The consumer’s trust formation process is complex (Hung et al., 2021). Several factors, such as consumer beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and trust in someone or a particular trait play a significant role in regards to influencing consumers’ trusting beliefs (Kim et al., 2008). Various categories of trusting beliefs in this regard have been defined in the literature, which are related to the nature of trust (disposition to trust), trust in a situation or structure (institutional trust), and interactive trust, which is also known as interpersonal trust (Zhu et al., 2020). Recent research posits that trust is established through the act of willingly placing one’s faith in a trustee, be it an individual or an organization. To achieve this, one must take into account the trustee’s traits, accept their data usage strategies, and accept that one cannot completely control the outcomes (Zhu et al., 2020; Merhi et al., 2021; Ghouse et al., 2022). However, there are some recent studies that indicate the significant role of information clarity and inputs, such as textual descriptions and pictures created by sellers on their websites in influencing customer trust on e-commerce sites (Nghiêm-Phú and Bagul, 2020). This may indicate the seller’s willingness to make the process transparent and ethical.
Trust is not a new component when it comes to e-commerce (Bandara et al., 2020). Several theories and/or models show how different kinds of behavior affect the process of creating trusting beliefs (Leonard and Jones, 2021; Chawla and Kumar, 2022). Some studies outlined the notion of trust in critical theory that elaborates trust as a concept of fetishism by describing it as the trust that reaches the status of an independent entity that controls human perceptions. Another is reification, which is typically viewed as a set of widely accepted yet one-sided views that influence trust (Joseph-Vaidyan, 2008). The positive side of critical theory indicates rebuilding the consumers’ trust via reification or a particular ideology that influences the adoption of e-commerce platforms. The negative side subsequently summarizes the myopic approach to trust by focusing on one aspect while ignoring other aspects of trust in the process (Chen et al., 2013). Sharma and Lijuan (2014) propose that critical theory posits that the ethical performance of an e-commerce website will promote trust, leading to an improvement in consumer commitment. However, to do so, e-commerce sites must improve communication platforms that provide customers with the opportunity to share feedback, receive after-sales services, and receive support. This enhances trust. According to past researchers in the area of e-commerce platforms, trust is generally treated as a fetish (Sharma and Lijuan, 2014). Due to this, e-commerce platforms are losing their ethical properties, hindering their ability to reach their maximum potential due to a lack of confidence from end consumers (Stahl, 2006). Thus, past studies suggest focusing on various aspects of trust, considering the role of institutions (sellers), platforms, the ethical and moral nature of trust, the role of information, and its evaluation, which are important aspects of the trust formation process (Nghiêm-Phú and Bagul, 2020; Ghouse et al. 2022).
Moreover, studies that are based on a grounded theory approach draw various aspects of trust, which developed foundations of consumer trust in an e-commerce environment. For example, Kang et al. (2015) and Zhu et al. (2020) concluded that privacy protection is one of the major concerns of consumers distrusting e-commerce websites by using a grounded theory approach. It was further discussed by Merhi et al. (2021) in the context of e-commerce sites that have a high possibility of unauthorized access and secondary data concerns for end users due to the high control of e-commerce agents and a lack of transparency and awareness. This, in turn, may influence the user’s trust linked to payments and other transactions.
A lack of information on privacy guidelines and ineffective legal enforcement are the few other crucial concerns that influence a user’s behavioral intention (Kang et al., 2015; Zhu et al., 2020). This concern is enhanced by a lack of information and the readability of privacy policies, which develop the consumers’ distrust of websites (Ermakova et al., 2014). The results of the previous studies offer significant theoretical contributions, which are accordingly based on well-known theories. A few recent studies discussed the significant role of perceived security and perceived privacy in the context of e-commerce sites, indicating the importance of personal data consumption transparency on consumer perception (Dogra and Adil, 2024).
