Who Is out there? Exploring Trust in the Remote-Hosting Vendor Community

This paper defines and empirically tests a new concept of general trust in the remote-hosting (RH) vendor community. In the absence of prior experience or familiarity with RH vendors, and because third-party guarantees do not yet exist to assure expected results, previous trust mechanisms are inapplicable. Therefore, based on the Transaction Cost Economy theory and on the broad trust-related body of knowledge, and drawing upon previous empirical work, this study defines, develops, and empirically supports the 'general trust in the RH vendor community' construct. This factor is found to be a composite, second-level construct, affected by perceived vendor capabilities, and reflected in perceived vendor reputation. Moreover, the study re-visits the general risk of technology factor, and shows that, as postulated, such risk perceptions are decreased by trust in the vendor community. The internal structure of perceived risk of the RH technology is also investigated. The study thus suggests a new trust concept that is arguably material for organizational intention to adopt a new, risky, IT innovation. It also sheds light on a plausible explanation for the apparent past failure of RH, and suggests insights as to its future destiny.