Cybercrime Awareness and Digital Purchasing Behavior among Generation Z Consumers: The Mediating Role of Perceived Cybersecurity Risk and Trust

Cybercrime has become an increasing trend that causes fear about the safety of internet transactions, especially for Generation Z consumers. The present study examined the effect of cybercrime awareness on online purchase behavior with the mediating role of perceived cybersecurity risk and trust in e-commerce among 479 randomly sampled generation Z consumers from Cantilan, Surigao del Sur, Philippines. The study used a quantitative research method with a cross-sectional research design and data analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The study found that cybercrime awareness negatively affected perceived cybersecurity risk (β = −0.627, p < .001) and positively affected trust in e-commerce (β = 0.602, p < .001). On the other hand, the perception of cybersecurity risk had a negative impact on the digital purchase behavior (β=−0.506, p<.001), while the trust in e-commerce had a positive impact on the digital purchase behavior (β=0.443, p<.001). Further, additional mediation analysis showed that both the perception of cybersecurity risk and the trust in e-commerce were significant mediators in the relationship between the awareness of cybercrime and the digital purchase behavior. This means that the awareness of cybercrime increases customer empowerment by increasing susceptibility and confidence in online transactions.