2. Literature
In the field of information systems (IS), various kinds of intention models have been used to predict user behavior. (Liao Cheung et al., 2002), in his research has highlighted the factors that impact the perceived usefulness of a product and service, including willingness to use and security, to name a few. (R. Agarwal, E. Karahanna,, 2000), (E. Karahanna, D.W. Straub, 1999), (D. Straub, M. Keil, W. Brenner,, 1997), (V. Venkatesh, F.D. Davis, 2000) in their research study have highlighted the importance of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness as the factors impacting the acceptance of technology. These studies emphasize that despite the increasing proliferation of the internet and e-commerce, customers are reluctant to provide information on digital channels and are thus wary of using digital media for banking. These studies, for the first time, besides beliefs, highlighted the importance of trust to enable consumers to accept technology such as digital banking. (Fishbein, 1975) propounded the theory of reasoned action that has been used extensively in predicting behavior across varied domains. According to the theory of reasoned action (TRA), a person's behavior is determined by behavioral intention (BI). This behavioral intention is further defined by the attitude of the members and the subjective norms. This implies that a person's behavior is motivated by an individual's attitude toward the consequences of that behavior. (TAM), The Technology Acceptance Model further adopts the (TRA) Theory of Reasoned Action to explain an individual's internet or technology acceptance behavior. (Davis, F.D., 1986), propounded the (TAM) Theory of Acceptance Model and explored the impact of external factors on the internal beliefs and attitudes of the respondents. (TAM) The theory of the Acceptance Model propagates that the members' beliefs, which include the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, impact the acceptance behaviors received usefulness refers to the proposition that the use of the information system improves the performance of a community or an entity. Perceived ease of use refers to the extent to which the users believe the system is easy to use. In this study, we intend to use the (TAM) Theory of Acceptance Model to measure the impact of perceived usefulness and ease of use on the behavior of the members of the community.
Mainly economic behavior is explored through the lens of the competitive theory, and there is a lack of literature that discusses economic behavior through the lens of cooperative theory. In the case of self-help groups, generally, the members act in a collaborative environment (Alderson Wroe, 1965). Trust is a hygiene factor for economic exchange (Sonja Grabner Krauter & Rita Faullant, 2008) and is at the heart of all relationships (Robert M. Morgan and Shelby D. Hunt, 1994). It is defined as the assurance regarding the performance and derivation of the benefits from a contract. It acts as a source of insurance and makes commerce possible in the intangible electronic environment (Dr Regina Connolly & Frank Bannister, 2007). (Mcknight, D. & Chervany, Norman, 2001), in their research have highlighted that trust can be of four types – disposition to trust, institution-based trust, trusting belief, and trusting intention. A disposition towards trust in which an individual continuously demonstrates a readiness to rely on others. Institutional trust refers to the perception that the institution's atmosphere is conducive to trusting behavior. The notion that a person possesses favorable attributes is a trusting belief. People have a trusting intent when they are willing to rely on others. (P. Ratnasingham, 1998) highlights that trust is crucial in the internet banking environment. In the online banking environment, where the parties are not physically present, uncertainty and risk are inherent. Broadly, the internet banking environment is highly uncertain, and trust is vital in promoting loyalty and technology usage. It is related to the reliability of the spoken words regarding the performance of a contract. Trust has various dimensions, including competency. Trust is a willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another party without considering the motivation or ability of a peer or the other members of the community or group. It is often defined as the predictability of the person or member. As per the literature, this predictability leads to cooperation (Lewis , 2001). Trust is considered a cognitive component (Anderson and Narus, 1990). Trust is discussed through competency, benevolence (Strickland, 1958), honesty, and ability (Mayer et al., 1995), (Hsiu-FenLin, 2011). Honesty is the belief that the other person will perform the promise (Suh and Han , 2002). As per the literature, safety and privacy profoundly impact the trust of the members or users in an online environment (Lee and Turban, 2001). According to the Theory of Planned Behavior, the intention to use technology is determined by the intention to use, and the intention to use is determined by the subjective norms and attitudes toward behavior. And the attitude comprises the perceived usefulness and the ease of perceived use. Perceived usefulness refers to the degree to which the user expects that the technology system requires less effort to use (Davis et al., 1989). Trust refers to a person's belief depending on another person (Mayer et al., 1995).