The social contract theory (SCT) draws attention towards a trust-risk framework that influences perceptions towards e-commerce platforms (Featherman and Hajli, 2016). The theory has been used in offline services and recently with respect to online services in order to understand the moral and ethical behavior in digital communities or platforms (Levine, 2019). According to SCT, there is both a positive and a negative side to the digital revolution and the rapid distribution of data on e-commerce platforms. On the one hand, it promotes a strong digital environment and an empowered, hyper-information-connected environment to boost the sharing of economic concepts. However, there are major concerns related to compromising sensitive information and disrupting the privacy of end users at the cost of sharing knowledge and information. These platforms, which were created for the benefit of users, have now been used for selfish motives (Liaropoulos, 2020). The theory suggests that to develop trusting beliefs, trustworthiness, and social cooperation, digital communities need to develop norms that are related to privacy, information integrity, and confidentiality, while displaying the use of hyper-norms, which include regularizing policies, in order to build consumer trust. Since e-commerce includes a higher level of privacy or confidentiality risk (Dogra and Adil, 2024), customers pay close attention to these aspects and regulations. In other words, according to the SCT, trusting beliefs among customers can be developed by the implementation of certain privacy or legal norms. E-commerce websites should stress privacy guidelines and display their data usage policies and legal initiatives that are in line with the customers’ beliefs and expectations, which is the opinion of Gulati et al. (2012) and Liaropoulos (2020). This increases customer intent in regards to utilizing these sites. The social contract theory is relevant in the present study, because it can be used in order to assess the users’ digital trust, which influences their choices and preferences. Moreover, the findings from the previous studies showed that SCT significantly explains a number of different types of ethical and normative beliefs of the consumers towards e-commerce privacy norms, user’s confidentiality norms, data usage norms, and other requirements (Featherman and Hajli, 2016; Levine, 2019). This provides an understanding of the digital businesses’ responsibility and cooperation that are required for building consumer trust on these types of platforms.
Security issues in e-commerce platforms were also outlined in several of the previous studies (Hou, 2019; Hajli, 2019; Chawla and Kumar, 2022). It was accordingly observed that consumers are often exploited by their contracting partners, which are e-commerce firms in this case, and there, therefore, is a need for consumer protection norms (Hou, 2019). Furthermore, previous studies suggested that consumers are considered to be the weaker party according to the exploitation theory (Poon, 2008). The argument goes that while corporations can take advantage of complexities and conditions to their advantage, customers are required to abide by the contractual terms set forth by e-commerce platforms (Ghouse et al., 2022). The prevalence of these issues is greater in online markets compared to face-to-face purchases. Furthermore, a lack of information and discrepancies in knowledge also affect the consumers’ bargaining power in e-commerce platforms (Chawla and Kumar, 2022). Consumer privacy and personal data are in need of certain security. However, the massive growth of e-commerce businesses and increased competition in recent years reject the claims of the exploitation theory, which indicates the high negotiating power of consumers in today’s digital world (Alonso-Garcia et al., 2021). According to Siciliani et al. (2019), consumers expect transparency in online processes and a strong protection framework by e-commerce firms. This is explained by ET, which promotes online market transactions and suggests strong protection and privacy laws for consumers in order to develop trust in e-commerce (Poon, 2008). Therefore, it is imperative for e-commerce companies to establish robust commercial and legal contracts and further communicate them to their customers for their awareness, which is crucial in fostering confidence between buyers and sellers (Nghiêm-Phú and Bagul, 2020; Chawla and Kumar, 2022). The current investigation discovered that consumer trusting beliefs are based on the fundamental principles of social contract theory (SCT) and ET.
Theoretical gaps related to trust in e-commerce platforms
There is an abundance of literature available on the use and adoption of e-commerce platforms or websites (Sfenrianto et al., 2018; Wei et al., 2018; Misra et al., 2020, 2022). A large variety of dimensions and antecedents of adoption were developed, and their predictive potential was evaluated in order to explain the behavioral intentions of consumers who use e-commerce sites (Suh and Han, 2003; Wei et al., 2018). The previous studies show that trust is one of the most important dimensions that affect how individuals perceive things and conduct online transactions (Sfenrianto et al., 2018; Yu et al., 2022). The activities and behavior of suppliers in an online market are highly unexpected, and they are beyond the control of consumers, which makes it extremely risky for consumers to purchase from or engage in any trade with a supplier. This leads to the avoidance of online markets for shopping (Chawla and Kumar, 2022). However, trust is found to be the most effective way of eliminating the consumers’ doubts and develop loyalty towards e-commerce (Hou, 2019; Siciliani et al. 2019). According to Zhao et al. (2020), trust is more necessary in online trades than in physical transactions, because both parties, which include buyers and suppliers, are uncertain about trades, contracts, and assurances. It is, therefore, essential to comprehend trust and the factors that influence it for the development of e-commerce. The technology acceptance model (TAM), the unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology (UTAUT), the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the theory of reasoned actions (TRA), and the expectation confirmation theory were used in pursuit of understanding how well technological and sociological components work in regards to developing trusting beliefs in an e-commerce setting the previous studies theoretical frameworks (Zhao et al., 2020; Misra et al. 2022). Despite the availability of academic literature on understanding the impact of trust on consumers’ beliefs and attitudes (Singh et al., 2020), there is a lack of this type of academic literature in the context of e-commerce (Lin and Lu, 2000; Suh and Han, 2003; Levine, 2019).
