Understanding users' trust transfer mechanism in a blockchain-enabled platform: A mixed methods study

This study aims to identify and investigate the various trust targets and their transfer mechanism in a blockchain-enabled healthcare mutual aid platform. We first conduct a qualitative online interview toward initial users in the platform and identify three types of trust (i.e., trust in technology, trust in members, and trust in platform) that play salient roles in promoting users' usage intentions. We then develop a preliminary theoretical model based on the interview findings and conduct a survey to test our research model. The empirical results suggest that three platform mechanisms, namely member credibility, blockchain certificate, and structural assurance, significantly facilitate the three trust targets, which subsequently enhance individuals' behavioral intentions. A mediation analysis further demonstrates that the three trust targets partially or fully mediate the influences of three platform mechanisms on behavioral intentions through different path relationships. Our study contributes to the extant literature by uncovering the nomological network among three specific trust targets and explicating their antecedents as well as behavioral outcomes in the emerging context of blockchain-enabled applications.