Trust in Technology: An Exploration of Investor Confidence in Fintech Tools.
Main Article Content
Abstract
In the rapidly evolving financial landscape, trust has emerged as the pivotal factor shaping investor engagement with financial technologies (fintech). This qualitative exploratory study examines the impact of trust on investor confidence, adoption, and ongoing engagement with fintech tools for mutual fund decision-making. Based on a comprehensive theoretical framework that includes the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Institutional Trust Theory, and Human–Computer Trust Theory, the study investigates trust across cognitive, institutional, technological, and social dimensions. The study employed thematic analysis based on Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase framework to look at data from semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 50–60 mutual fund investors.
The results show that perceived usefulness, ease of use, institutional credibility, system reliability, and peer influence are all important factors that affect how much investors trust something. Additionally, trust functions as a mediating construct, converting perceptions of technology and institutional assurance into behavioral intention and ongoing engagement. The research expands current technology adoption theories by framing trust as both a process and an outcome, illustrating its dynamic function in connecting cognition, emotion, and behavior. In practical terms, it gives fintech developers, banks, and regulators strategic advice on how to make things more open, trustworthy, and confident in the digital world. In the end, the research shows that trust is the most important factor in adopting fintech, and it will shape how people behave when they invest online...
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Ajzen, I. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predictiing social behavior. Englewood Cliffs.
Asastani, H. L., Kusumawardhana, V. H., & Warnars, H. L. H. S. (2018). Factors affecting the usage of mobile commerce using technology acceptance model (TAM) and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). 322–328.
Barus, I. R. (2020). The effects of perceived ease of use, security, and promotion on trust and its implications on fintech adoption. Journal of Consumer Sciences.
Brzowski, M., & Nathan-Roberts, D. (2019). Trust measurement in human–automation interaction: A systematic review. 63(1), 1595–1599.
Davis, F. D. (1985). A technology acceptance model for empirically testing new end-user information systems: Theory and results.
Davis, F. D. (1989). Technology acceptance model: TAM. Al-Suqri, MN, Al-Aufi, AS: Information Seeking Behavior and Technology Adoption, 205(219), 5.
Dobing, B. R. (1993). Building trust in user-analyst relationships. University of Minnesota.
Dubey, K. K., Gupta, R., & Bhadouria, S. S. (2023). The role of fintech in financial awareness and mutual fund investment. International Journal of Development Research, 13(1), 61312–61316.
Dzindolet, M. T., Peterson, S. A., Pomranky, R. A., Pierce, L. G., & Beck, H. P. (2003). The role of trust in automation reliance. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 58(6), 697–718.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity youth and crisis (Issue 7). WW Norton & company.
Feyen, E., Frost, J., Gambacorta, L., Natarajan, H., & Saal, M. (2021). Fintech and the digital transformation of financial services: Implications for market structure and public policy. BIS Papers.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1977). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research.
Fuller, M. A., Serva, M. A., & Baroudi, J. (2009). Clarifying the integration of trust and TAM in e-commerce environments: Implications for systems design and management. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 57(3), 380–393.
Garfinkel, H. (1963). A Conception and experiments with" trust" as a condition of stable concerted actions. Motivation and Social Interaction, 187–238.
Ghazizadeh, M., Lee, J. D., & Boyle, L. N. (2012). Extending the technology acceptance model to assess automation. Cognition, Technology & Work, 14(1), 39–49.
Gligor, V., & Wing, J. M. (2011). Towards a theory of trust in networks of humans and computers. 223–242.
Kelley, H. H. (1992). Common-sense psychology and scientific psychology. Annual Review of Psychology, 43(1), 1–24.
Kumar, S., Srivastava, M., & Prakash, V. (2023). Challenges and opportunities for mutual fund investment and the role of industry 4.0 to recommend the individual for speculation. New Horizons for Industry 4.0 in Modern Business, 69–98.
Lee, J. D., & See, K. A. (2004). Trust in automation: Designing for appropriate reliance. Human Factors, 46(1), 50–80.
Lewis, J. D., & Weigert, A. J. (1985). Social atomism, holism, and trust. The Sociological Quarterly, 26(4), 455–471.
Luhmann, N. (1979). Trust and Power (John A. Wiley and Sons, Chichester).
Madsen, M., & Gregor, S. (2000). Measuring human-computer trust. 53, 6–8.
Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709–734.
McKnight, D. H., & Chervany, N. L. (2000). What is trust? A conceptual analysis and an interdisciplinary model.
Parasuraman, R., & Riley, V. (1997). Humans and automation: Use, misuse, disuse, abuse. Human Factors, 39(2), 230–253.
Pavlou, P. A., & Gefen, D. (2004). Building effective online marketplaces with institution-based trust. Information Systems Research, 15(1), 37–59.
Rempel, J. K., Holmes, J. G., & Zanna, M. P. (1985). Trust in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(1), 95.
Roh, T., Yang, Y. S., Xiao, S., & Park, B. I. (2024). What makes consumers trust and adopt fintech? An empirical investigation in China. Electronic Commerce Research, 24(1), 3–35.
Shapiro, S. P. (1987). The social control of impersonal trust. American Journal of Sociology, 93(3), 623–658.
Srivastav, S. K., Habil, M., Thakur, P., Jain, J., & Saini, R. (2024). Analyzing the Influence of Fintech & Digitalization on Investment Choice Decisions of Mutual Fund Investors. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, 5(2), 2414–2415.
Taylor, S., & Todd, P. A. (1995). Understanding information technology usage: A test of competing models. Information Systems Research, 6(2), 144–176..