The influence of virtual community trust on consumer purchase intention

Abstract

The majority of B2C website providers in China have made it a point to convert members of their online communities into B2C buyers and sellers so as to increase their customer bases. Researchers have previously examined how trust is built in virtual communities and what the consequences of trust are. There are still few studies investigating the relationship between trust in virtual communities and B2C e-commerce. This thesis aims to develop and empirically test a model of trust in B2C virtual communities based on trust building mechanisms, as well as to investigate how customers' intents to get information and make purchases are influenced by trust. Data were collected through an online survey form, which resulted in 151 valid responses from members of the Guang Guang Virtual Community. The principal analytical technique used in the study is structural equation modelling (SEM).

The findings of this study indicate that perceived similarity, trust propensity, perceived reputation, perceived usefulness, and perceived security control are important antecedents of trust in integrity/benevolence in virtual communities. Based on analyses of the trust in ability indicator, familiarity, familiarity, trust propensity, perceived reputation, perceived usefulness, and perceived security control have a significant influence on trust in ability. Additionally, trust has a significant impact on both purchase intentions and users' intentions to get information, and the intention to get information has been found to influence purchase intentions.