Understanding the effects of trust and risk on individual behavior toward social media platforms: A meta-analysis of the empirical evidence

Trust and risk have been theorized and empirically approved as the most influential factors affecting individual behavior toward social media platforms (SMPs). However, the evidence is scattered and the understanding of the effects is ambiguous. To address this problem, a rigorous and quantitative meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the empirical evidence of 43 studies in information systems research between 2006 and 2014. The findings suggested that trust and risk both had significant effects on individual behavior toward SMPs but that trust had a stronger effect. Moderating effects of trust objects (community members vs. platforms) and platform types (virtual communities vs. social networking sites) were found. Surprisingly, culture was found to exert no moderating effect. This paper contributes more generalized knowledge to social media research literature to the theory with regard to the influence of trust and risk on individual behavior toward SMPs. The knowledge serves as the foundation for future research efforts in social media. Implications for practice are discussed.