An empirical study on the adoption of consumer-to-consumer E-commerce: Integrating the UTAUT model and the initial trust model

With the ever-increasing internet penetration in Ghana, e-commerce development seems to be on the ascendency. However, users are reluctant to patronize these online sites due to the lack of trust. While literature is inundated with numerous B2B and B2C e-commerce studies, little is known about C2C e-commerce. Thus, our study contributes to the e-commerce literature, seeking to extend knowledge by integrating the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model with the Initial Trust Model (ITM) to explore user adoption of C2C e-commerce in an emerging market. Data was collected from 193 university students who have had some experience with some Ghanaian C2C websites and analyzed using the Partial Least Squares approach to Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results from the model showed that Performance Expectancy had the most significant effect on Behavioral Intention, followed by Trust. Behavioral Intention was also found to significantly predict Actual Usage. In all, our model accounted for about 51% of the variability in Actual Use. The proposed model is useful in understanding trust in the C2C context. Results from this work could inform strategies to be taken by these C2C websites to attract visitors to such websites.