Hypothesis 1. Trust positively impacts the perceived security in online banking
Hypothesis 2. Perceived usefulness has a direct impact on the trust of online banking
Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness refer to the perception of the user regarding the ease of use of technology and perceived usefulness of technology. As per the theory, these two factors impact the user behavior intention (Bitkina and Kim et al. , 2022). The research model incorporates the critical constructs from the Theory of Technology Acceptance Model, i.e., the trust regarding the exchanging the information, and integrates it through the TRA (Theory of Reasoned Action). From the literature, it is established that perceived usefulness positively impacts the members' purchase intention. PEOU (Perceived Ease of Use) refers to the extent to which the user expects that the use of technology will require less effort. And PU (Perceived Usefulness) refers to the perception that the adoption of technology will enhance the performance of the members of the community. In our research, we have looked at the benefits of digital banking in saving time, making banking available at any location, at any time, and saving costs. Perceived ease of use refers to the reduction in the effort involved. In the context of digital banking, usage by self-help group members refers to the convenience and ease of banking. In this research paper, we propagate that the Perceived ease of use increases perceived usefulness. (Davis, 1989) proposed that behavioral intention comprises perceived usage and perceived ease of use. Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) decomposes the (Technology Acceptance Model) construct of attitude into "perceived usage" and "perceived ease of usage." And perceived ease of use and trust increase the perceived usage of digital banking. The Theory of Acceptance Model (TAM) employs (PEOU) Perceived ease of use to describe internal control factors and does not consider the external factors. At the same time, the (Theory of Planned Behavior) considers the impact of situation-specific factors. But in this paper, since the main aim is to explain the underlying phenomenon and not the prediction, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been used, not the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).
Hypothesis 3. Perceived ease of use directly impacts trust in digital banking
Hypothesis 4. Perceived usage directly impacts the intention to use digital banking
Hypothesis 5. Perceived ease of use directly impacts the intention to use digital banking
Hypothesis 6. Trust directly impacts the intention to use digital banking
Perceived security refers to the perception of security in the trust, flow of information, and members' satisfaction. The study highlights that security and privacy concerns harm the members' trust. Moreover, the research highlights that security is a perception rather than a reality for average users. The intention to use is impacted by trust, flow, and satisfaction (Gao et al., 2015) In an external environment of the digital informational interface, the users cannot ensure whether the system is secure or not. Thus, we propagate that perceived security influences the technology adoption behavior of individual users (Ye, C. et al., 2008).
Moreover, this hypothesis further highlights that the capability of the information provider to provide information impacts the user's perception of security. Thus, we hypothesize that perceived security positively impacts the intention to use technology in digital banking. Also, perceived security affects the users' trust in the integrity and security of the digital banking environment.
Hypothesis 7. Perceived security directly impacts the intention to use digital banking Intention to use technology
As per the literature, the adoption of technology is an individual's behavior. The attitude towards that behavior impacts the adoption of technology. As per the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein, 1975), technology usage is driven by behavioral intention and attitude, which can be cognitive and affective. Most of the studies use the theoretical lens of the Theory of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which highlights that the users adopt and use a technology that has utility for them (Brown et al. 2002), (Bhattacharjee & Premkumar, 2004).
Hypothesis 8. Perceived usage directly impacts the perceived ease of usage
The research model for this study investigates the factors that impact the usage of online banking by the members of the community. As shown in
Figure 1, the research model adapted the four determinant constructs (i.e., perceived ease of use, perceived usage, perceived security, and trust) in understanding the purchase intention. All the constructs in the measurement model are reflective, (Cheryl Jarvis Burke et al., 2003), (Edwards and Bagozzi, 2000), ( Podsakoff et al, 2012). In reflective indicators, the indicators are the consequence of the image of the destination. And the indicators flow from the construct to the indicators. In this model of Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), three variables, i.e., (1) attitudes toward behavior or how people behave rationally through perceived ease of use, perceived usage, and perceived security, which could be instrumental (behavior perceived usefulness) and experimental (anticipated negative and positive feelings) (2) determinant of behavior, which refers to Trust (3) Behavior, i.e., usage. The dependent variable in this model is behavior, which refers to the usage of technology for banking by the members of the self-help groups. (Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I, 2010), have defined behavior as action, target, context, and time. Target behavior of banking (action & target), online (context) usually (when). In this study, the mediation (Kenny, 1986) analysis has been used for analysis, (Cepeda et al. , 2017 ), (Hair et al. , 2017 ), (Memon et al., 2018), (Nitzl et al, 2016), (Sarstedt et al., 2020), (Zhao et al., 2010).
