THE ROLE OF TRUST AND WILLINGNESS IN GREEN BANKING BEHAVIOUR: EVIDENCE FROM AN EXTENDED TAM FRAMEWORK

To address the global demand for sustainable development, green banking has now become an imperative strategic drive for banks. This research examines the determinants of behaviors in the adoption of green banking services by expanding the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with such constructs as trust, willingness, awareness, perceived usefulness, and ease of use. The main aim is to evaluate the role these factors play in moulding customer willingness and subsequent adoption of green banking, thus filling a key gap in previous research that underemphasised the effect of trust and willingness in the TAM model. A quantitative design was adopted, and data was collected through a structured questionnaire of 339 long-term customers of five prominent public sector banks operating in Karnataka. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to verify hypothesized relationships. The findings indicate that willingness to adopt is the strongest predictor of green banking adoption, and that trust acts as an important mediating variable impacted by perceived usefulness, ease of use, and awareness. The findings have implications for policymakers in banks, who need to emphasize trust and customer awareness to speed green banking adoption. This study contributes to the body of thought in sustainable finance and green technological ecosystems' behaviour intention. Keywords: Green Banking, Trust, Willingness to Adopt, Technology Acceptance Model, Sustainable Finance