In Digital Technology We Trust

Abstract

This chapter explores the concept of trust and issues relating to how the construct is conceptualised and understood in a traditional offline context as well as in online environments. The chapter opens with a mini case study that highlights the complexities of being a privately-owned small firm operating in a dynamic and largely unregulated web environment. The firm is relatively new to the financial sector thus augmenting the challenges that lie in reducing perceived risk in an industry that has a chequered history with customer perceptions of credibility and integrity in the financial services sector. The chapter introduces the theoretical underpinning, which draws from the trust theories and technology adoption at firm level, which is critiqued through the lens of the technology acceptance model. Concepts related to institution-based trust are discussed and managerial implications are considered for pure play firms operating online. Each section of the chapter explores these theoretical perspectives from a FinTech context.