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Understanding the evolution of consumer trust in mobile commerce: a longitudinal study

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Abstract

Consumer trust in mobile commerce (m-commerce) is dynamic. However, little research has examined how consumer trust in m-commerce evolves over time. Based on the extended valence theory, the self-perception theory, and the information systems expectation confirmation theory, this study examines a three-stage theoretical model of consumer trust evolution in mobile banking. We focus on the formation mechanisms of a consumer’s decision in the pre-usage stage, the feedback mechanisms of usage behavior in the usage stage, and the evaluation mechanisms in the post-usage stage. By analyzing longitudinal data collected from 332 individuals through two rounds of surveys, we find that pre-use trust has both direct and indirect influences on mobile banking usage behavior. Usage behavior provides significant feedbacks on cognitive or psychological factors, and customers’ evaluations have significant impacts on satisfaction. Satisfaction enhances post-use trust, which in turn affects future usage behavior. We also find that pre-use trust has a long term impact on post-use trust. Together, these results illustrate the dynamic process through which m-commerce consumer trust transforms.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Editors-in-Chief and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions on this research. This work was substantially supported by a Grant from the Humanities and Social Sciences Foundation of the Ministry of Education (11YJC630115), a Grant from the Foundation for Distinguished Young Talents in Higher Education of Guangdong (wym11029), the Grants from the NSFC (71333004, 71332001 and 71061160505) and the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (20120142110042). This work was also supported by the Modern Information Management Research Centre at HUST, National 985 Project of Non-traditional Security at HUST and TD-SCDMA Joint Innovation Lab, Hubei Mobile Co., China Mobile Group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Economics and Management, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China

    Jiabao Lin

  2. College of Business Administration, University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX, 78539, USA

    Bin Wang

  3. College of Information Sciences and Technology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Na Wang

  4. School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Yaobin Lu

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  1. Jiabao Lin
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Correspondence to Jiabao Lin.

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Lin, J., Wang, B., Wang, N. et al. Understanding the evolution of consumer trust in mobile commerce: a longitudinal study. Inf Technol Manag 15, 37–49 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10799-013-0172-y

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