The Relationship Between Intention to Use, Popularity Information About a Technology, and Trust in Predecessors and Vendors

Perceived uncertainty is a major trigger for herd behavior. Trust is also known to have a key role on decision making under conditions of uncertainty. This research contributes to the literature by examining the role trust plays in the context of herd behavior. The analysis shows that under conditions of uncertainty, receiving popularity information about a technology (as the experimental manipulation) substantially strengthens the relationship between end user trust in predecessors and their behavioral intention toward using the technology. In contrast, receiving popularity information significantly weakens the relationship between trust in vendor and behavioral intention. Furthermore, the effect size of the trust-related constructs on behavioral intention was found to be large, and so indicative of its substantial influence on decision making in uncertain circumstances.