Leveraging Trust for Value Creation: Enhancing Willingness to Use in Luxury E-Commerce Websites with Website Reputation and Third-Party Assurance

This research delves into value-creation dynamics in luxury e-commerce, exploring the cultivation of trust and alleviating distrust through affect-based elements like website reputation and third-party assurances. Data from 386 student participants, collected through a simulation experiment and questionnaire, underwent structural equation modelling. The findings reveal a significant positive association between website reputation and trust, emphasizing its pivotal role in luxury shoppers’ trust formation. However, the relationship between website reputation and distrust was non-significant, indicating that a favourable reputation may enhance trust but not necessarily alleviate distrust. Third-party assurance impacts both trust and distrust, emphasizing its dual influence. Familiarity moderates the link between distrust and willingness to use a specific website. This study underscores the significance of affect-based factors in luxury e-commerce, contributing valuable insights for businesses to leverage trust-based value creation in e-commerce.