A few gaps were accordingly identified in order to streamline the current research, which are based on the current academic literature on the impact of trust on consumers’ beliefs in the context of e-commerce. First, past studies considered trust as one of the antecedents of a user’s perception along with other technological, behavioral, and social factors (Han and Li, 2020; Misra et al., 2022). The researchers included perceived trust in order to explain a single aspect of a consumer’s trust perception due to this. For example, few studies only discussed privacy concerns while using a new service or technology (Hajli, 2019; Sinha and Singh, 2019). Others discussed the ethical and moral issues that may influence trust (Aeron et al., 2019; Chawla and Kumar, 2022). Furthermore, some studies explained the consumers’ views on data misuse that affected their intention to use e-commerce (Bandara et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2020; Agrebi et al., 2022). There are only a few studies, to the best of our knowledge, that included trust as a main variable and elaborated on various dimensions of trust, particularly in an e-commerce context. Second, most of the findings among the previous trust-based studies were found to be descriptive in nature, which generally discussed the researchers’ views, privacy policies, and awareness level, or they were literature reviews that assessed the nature and dimensions of trust (Levine, 2019; Bandara et al., 2020; Chawla and Kumar, 2022). However, a few studies suggested certain antecedents of trust or distrust, which included information quality, word of mouth, perceived readability, consumers’ regulatory expectations, transparency, and security protection (Ermakova et al., 2014; Featherman and Hajli, 2016. Moreover, these types of studies are scattered and limited to one or few dimensions. Nevertheless, the authors of the present study found the study by Suh and Han (2003) to be significant, because the authors outlined various elements of the consumers’ perceptions and awareness about security controls, such as authenticity, confidentiality, privacy, and information integrity, which influence the trust and usage of e-commerce sites. The present study is influenced by Suh and Han’s (2003) (Enaizan et al., 2020) findings, and this research extends their study by adding the consumers’ perceptions about other aspects that are related to awareness about privacy and secondary data usage in an Indian context. Third, our study further contributes to the academic literature by comparing the trusting beliefs of varied consumers based on their demographics, which include gender, age, and frequency of use of e-commerce platforms. The present study offers important theoretical and practical implications because there are very few studies in this specific context (Yoon and Occena, 2015; Han and Li, 2020).
Conceptual model
Figure 1 describes the conceptual model of the study. The study proposes the direct effect of awareness about privacy protection, information confidentiality, preventing unauthorized secondary data usage, and perceived information integrity on the consumer’s trusting beliefs. The study further examines the mediating effect of trusting beliefs and the moderating effect of gender, age, and frequency of use of consumers on the proposed relationships.
Awareness about privacy protection: privacy policies guided by e-commerce sites are clear and understood by the customers; perceived information confidentiality: consumers belief their personal data to be protected by e commerce website from unauthorised access, storage, or manipulation; preventive unauthorised secondary data usage: customers concern about secondary usage of their personal data without their consent; information integrity: buyer confidence that an e-service provider is competent, trustworthy, and will keep the transaction’s commitment; trusting belief: trusting belief is an understanding of privacy protection policies led by the company and self-regulatory mechanisms by the customer; behavioural intention: Behavioural intention refers to a customer’s inclination or readiness to engage in a specific online shopping behaviour.
