Why are strangers trusted more during trade fairs? A literature review on the conceptual model of general trust formation

Purpose Considering that low-level general trust may hinder communication, this study aims to detect the factors that can influence general trust between exhibitors and visitors during business-to-business trade fairs. Design/methodology/approach Based on a literature review and stakeholders’ behavior analysis, a conceptual model of general trust formation between exhibitors and visitors is proposed. Findings The preconditions of strangers’ general trust patterns mainly include their early experience regarding trust, institutional trust in the environment and trust propensity. Stakeholders’ treatment, trust transfer, on-site restraints, reward and punishment expansion and on-site personnel arrangement may facilitate the formation of general trust between exhibitors and visitors. Research limitations/implications This paper is a conceptual article that requires further investigation to verify the main factors that influence general trust and the impact of general trust on other trust components between exhibitors and visitors. Practical implications Organizers, exhibitors and visitors should pay attention to participants’ selection, supervision, self-discipline and personnel management before and during trade fairs. International and small-scale, especially new trade fairs in developed and developing countries, must consider additional measures to improve general trust. Originality/value The existing literature has not focused on general trust in the trade fair context. In this paper, research on network and relationship marketing is further deepened in terms of a specific trust type. The interactions between stakeholders before and during fair may promote general trust among participants than in other settings, which partially explains why trade fair (even other two-sided markets) can increase social capital.

Is COVID-19 threatening electoral democracy in Uganda? Readiness to accept “scientific voting” (electronic voting) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the readiness of Ugandans to accept electronic voting under the restrictive conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach A semi-structured questionnaire, built on a five-point-Likert scale with responses ranging from 1 – strongly disagree to 5 – strongly agree was used to get quantifiable data from four main electoral stakeholders i.e. the policymakers, urban and semi-urban youth, rural voters and government officials. These stakeholders were purposively and conveniently selected because of the influential roles they play in promoting electoral democracy in Uganda. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the authors adopted correlational and quantitative research designs to collect and analyse data. Data was collected from a maximum sample size of 384 as recommended by Krejcie and Morgan (1970) from which 252 useful responses (65.6% response rate) were obtained. Using a statistical package for social scientists version 21.0, the authors performed a Pearson correlation coefficient to determine the relationships between study variables and linear regression analysis to predict the readiness of the stakeholders to accept e-voting more especially under the constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings There was a positive significant relationship between perceived usefulness (PU) and attitude towards adoption, perceived ease of use and attitude towards adoption, attitude and readiness and finally trust propensity and readiness. The regression results show that 65% of the variations in readiness to adopt e-voting can be explained by perceived ease of use, PU, trust propensity and attitude towards adoption. Attitude towards adopting e-voting accounts for the highest variations in the model followed by trust propensity and finally PU. However, perceived ease of use was found to be insignificant. Research limitations/implications The study was limited to only PU, perceived ease of use, trust propensity, attitudes towards using/adoption and readiness to accept e-voting amidst the COVID-19 strict conditions. In Africa, electoral democracy can be influenced by a number of factors such as finances, education levels, sectarianism, voter rigging, perceived risk, political and economic environment. These were not taken into consideration yet they would affect the stakeholders’ attitudes and perceptions which would directly or indirectly affect the adoption of electronic voting. Practical implications Given the low levels of technology infrastructure in the country, there is a general low uptake of technology-oriented systems. The internet reach is low and quality is poor whilst the radio and televisions network is limited to a few urban settings, poor quality technology systems such as the recently acquired voter biometric systems and the constant government actions to switch off the internet and social media whenever there are contentious political issues. These inadequacies together with the restrictive COVID-19 conditions have compromised the participation of stakeholders which dents the stakeholders’ readiness to accept e-voting which consequently compromises electoral democracy in the country. Therefore, government, electoral observers, the international community and civil society organizations need to accelerate the technology infrastructure development in the country, training and development of technical skills and competences, as well as mass mobilization on the use of technology-oriented platforms aimed at promoting electoral democracy. The country should come up with ICT policies and regulations that encourage the use of ICT in areas that promote democracy. These may include; the use of an easy e-voting system such as emails and voting via the post office. Also, Lawmakers, civil society organizations and the international community should make it punitive for anyone who disenfranchises people through internet disconnection, denial of access to broadcast, print and online media. These interventions will restore peoples’ attitudes and perceptions towards electronic voting, consequently increasing their levels of participation in the electioneering process. Originality/value The Ministry of Health, the Uganda Police Force and other security agencies have come out strongly to enforce the COVID-19 standard operating procedures which among others include the banning of political gatherings, processions and meetings of any kind. As a remedy, the Electoral Commission is encouraging political parties, electoral candidates, voters and other stakeholders to use technology-oriented systems such as mobile phones, broadcast and print media, the internet and others to reach out to the electorate. With the government in full control of all these electronic, print and broadcast media, having previously switched them off during the 2011 and 2016 polls consequently disenfranchising many people from their democratic rights, it remains unknown the extent to which the electorate is ready to accept and appreciate scientific voting more so during this time when restrictions against COVID-19 are not making it any better for the voters and other key participants to carry out their political and civil activities.

