Transformations  in
Business & Economics

EUROPEAN CONSUMER TRUST AS A DRIVING FORCE OF MOBILE COMMERCE
Vasile Dinu, Mihaela Bucur, Calcedonia Enache, Bogdan Fratiloiu, Betty Cohen-Tzedec, Cristinel Vasiliu

ABSTRACT: As mobile commerce has disrupted traditional commerce, mainly as a consequence of the pandemic situation, there is an increasing need for critical in-depth understanding of challenges and opportunities enhanced by m-commerce as far consumer experience is concerned, particularly since the literaturefocusing on influential factors for customers using m-commerce is limited. Our research uses the linear panel regression model, similar to the one presented by Bollen and Brand (2010). The study carries on a European cross-country analysis based on the average values of (1) Retail Value Retail Selling Price excluding Sales Tax, (RVR); (2) Frequency of Internet Access Daily (FID); (3) Use of a Mobile Phone to Access the Internet (MPI) and (4) Use of an Other Device Other to Access the Internet (ODI), all variables being calculated as percentage of population. The purpose is to highlight why there is a link between retail sales and selected variables. The time interval analyzed is 2013-2020 and the sample size of the participants was of 22 member states of the European Union, being provided by the Euromonitor International website. The researchers used the linear panel regression model to test the research model and hypotheses. The ?ndings advocate that, when it comes to shopping on mobile devices, people have trust concerns, at the same time showing that there is a direct link between retail sales in the countries studied and the frequency of internet access. The findings of this study are beneficial to online players. The practical implication and future research directions are also discussed.

KEYWORDS:  mobile commerce, customer experience, trust, mobile devices, Internet access

JEL classification:  L81, O52