Awareness about privacy protection (Awareness) and trusting beliefs (Trust)
The research on privacy has recently become an important topic in the field of information systems as a result of the expansion of personal data collecting by Internet corporations and numerous data breaches (Harborth and Pape, 2020). According to the theoretical framework of the SCT, the study posits that any misuse of the users’ information constitutes a breach of the psychological agreement between the users and the service (Hoffman et al., 1999). This breach has significant consequences because it undermines the users’ trust and influences their behavior (Malhotra and Kubowicz Malhotra, 2011). This leads to the need for privacy protection standards that ensure that the users’ personal information that is collected from online interactions can’t be shared without their knowledge and/or approval, which indicates virtual agreement among both parties (Kim et al., 2021; Alonso-Garcia et al., 2023). Studies following ET observed that privacy protection statements are one of the significant factors that influence consumer trust with websites (Esmaeilzadeh, 2020). According to the ET, a clear and transparent privacy policy increases consumers’ trust, which in turn reduces privacy concerns and significantly influences decisions. Callanan et al. (2016) stated that users with high awareness about privacy policies are found to be more inclined towards using online services. If privacy policies are clear and understood, customers feel secure entering into a virtual agreement with high trust (Bandara et al., 2020). However, privacy concerns due to a limited understanding of privacy policies might, on the other hand, have a negative impact due to a breach of the social contract. This causes individuals to respond negatively as a result of diminished levels of trust when asked for personal information in an online setting (Adhikari and Panda, 2018). The following hypothesis is proposed, which is based on the arguments above.
H1: Awareness about privacy protection has a positive impact on trusting beliefs.
Perceived information confidentiality (Confidentiality) and trusting beliefs
Perceived information confidentiality is defined as the subjective probability that consumers believe that their personal information will not be viewed, stored, or manipulated during transit or storage by inappropriate parties (Sarkar et al., 2020). According to the SCT, e-commerce platforms enable a virtual agreement between the platform and users, which has implicit and explicit terms and conditions (Malhotra and Kubowicz Malhotra, 2011). There are social and moral obligations to protect the users’ privacy and data confidentiality, which affect the users’ trust and usage of a service if breached (Callanan et al., 2016). Confidentiality breaches occur when someone controls the dissemination of information that another person wants to keep private. (Adhikari and Panda, 2018). It relates to the security aspect of private information that is stored in databases, which “restricts the information flow in terms of what is externalized and who gets to see it” (Tawalbeh et al., 2020). Research indicates that the assessment of users’ trust is significantly influenced by the level of information confidentiality (Sarkar et al., 2020). The economic theory indicates that enhancing consumer trust is widely recognized as a crucial aspect, whereas the implementation of technical protections and a heightened level of authentication assurance can contribute to its improvement (Kim et al., 2010).
Concerns for confidentiality usually occur at the stage where private data has been disclosed and stored in a database. Hattingh et al. (2015) observed a lack of perceived confidentiality as a barrier to using the service. The level of access to the consumers’ sensitive private data may influence the users’ actions. Full access may have a negative effect from a confidentiality point of view (Malhotra and Kubowicz Malhotra, 2011). On the other hand, an additional layer of security and regulatory frameworks of confidentiality may positively influence trust and enhance the users’ purchases from these websites (Tawalbeh et al., 2020). The existing literature on SCT and ET suggests that customers tend to have a greater sense of trust in the security of their personal information when measures are in place in order to prevent unauthorized access and secure sensitive data (Zhu et al., 2020). Secure information sharing is expected to have a positive impact on trust in a collaborative environment (Ghondaghsaz et al., 2022). The following hypothesis is proposed, which is based on the arguments above.
H2: Perceived information confidentiality has a positive impact on trusting beliefs
Preventing unauthorized secondary data usage (PUSDU) and trusting beliefs
Users are concerned about unauthorized access to personal information due to security vulnerabilities or a lack of data security policies (Eastin et al., 2016). The threat of secondary use or the reuse of their personal information for unrelated purposes without their knowledge is the issue that agitates customers (Chen and Liu, 2015). Secondary data usage (SDU) includes disclosing to third parties what belongs to different parties/businesses when the customer provides their personal information. An SDU also involves combining a consumer’s transaction data and other personal information in order to build a profile (Khan, 2016). The literature proves both the unauthorized sale of their private information to third parties and the misuse of their personal data as main barriers to the users’ using the service (Tawalbeh et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2020). Studies confirmed the negative association between ambiguous privacy policy dimensions and the users’ trust, which indicates the need for a transparent policy framework in order to enhance trust in the system (Sarkar et al., 2020). According to Esmaeilzadeh (2020), a clear policy on preventing secondary data and third-party usage is likely to convince users to share the right amount of information in order to meet the needs of the providers. This is possible when the users’ trust the system to offer transparent privacy policies (ET) and agree to the terms (Kim et al., 2021).