The Relationship Between Patients’ Perceived Health Status and Trust Propensity and Privacy Calculus

Background: Patients need peace of mind to disclose their information to medical staff and with the lack of trust or in specific health status, they may avoid providing sensitive information for their care or might change the information. This research was done to examine the impact of perceived health status and trust propensity on privacy calculus. Methods: In this analytical research three questionnaires, namely Trust Propensity, Health Status (Goldberg and Hiller), and Privacy Calculus were used. The statistical population consisted of the patients of one of the Ahvaz hospitals. Following sample size determination using the Morgan table, 379 usable questionnaires were collected non-randomly. The majority of respondents were younger than 30 and male. After face, content, and construct validities, the reliability was examined through Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability and the hypotheses were examined by partial least square method, using SmartPLS. Results: Patients’ privacy calculus was associated with trust propensity and perceived health status (P<0.05), while trust propensity had no correlation with perceived advantages and disadvantages of privacy disclosure. The relationship between perceived health status and advantages and disadvantages of information disclosure was positively significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: In order to improve patients’ provision of rich information to medical staff, their trust propensity should be improved.

EXPRESS: Trust Propensity across Cultures: The Role of Collectivism

Does collectivism influence an individual's willingness to trust others? Conflicting empirical results from past research and the role of trust in international marketing make this question important to resolve. We investigate this question across cultures and at the individual level with four studies using multiple methods. Study 1 establishes correlational evidence between societal-level collectivism and individual-level trust propensity with results from a multi-level analysis of data from over 6,000 respondents in 36 different countries. Study 2 offers an individual-level analysis using the trust game, introducing a more rigorous behavioral outcome variable. Study 3 contributes causal evidence at the individual level based on experiments in both the US and China and offers evidence of social projection as the explanatory mechanism. Finally, Study 4 demonstrates managerial relevance by using advertising to prime collectivism and assessing its effect on trust in the firm.

Tourism Corporate Social Responsibility Effects on Purchase Intention during Covid-19: Mediating Role of Trust and Moderating Role of Trust Propensity

Though the pyramid model of corporate social responsibility, the paper classified tourism corporate social responsibility into economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical responsibility, charitable responsibility and environmental responsibility. With the COVID-19 epidemic as the background, based on 250 questionnaire data, the paper proposed a structural equation model that explore the impact mechanism of tourism corporate social responsibility on tourist purchase intention during the COVID-19 epidemic. The mediation effect of trust was examined in the model. And the question whether trust propensity plays a moderating role was answered. The results of experimental studies revealed that: First, the economic responsibility, ethical responsibility and charitable responsibility have a significant positive effect on tourist purchase intention during the epidemic period. Second, trust plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between tourism corporate social responsibility and tourist purchase intention. Third, trust propensity has no moderating effect on the relationship between tourism corporate social responsibility and tourist purchase intention. Suggestions for tourism enterprises was put forwarded: except ensuring the quality of tourism products, enterprises should take corporate social responsibility into consideration of the long-term management decisions. Especially in the event of major events (COVID-19), it is more important to show the responsibility of enterprises.

Intention to recommend products in virtual communities: A moderated mediation analysis

Users' product recommendations in virtual communities (VCs) play an important role in social commerce, that is, e-commerce activities and transactions made via the social media environment. We proposed a moderated mediation model based on social exchange theory, to explore the role of effects of belonging to VCs, guanxi capital, and trust propensity on users' intention to recommend products in VCs. We tested the model with 317 members of WeChat groups in China. The results show that guanxi capital positively mediated the link between sense of belonging and intention to recommend. Further, the relationships between sense of belonging and guanxi capital, guanxi capital and intention to recommend, and sense of belonging and intention to recommend were all significantly moderated by trust propensity. Our findings provide insight into users' decision-making process when recommending products in VCs, and have implications for social commerce managers promoting products in VCs.

The Mediating Role of Organizational Reputation and Trust in the Intention to Use Wearable Health Devices: Cross-Country Study

Background The use of consumer wearable health devices for fitness tracking has seen an upward trend across the globe. Previous studies have shown that trust is an important factor in the adoption and use of new technologies. However, little is known about the influence of organizational reputation and trust on the intention to use wearable health devices. Objective This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of organizational reputation and trust in the intention to use wearable health devices and to examine the extent to which the country of residence influenced the effect of organizational reputation on consumers’ trust in and intention to use wearable health devices. Methods We conducted a cross-country survey with participants from Kenya and South Africa using a Google Forms questionnaire derived from previously validated items. A series of mediation regression analyses were carried out using the PROCESS macro with the bootstrap CI procedure. A one-way, between-group multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was also used to determine the key factors that distinguish Kenyans and South Africans in their intention to use wearable health devices. Results A total of 232 questionnaire responses were collected. The results revealed that organizational reputation significantly mediates the relationship between trust propensity and trust, with an indirect effect of 0.22 (95% CI 0.143-0.309). Organizational reputation also plays a significant direct role in the intention to use a wearable health device, with a direct effect of 0.32 (95% CI 0.175-0.483). This role is regardless of participants’ country of residence. Furthermore, there is a significant mediating effect of trust on the relationship between trust propensity and the intention to use a wearable health device, with an indirect effect of 0.26 (95% CI 0.172-0.349); between perceived security and the intention to use a wearable health device, with an indirect effect of 0.36 (95% CI 0.255-0.461); and between perceived privacy and the intention to use a wearable health device, with an indirect effect of 0.42 (95% CI 0.282-0.557). The MANOVA test shows statistically significant differences in all variables for both groups, with the exception of organizational reputation where there is no significant difference between the two cohorts. Conclusions Organizational reputation has a significant direct influence on participants’ trust in and the intention to use a wearable health device irrespective of their country of residence. Even in the presence of perceived security and perceived privacy, trust has a significant mediating effect on the intention to use a wearable health device.