Consumers' willingness to depend on user generated content and producer generated content within e-commerce.

摘要

This thesis explored factors that influence an individuals' willingness to depend upon information encountered during an online information search. Willingness to depend is identified as a trusting intention: a decision to make oneself vulnerable to a website (Mcknight, Choudhury and Kacmur, 2002). This thesis applied the definition to online information. Two factors were proposed for building trust in online information: source credibility and perceived usefulness. Differing types of information were used: (1) Producer generated content (PGC) (e.g. company, marketers, and advertisers) and (2) User generated content (UGC) (e.g. consumer reviews, blogs and emails). Next, the thesis attempted to extend the linkage from the intent to trust (willingness to depend) to the behavioral act of trusting (intent to follow advice). In that, once consumers deem information/advice as credible and useful, it was theorized that the intentions to follow the information/advice increases. To decrease the variability amongst consumers, trust disposition will be used as a moderator against the willingness to depend on information. The proposed research model is developed based on a trust building model.;Using an online survey, seven hundred and five students voluntarily participated. The results revealed (1) that information type does not serve as a predictor for source credibility, (2) and that positive UGC was the only information type that served as a predictor for perceived usefulness, and (3) source credibility and perceived usefulness are important trust building factors that positively predicts a users' willingness-to-depend, despite the type of information. Additionally, the linkage between willingness-to-depend and intent-to-follow was supported across all three information types.