The Effect of Trust on Behavioral Intentions: An Empirical Investigation among Malaysian Online Shoppers

Abstract

Today, e-commerce has experienced significant growth and transformation. Despite the continued growth of e-commerce, marketers have begun to face challenges in online purchasing. The most critical issue in online purchasing is trust, which contributes to customers' behavioural intentions. Thus, this research is conducted to test the effect on behavioral intentions in online purchasing. Internet users who had engaged in online purchasing were selected as the research's respondents. A questionnaire was used as the research instrument. The trust variable was operationalized based on four underlying dimensions: website trustworthiness, seller reputation, payment security, and transparency. A total of 375 completed questionnaires were proceeded for data analysis. The data gathered were analyzed using the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The results reveal that trust has a significant effect on behavioral intentions in online purchasing (p-value: 0.000; Beta: 0.795). This indicates that trust is a fundamental driver of behavioral intentions in online purchasing. Establishing and maintaining trust is crucial for online retailers and marketplaces to attract and retain customers.