Studies that follow the SCT explain that when users experience dishonesty, which includes the unauthorized or illegal secondary use of their personal and sensitive information, they may predict that relying on the system is not wise (Markos et al., 2023). This reduces their trust, which will lead them to remain dishonest in regards to exchanging the correct information in the future, or it may cause them to discontinue the usage of the services (Meinert et al., 2006). The customers’ decisions to transact in the world of e-commerce are influenced by data vulnerability, which provides the key mechanism in regard to preventing and eliminating potential unauthorized secondary data usage that could increase their trust (Chen and Liu, 2015). The following hypothesis is proposed based on these arguments.
H3: Preventing unauthorized secondary data usage will have a positive impact on trusting beliefs.
Information integrity and trusting beliefs
Another key concept in e-commerce security is information integrity. Integrity reflects “the buyer’s confidence that an e-service provider is knowledgeable and trustworthy and will uphold the terms of the transaction’s commitment” (Hang and Kim, 2019; Alonso-Garcia et al., 2023). Credibility, consistency, dependability, and reliability are the elements of integrity belief (Bandara et al., 2020; Özbölük and Akdoğan, 2022). SCT, which is based on a core ethical principle of privacy and security (Rinta-Kahila and Soliman, 2017), explains it by associating it with information security and commitment towards a contract. Information security is based on the three fundamental dimensions of information quality, which include integrity, availability, and confidentiality. Integrity ensures information authenticity among these (Loch et al., 1992). ET explains the concept of information integrity in a business context from a formal and legal standpoint, which pertains to the protection against unauthorized modifications or the deletion of information with a primary focus on guaranteeing the authenticity of the information (Markos et al., 2023). If firms fail with this, the ramifications of this may have a detrimental impact on the integrity and trustworthiness of the online service (Meinert et al., 2006). According to previous studies, users are more willing to trust online businesses that have strong data integrity policies. (Bandara et al., 2020; Markos et al., 2023). Information integrity, which includes information that is accurate, current, and relevant, helps in order to lower the levels of perceived ambiguity and risk that are associated with an e-commerce transaction (Meinert et al., 2006; Misra et al., 2022). According to Özbölük and Akdoğan (2022), the reliability of online sources has a significant role in regard to shaping customers’ trusting beliefs. We contend, in view of this, that information integrity and trust beliefs have a positive relationship.
H4: Information integrity has a positive impact on trusting beliefs.
Trusting beliefs and behavioral intention to use (BI)
Online trust has drawn a lot of attention in numerous consumer behavior studies, particularly in the context of SCT and ET (Siciliani et al., 2019; Markos et al., 2023). It is the product of several privacy and security aspects of service. It is imperative to comprehend the concerns that arise between service providers and users regarding privacy and to address these concerns by ensuring integrity and confidentiality, which is the social contract theory. It is additionally crucial to promote transparency within the system by establishing and validating privacy rules, which is the economic theory. This helps in regards to building trust (Chawla and Kumar, 2022), which in turn enhances consumer usage of a service (Palvia, 2009).
Trust is crucial in e-commerce because it minimizes the perceptions of risk and uncertainty and increases the likelihood that people will make purchases (Chang and Chen, 2008; Lăzăroiu et al., 2020; Özbölük and Akdoğan, 2022). Consumers are generally more vulnerable to product or service uncertainty, specifically in an online environment (Yap et al., 2021). According to prior research, trust has a negative impact on perceived risk (Kim et al., 2009; Lăzăroiu et al., 2020), but it has a favorable impact on attitudes toward online buying (Palvia, 2009). The unauthorized use of personal data, the compromise of data integrity, and the violation of information confidentiality are regarded as violations of the social contract (Xu et al., 2005). These breaches consequently have a detrimental impact on trust, which result in a state of skepticism and distrust among customers. This state of distrust poses challenges in regards to establishing online trust, and it indicates a lack of willingness to participate in the process (Head and Hassanein, 2002; Santo and Marques, 2021).
