Precursors of trust in virtual health communities: A hierarchical investigation

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52 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Lack of trust can have a negative influence on consumers’ willingness to share and adopt information in virtual health communities. However, not much is known about factors that influence the development of trust in such communities. This paper examined precursors of trust in virtual health communities. Data were collected from 361 users of virtual health community sites in South Africa. Structural equation modelling using version 23 of AMOS was used to analyse the data. The findings show that information usefulness, community responsiveness and shared vision have significant influence on consumers’ overall trust in health-related virtual communities. The findings, however, show differences in the extent to which precursor variables influence different dimensions of overall trust. The study provides insights that can help managers of such sites to effectively foster the development of trust in their communities.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)686-694
Number of pages9
JournalInformation and Management
Volume55
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2018

Keywords

  • Community responsiveness
  • Information usefulness
  • Shared vision
  • Trust
  • Virtual health community

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Management Information Systems
  • Information Systems
  • Information Systems and Management

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