The Effects of Social Information on Recommendation Trust and Moderating Effect of Product Involvement

This study aims to identify which social information have significant influence on the improvement of recommendation trust and how these effects can be different according to the product involvement level. Based on the relevant literature reviews, this study posits four characteristics of recommendation trust, which are closeness, similarity, sincerity, and reputation, and established a research model for the relationship between social information and recommendation trust. And we found a moderating effect of product involvement on the relationship between social information and recommendation trust. 205 trust relationships(links) from 55 respondents of Google Docs. survey data have been collected and tested using multiple regression and hierarchical regression analysis. The results of our hypotheses testing are summarized as follows. Firstly, four social information characteristics of closeness, similarity, sincerity, and reputation have a significantly positive effect on recommendation trust. Secondly, a moderating effect of product involvement between recommendation trust and antecedents (e.g., closeness and reputation) of social information is significant. From the results, we provide theoretical and managerial implications, and suggestions for further research.