Besides that, there are various hypothesis that have been tested as part of mediation analysis. The hypothesis is given as follows:
H9. Perceived trust mediates the relationship between perceived ease of use and intention to use
H10. Perceived trust mediates the relationship between perceived usage and intention to use technology
H11. Perceived trust mediates the relationship between perceived usage and perceived security
H12. Perceived security mediates the relationship between perceived trust and intention to use technology
H13. Perceived ease of use mediates the relationship between perceived usage and intention to use technology
2.1. Methodology
For the research, we used a questionnaire comprising different scales supported by the literature. The paper uses a Likert Scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). In this questionnaire, the items were adopted from the literature. In this study, five constructs, namely (1) Perceived ease of use, (2) Perceived usage, (3) Perceived security, (4) Trust (5) Intention to usage, are used. The first construct in the study is, Perceived ease of use as a construct comprises four significant indicators, namely, (1) Digital banking is reliable as a system of banking, (2) Digital banking fulfills the commitment that it assumes, (3) Digital banking delivers the promise (4) I trust digital banking, (Loonam et al., 2008 ). The second construct in the study is, Perceived usage, which comprises indicators such as (1) Digital banking saves time, (2) Digital banking is accessible anywhere, (3) Digital banking is available at all times, (4) Digital banking saves time, (Davis et al., 1989), (Akturan & Tezcan 2012), (Kaur and Malik , 2019), (Vukovic et al., 2019). Perceived security as a construct comprises indicators such as (1) Your operations are protected from any threat while using digital banking; (2) My personal information is kept confidential while using digital banking (3) My sensitive information is secure while using digital banking (4) Transactions conducted through digital banking are secure, (Khalilzadeh et al., 2017). Perceived ease of use is a construct that comprises various indicators such as (1) Digital banking is extremely convenient, (2) Digital banking is extremely easy, (3) Learning to use digital banking is easy (Venkatesh & Davis, 2000), (Bashir and Madhavaiah, 2015), (Rahi et al., 2016), (Wang et al., 2003). Trust as a construct comprises various indicators such as (1) Digital banking is reliable as a system of banking, (2) Digital banking fulfills the commitment that it assumes, (3) Digital banking delivers the services promised (McKnight et al., 1998), (Komiak et al., 2004), (Ennew & Sekhon, 2007), (Yousafzai et al., 2010) and
Table 1.
Questionnaire.
Construct |
Indicators |
Perceived Trust |
(1) Digital Banking is reliable as a system of banking |
|
(2) Digital banking fulfill the commitments that it assumes |
|
(3) Digital banking delivers the services promised |
|
(4) I trust digital banking |
Perceived Security |
(1) Your operations are protected from any digital banking threats (offense; attack; theft of money, documents, information, passwords, etc.) |
|
(2) My personal information is kept confidential while using digital banking |
|
(3) My sensitive information is secure while using digital banking |
|
(4) Transactions conducted through digital banking are secure. |
Perceived usage |
(1) Digital banking saves time |
|
(2) Digital banking is accessible anywhere |
|
(3) Digital banking is available at all times |
|
(4) Digital banking saves cost |
Perceived ease of use |
(1) Digital banking is extremely convenient |
|
(2) Digital banking is extremely easy |
|
(3) Learning to use digital banking is easy |
Intention to use |
(1) I use digital banking regularly |
|
(2) I recommend digital banking to others |
|
(3) I use digital banking for my banking needs |
The hypotheses constructed within TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) are tested using the questionnaire-based approach using PLS-SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) (Wold, 1985). (Babin & Boles, 1998) has shown that SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) is highly regarded by academicians. PLS-SEM is aimed at maximizing the explained variance of the endogenous constructs while minimizing the overall term (Claudia et al., 2014). This method is suitable for data with non-normality and mediation analysis (Hair et al., 2017), (Sarstedt M et al., 2017). This PLS SEM-based method is also preferable over covariance-based structural modeling and ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions in case of non normality and small sample sizes (Hair et al., 2011), (Claudia et al., 2014). This method is critical and significant for exploring new relationships in the structural model (Hair et al., 2019), (Jose Benitez et al., 2010 ). SmartPLS v4 software, (Joseph et al. , 2019 ). This software is used for the calculation of the measurement and structural model. The measurement model was assessed in the first step, and the structural model was evaluated in the second step.
2.2. Data Collection Process
The details are given in the table:
Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics for the sample.
Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics for the sample.
Profile |
Particulars |
Frequency |
Age |
20-24 |
5 |
|
25-29 |
14 |
|
30-34 |
17 |
|
35-39 |
15 |
|
40-44 |
12 |
|
45-49 |
22 |
|
50-54 |
7 |
|
55-59 |
5 |
|
60-64 |
1 |
Gender |
Females |
20 |
|
Males |
78 |
As per
Table 1, in our dataset, there are 98 members. The majority of the members are between 25 to 49. In the given dataset, there is no issue of univariate data normality. All the skewness and kurtosis values are between -2 and +2. From the multivariate normality analysis, it becomes apparent that Mardia's Multivariate skewness (β= 97.28; p <0.00) and multivariate kurtosis ( β=407.55 ; p <0.00) suggest the multivariate non-normality. This is another reason for using the PLS-SEM, as it can adequately handle nonnormal data (Hair et al. , 2019 ).