The contradiction of trust and uncertainty from the viewpoint of swift guanxi

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between e-buyers and e-sellers in the context of the Chinese culture. It examines the relationships among swift guanxi, trust, uncertainty, and repurchase intentions. This study probes the possible mediation effects caused by the process where consumers form their thoughts and actions. Design/methodology/approach This study developed a theoretical model to examine how swift guanxi, trust, and uncertainty influence repurchase intentions of online auction consumers. The mediation effects of trust and uncertainty were also examined. This study gathered 455 valid samples and analyzed data by applying a structural equation modeling. Findings The results confirm that swift guanxi has significant and positive effects on trust and repurchase intentions, but swift guanxi has a significant and negative effect on uncertainty. In addition, trust has a significant and positive effect on repurchase intentions. On the other hand, uncertainty has a significant and negative effect on repurchase intentions. Finally, both trust and uncertainty have partial mediation effects between swift guanxi and repurchase intention. Research limitations/implications The findings extend the current state of knowledge about the relationships among swift guanxi, trust, uncertainty, and repurchase intentions, as well as reveal the psychological mechanism of the effects of trust and uncertainty on repurchase intentions. Practical implications The findings provide a deeper understanding of the effect of customers’ swift guanxi on repurchase intentions under different perspectives of the double-edged sword of trust and uncertainty in Yahoo! Online auction. Originality/value This study decomposes the constructs of swift guanxi, trust, and uncertainty into various dimensions and investigates the relationships between these dimensions and repurchase intentions. It has not been done in this way previously. The results contribute to the understanding of online auction customers’ behaviors.

Community Buyers’ Affective Reactions in Social Commerce: Stimuli and Response

“…The findings are inconsistent with the studies by Pai and Tsai (2011), and Tidwell (2005). Chiu et al (2018) point out this may be because SI can lead to build trust among community members as well as reduce the level of risk perception in communities, but an increase in confidence of users among community members and a reduction in PR in communities unnecessarily improve trust in SC and reduce PR from SC. H7a and H7b supported, finally, demonstrates that when community buyers have higher perception of negative experiences in social commerce, the level of their trust in SC is mitigated, but their risk perception is strengthened.…”

“…Findings of the empirical studies point out not only can emotional support help build trust in close friends in the community (Shanmugam et al, 2016), but can also further improve consumer purchase decision-making (Ng, 2013). Chiu et al (2018), however, point out trust promoted by SMI in the community unnecessarily implies a sense of trust in SC. In order to bridge the gap, therefore, the hypothesis is proposed as followed:…”

“…On the other hand, the cohesiveness increases the frequency of social interaction and enhance the degree of intimacy among community members, followed by trust building among community users as well as reduction in a decrease in the level of risk perception and anxiety from communities. On the other hand, an increase in confidence of consumers among community users and a reduction in PR from communities insufficiently strengthen trust in and diminish PR from social commerce (Chiu et al, 2018). In order to bridge the gap, therefore, two hypotheses are proposed as follows:…”

“…mutual understanding, reciprocal favor, and relationship harmony, etc.) between buyers and sellers (Chiu et al, 2018). For example, relationships among community users possessing one of the three mechanisms, including mutual understanding, reciprocal favor, and relationship harmony lead to buyers' trust in community sellers.…”

Does Ethics Perception Foster Consumer Repurchase Intention? Role of Trust, Perceived Uncertainty, and Shopping Habit

“…Previous researchers found out the determinants of consumer RPI such as consumer satisfaction (Liao, Lin, Luo, & Chea, 2017;Wu et al, 2014;Zhang et al, 2011), consumer trust (S. Chou & Chen, 2018;Fang et al, 2014), the perceived service quality (S. Yang, Lu, Chau, & Gupta, 2017), and the ethics of e-retailers (Elbeltagi & Agag, 2016;Limbu, Wolf, & Lunsford, 2011). Moreover, in the EC context, with the faceless interactions with retailers, there exists always a level of perceived uncertainty (Fang et al, 2014;Pavlou, Liang, & Xue, 2007) but hitherto very few research explores the effect of perceived uncertainty on RPI such as Cheng, Liu, and Du (2017) and Chiu, Chih, Ortiz, and Wang (2018). It is necessary to do more research on the correlation between perceived uncertainty and RPI.…”