From virtual community members to C2C e-commerce buyers: Trust in virtual communities and its effect on consumers’ purchase intention

In China, major C2C websites are focusing on increasing their customer bases by converting members of their virtual communities (VCs) into C2C buyers and sellers. This phenomenon is called e-commerce based on social networks (ENS). The current research analyzes what factors affect trust building among VC members and how this trust influences the trust in the C2C website or vendor. We propose and empirically test a model of trust in VCs based on the trust formation mechanism. Using data collected from Taobao Virtual Community, we show that familiarity, perceived similarity, structural assurance, and trust propensity are important antecedents to trust in members in VCs. Analyses of the two kinds of trust show that trust in members’ ability significantly affects three dimensions of trust in the vendor/website in terms of ability, integrity, and benevolence. In addition, trust in members’ integrity and benevolence stimulates the purchase intention and trust in the vendor/website’s ability positively affects the intention to get information and the purchase intention.