EURO 2024 Copenhagen
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1308. Trust, Risk, and the Decision to use Smart Contracts: A Dual-Study Analysis

Invited abstract in session TC-7: Behavioural OR meets Information systems, stream Behavioural OR.

Tuesday, 12:30-14:00
Room: 1019 (building: 202)

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Wieland Müller
Institute for Business Administration, University of Rostock

Abstract

This study examines the influence of trust and risk on individuals' decision-making regarding the adoption of smart contracts. Two quantitative studies were conducted in the United States to conduct an in-depth analysis of trust, risk, and the decision to use smart contracts. The first study presents a trust model for smart contracts based on Hoff and Bashir's (2014) dimensions of trust and Lemieux et al.'s (2019) findings on trust towards distributed ledgers. The second study builds on the findings of the specific trust dimensions, using Mayer et al.'s (1995) trust model and Stuck et al.'s (2021) role of risk in automation. The results highlight the importance of situational social trust and trust in technology for individuals' risk behavior and the decision to adopt smart contracts. It also shows how perceived risk is moderated and how risk-taking propensity positively influence usage intentions. The study emphasizes the importance of trust dynamics and risk considerations in the adoption of smart contracts and makes a valuable contribution to the field with its original findings and comprehensive analysis. It contributes to theory by providing a novel, multidimensional model of trust and an integrative approach to examining the relationship between trust and risk behavior and its influence on decision making in an organizational context. In practice, this study provides insights for the design and implementation of smart contracts in various industries.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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