A study of the roles of trusts and risks in information-oriented online legal services using an integrated model

This study examined the effect of the four constructs – trust in online media, trust in online services, perceived risk with online media, and perceived risk with online services – on the use of information-oriented online legal services. Using past theories on adoption studies, a three-level framework was developed. This framework helped to formulate a new research model. A quantitative survey was conducted to identify the important factors affecting the intention of customers to adopt information-oriented online legal services in Hong Kong. Findings indicated that there is a hierarchical relationship among the four constructs. Perceived usefulness was the most important belief that drove people to adopt the online services. Perceived risk and trust were less important at present, probably because online legal services are still somewhat immature and mainly focus on less risky areas, such as information dissemination and marketing.