Roles of consumer trust and risks on continuance intention in the sharing economy: An empirical investigation

Abstract

• An online consumer survey on the Chinese ridesharing market was conducted. • Structure assurance trust affects continuance intention (CI) and platform trust. • Consumer satisfaction (CS) reduces the attractiveness of alternatives for CI. • Driver and platform trust positively mediate the CS-CI relationship. • Physical and psychological risks positively moderate driver trust in CI. This empirical study explores the roles of trust, risks and attractiveness of alternatives on customer confirmation, satisfaction and continuance intention in the sharing economy. The interacting effects of physical and psychological risks on them are also examined. Data from an online consumer survey of 458 valid responses were analyzed by structural equation modeling. The results show that the relationship between satisfaction and continuance intention is partially mediated by platform-based trust, driver-based trust and the attractiveness of alternatives and inconsistently mediated by structural assurance. Physical and psychological risks can positively moderate the relationship between driver-based trust and continuance intention. This study provides new insights on specifying which types of trust and risks can affect consumers’ intention to reuse in the sharing economy. The study also suggests new ideas for service providers to retain their consumers in this emerging sharing economy.