New approach to study of factors affecting adoption of electronic banking services with emphasis on the role of positive word of mouth

Abstract

The present study aims to identify factors affecting adoption of electronic banking. The data used in the study were collected from a sample consisted of 363 M.S students in Islamic Azad University of Arak through a structured questionnaire based on field survey. Then the collected data were analyzed by AMOS software. As official statistics indicated only 17.31% of all Iranian customers used electronic banking services in the last quarter of 2009. Therefore, it seems indispensable to study factors that may affect adoption of electronic banking by Iranian consumers. Furthermore, given the importance of effects of positive word of mouth on consumers’ behavior, especially in the field of services offered, this study puts special emphasis on this variable. The results of the study indicate that positive word of mouth (P-WOM) has a positive effect on electronic banking adoption and on the trust in bank, while negatively influence the perceived risk of electronic banking services. In addition, it was found that the customers’ trust in bank has a positive effect on perceived competence of electronic banking services and also on the electronic banking adoption. Besides, the perceived competence of electronic banking services influences word of mouth positively.