitor whereas word-of-mouth acting as an enabler.