On the other hand, privacy protection policies and self-regulatory mechanisms build consumers’ trust beliefs (Xu et al., 2005), which reduce uncertainty, foster loyalty through word-of-mouth, and positively affect the consumers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions towards making online purchases (Santo and Marques, 2021). Özbölük and Akdoğan (2022) believe that the perceived trustworthiness of consumers towards source credibility has a favorable impact on consumer purchasing decisions. Creating trust in e-commerce might increase a user’s attitude and behavioral intention toward using a specific website for purchases (Raman, 2019). The customers’ trust and favorable attitude toward a certain web shop are positively correlated with their intention to use this type of web store (Raman, 2019). The following hypothesis is proposed based on these arguments.
H5: Trusting beliefs have a positive impact on behavioral intention to use.
Moderating impact of gender
The previous research witnessed that gender significantly influences the behavior of users towards privacy and security concerns that influence their usage patterns, preferences, and general web accessibility (Correa, 2016; Molinillo et al., 2021). According to the research, male users are more comfortable using ICT and managing privacy and security-related issues (Meng et al., 2021). Further, the concerns related to privacy and data confidentiality are found to be more prevalent among female users in the context of digital and electronic services (Molinillo et al., 2021). Women are shown to be less inclined than men in regard to divulge personal information, such as phone numbers and addresses (Chi and Han, 2021; Meng et al., 2021). Further, women are found to be more concerned with privacy protection behavior and the sharing of personal information than men, which indicates low awareness and low trust among women consumers towards privacy norms with online services (Hoy and Milne, 2010; Shao et al., 2019). A recent study demonstrated that both genders are willing to share the same amount of information, however, males were shown to be substantially more concerned with cyberattacks (Zwilling et al., 2022).
According to Merhi et al. (2021), trust is an important consideration in the context of electronic markets due to the inherent risk and privacy concerns associated with these platforms. User’s trust may get affected by the data breach or unauthorized issues linked with payments and other transactions. According to previous studies, male and female buyers perceive and behave differently when assessed on personal information control, which is due to the growing relevance of e-commerce and privacy protection behaviors (Ghouse et al., 2022). This may have a different influence on their trusting beliefs. According to past studies, women read privacy policies more than men, and they can have better controlled behavior (Sheehan and Hoy, 1999). In contrast, a recent investigation found that men exhibit a larger predisposition towards accepting surveillance and engaging in privacy protection measures than women, hence having high trust in more sensitive online applications like banking (Balapour et al., 2020; Merhi et al., 2021). It is further suggested that male customers possess a heightened need in regards to monitoring and place greater trust in these types of practices (Ioannou and Tussyadiah, 2021). The following hypotheses are proposed, which are based on these arguments.
H6a: The relationship between awareness about privacy protection and trusting beliefs is significantly different by gender.
H6b: The relationship between perceived information confidentiality and trusting beliefs is significantly different by gender.
H6c: The relationship between preventing unauthorized secondary data usage and trusting beliefs is significantly different by gender.
H6d: The relationship between information integrity and trusting beliefs is significantly different by gender.
H6e: The relationship between trusting beliefs and behavioral intention to use is significantly different by gender.
