Conceptualizing consumer “trust” in online buying behaviour: an empirical inquiry and model development in Indian context

Abstract

Purpose – India has a large internet savvy population that is not only accessing the internet but also buying online. With a revolution in the very basics of transaction from a physical store format to a non‐store one, the retail industry has begun to understand the indispensability of the internet as a medium of transaction. However, the rate of diffusion and adoption of the new phenomenon amongst consumers is still relatively low. Trust on online transactions is one of the key barriers to vendors succeeding in online transactions. A lack of trust discourages consumers from participating in online buying. With the internet advancing new opportunities, it is important to understand the factors that generate trust of Indian consumers in the online buying system. The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of trust in online buying behavior of consumers. This paper is a theoretical attempt at conceptualizing “trust” as a construct, in the context of online buying and testing it empirically. The objective of the study is to explore the critical online trust‐creating factors that influence the online buying decision of people, and to establish their causal impact, if any, through developing an integrated model.