Risk, trust, and the interaction of perceived ease of use and behavioral control in predicting consumers’ use of social media for transactions

There has been continued debate regarding competing models with respect to predicting use of social networking services. In this research the authors conceptualize and empirically test a model that combines constructs from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) together along with (1) a moderator between the two models, (2) perceived risk, and (3) trust. The empirical results support the hypothesis that perceived ease of use (from TAM theory) significantly amplifies (positively moderates) the effect of perceived behavioral control (from TPB theory) on intention to use the social networks for transactions. In short, there are benefits to integrating concepts from the two models instead of choosing one model over the other in research and practice. The results also indicate that perceived risk and trust play significant roles as antecedents in consumer decision making, and that risk-taking propensity has a direct effect on behavioral intention.