Effects of trust beliefs on consumers' online intentions

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the simultaneous effects of the product, brand, and vendor trust beliefs on consumers' online intentions, i.e. the intention to purchase and the intention to provide personal information online. Design/methodology/approach - The study uses an online 2 x 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial experiment design with two vendor trust beliefs levels (high/low), two brand trust beliefs levels (high/low), and two product trust beliefs levels (high/low). Multivariate analysis of covariance, linear regression, and the SOBEL test were used to analyze the hypotheses. Findings - The results suggest that brand trust beliefs affect online intentions, and may be needed to increase online sales. The influence of vendor trust beliefs on online intentions varies with brand trust, beliefs for products and for services is augmented by brand trust beliefs. Research limitations/implications - The limitations are those typically applied to experimental methodology. Intentions were used as surrogate for behavior, and a fictitious e-tailer selling two products with fictitious brands was used. Practical implications - E-tailers are encouraged to carry reputable brands and prominently display information about these brands on their web sites. This will improve consumers' trust beliefs, increasing conversion rates, and reducing shopping cart abandonments. Originality/value - The influence of trust beliefs on online behavior, notwithstanding its importance, remains under-researched. The paper addresses this gap in the literature. Specifically, it addresses the effects of the simultaneous influence of vendor, brand, and product trust beliefs on shoppers' online intentions. And it decomposes online intentions into its components, i.e. intentions to provide personal information and intentions to purchase, to understand these simultaneous effects not addressed before. The results contribute to the growing literature on trust and consumer online behavior.