Moderating impact of age
Since the younger generation grew up in the digital era, they might have greater levels of faith in online resources and technology. They frequently have more experience with conducting digital transactions and disclosing personal information online (Herrando et al., 2019). As per recent studies young people’s digital interaction is increasing year after year. Social networking sites play an important part in their personal and professional interactions, and they have a high percentage of digital abilities (Herrando et al., 2019; Meng et al., 2021; Nghiêm-Phú, 2022). Younger and older age groups differ significantly in their perceptions, motivations, interests, and attitudes (Shin and Kang, 2016; Manosuthi et al., 2020; Meng et al., 2021; Untaru and Han, 2021) towards digital technology. According to Meng et al. (2021), individuals belonging to the younger demographic exhibit a notable level of self-assurance in their ability to effectively navigate a diverse range of information and communications technology (ICT) duties. Younger cohorts are found to be more proficient in various computer and internet-related tasks like office applications, active involvement in several brand communities, and a comprehensive comprehension of the complexities that are associated with online shopping (Castillo de Mesa et al., 2020). Certain research suggests that older cohorts exhibit lower levels of confidence when it comes to disseminating content and safeguarding the privacy of the content that they publish (Poon, 2008; Malik et al., 2016). The older generation is more concerned about information sharing, particularly in the context of e-banking services (Poon, 2008). Ethical principles and legal frameworks are critical in protecting information confidentiality for older individuals (Chung et al., 2016). Younger persons, on the other hand, demonstrate lower levels of anxiety in terms of privacy-related concerns, and they exhibit an elevated level of confidence with respect to posting content on social media as well as making payments in online shopping (Lissitsa and Kol, 2021). Previous studies also reported that increased Internet use and active participation in a variety of online activities, like online shopping, result in positive attitudes and higher levels of trustworthiness toward the Internet (Santo and Marques, 2021; Castillo‐Abdul et al., 2022). This is most likely due to young users being typically more engaged and active in a variety of Internet activities, such as sharing photos and videos, playing online games, sharing online shopping experiences, and participating in various forms of social networking and online forms of communication (Muscanell and Guadagno, 2012; Ghazali et al., 2016). The previous studies additionally show that younger users are more knowledgeable about privacy-related issues (Lissitsa and Kol, 2021), and they also discuss ICT-related issues and subjects with their peers (Malik et al., 2016). The following hypotheses are built on the preceding arguments:
H7a: The relationship between awareness about privacy protection and trusting beliefs is significantly different by age group.
H7b: The relationship between perceived information confidentiality and trusting beliefs is significantly different by age group.
H7c: The relationship between preventing unauthorized secondary data usage and trusting beliefs is significantly different by age group.
H7d: The relationship between perceived information integrity and trusting beliefs is significantly different by age group.
H7e: The relationship between trusting beliefs and behavioral intention to use is significantly different by age group.
Moderating impact of frequency of use
The three factors that influence the adoption of security and privacy technologies are knowledge and experience derived from frequent usage, awareness of security threats, and motivation to use security tools (Kang et al., 2015). Individuals who use digital platforms frequently are more conversant and at ease with digital technologies. The frequency of engagement in digital transactions might aid in a sense of trusting belief (Merhi et al., 2021).
The frequency of use is regarded as a behavioral variable that can be influenced by the characteristics of a platform and its perceived value (Molinillo et al., 2021). However, further studies also indicated that users’ views may evolve with time due to high use and interactions with the service (Amin et al., 2008; Aldas-Manzano et al., 2011). As people get more Internet expertise, their concerns about online information privacy may lessen. This is due to growing awareness about online privacy practices (Wu et al., 2020).
It is also demonstrated that a strong relationship exists between trust and Internet use as well as prior Internet experience (Molinillo et al., 2021). Studies also claim that the usage and familiarity with computers are both favorably correlated with their ICT self-efficacy, which in turn enhances trusting beliefs and more confidence towards privacy and data usage (Tondeur et al., 2011). Contrary to a previous study, Aldas-Manzano et al. (2011) discovered that frequent use can diminish the impact of trust on consumer behavior. This occurs because consumers may rely more on their own experiences rather than trust when perceiving benefits. According to Efe (2015), students who frequently utilize the Internet demonstrate enhanced levels of self-efficacy and comprehension of online security norms. According to Carlson and O’Cass (2011), a positive correlation exists between the frequency of Internet usage and confidence in privacy standards and the ability to use online services. More Internet-savvy users were more inclined to change their social media site privacy settings (Malik et al., 2016; Radic et al., 2022a). The more knowledgeable and frequent the Internet users are, the more concerned they are with privacy and security policy. Users who are knowledgeable about cyber and other data security challenges will devote more time to understanding data security strategies such as safeguarding personal information, refraining from visiting specific websites, and identifying fake information (Öğütçü et al., 2016). The following hypotheses are postulated based on these arguments.
H8a: The relationship between awareness about privacy protection and trusting beliefs is significantly different by frequency of use.
H8b: The relationship between perceived information confidentiality and trusting beliefs is significantly different by frequency of use.
H8c: The relationship between preventing unauthorized secondary data usage and trusting beliefs is significantly different by frequency of use.
H8d: The relationship between perceived information integrity and trusting beliefs is significantly different by frequency of use.
H8e: The relationship between trusting beliefs and behavioral intention to use is significantly different by frequency of use.
