The Psychological Influences of Threat on B2C E-commerce Adoption: An Extended Study and Explanatory Framework

Abstract

In order to better understand how internet users actually decide to conduct business transactions or related activities in a B2C e-commerce environment, this article adds a new lens of study by investigating the roles of Threat Appraisal (TA) and Perceived Coping Appraisal (PCA) from the end user's perspective. Based on established academic theories and relevant industrial practices, it is suggested that TA and PCA are critical behavioral components influencing the user's intentions to participate in online transactions. These functions serve as important inputs to formalizing our understanding of how services offered by e-commerce websites are utilized.

KEYWORDS:

• e-commerce
• internet
• online security
• Perceived Coping Appraisal (PCA)
• Perceived Usefulness (PU)
• Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU)
• Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
• technology adoption
• threat
• Threat Appraisal (TA)
• Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)
• website promotion