The Mediation Effect Of Perceived Risk In The Relationship Between Perceived Ease Of Use, Perceived Cost, Social Influence And Perceived Trust And Attitude Towards Online Grocery Shopping
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Abstract
Purpose: This article examines the mediation of perceived risk between perceived ease of use, perceived cost, social influence and perceived trust on consumer attitudes towards online grocery shopping adoption in the South African Gauteng Province. Methodology: Using an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the study adopted a quantitative cross-sectional survey approach, with data collected from 507 respondents aged between 18 and 60 years. Findings: Results suggest complex patterns of mediation that counter assumptions surrounding the universal role of perceived risk in technology acceptance. Findings suggest that perceived risk partially mediates the links between perceived ease of use and attitude, and between perceived cost and attitude, with the cost-attitude link showing 36% direct effect due to risk perceptions. However, in contrast to our expectations, perceived risk did not mediate the effects of social influence and perceived trust on attitude. Social influence had a significant direct effect on attitudes and only 3% of the variance was explained by risk perceptions but not perceive trust which appeared that it played mainly through its indirect effects. Implications: These findings suggest that the mediating function of perceived risk is selective and context-dependent in emerging markets. This study contributes to the extant literature on technology acceptance by emphasizing the contextualized nature of mediation effects and offers implications for practitioners in online grocery retailing aiming to increase adoption rates in emerging markets. Originality: By empirically validating the contextual dependency of risk mediation within the extended Technology Acceptance Model, the study advances theoretical discourse and provides actionable insights for online retailers in developing economies.
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