Consumer trust and repurchase intention in B2C e-commerce: a moderation model

Abstract

Consumer trust is an important factor in business-to-consumer e-commerce (B2C EC) and has been studied extensively in the marketing field. However, the definition, classification and roles of B2C EC, which are subject to debate, continuously require further research. Therefore, the current study primarily aims to present insights into consumer trust as a multidimensional concept. This study also focuses on the antecedents and consequences of consumer trust by incorporating the perception of retailers' ethics, consumer repurchase intention (CRI), product type, consumer online shopping habit and attitude. The current research extends the 'antecedents-trust-consequences' framework and conducts a survey amongst online shoppers of a B2C EC website in Vietnam. A total of 518 valid questionnaires were collected and used to test the proposed hypotheses through the application of structural equation modelling (SEM). Results indicated that B2C EC comprises three types of trust. Consumer perception of retailers' ethics and CRI also play the role of antecedent and outcome of consumer trust, respectively. Moreover, product type, consumer online shopping habit and consumer attitude act as moderating variables in such a relationship.