Culture’s impact on trust, distrust, and intentions in data theft environments: A cross-cultural exploratory study

Data breaches—security incidents—have become an everyday occurrence, with hundreds of millions of consumers having their lost personal identification information (PII), had their credit and debit card numbers stolen, and their credit compromised. Despite the risk, consumers continuously swipe their cards and share their personal information regularly. This study examines the impacts of trust and distrust on consumer intentions in data theft environments across five culturally distinct regions as defined by Hofstede’s dimensions. Five hundred and two (502) consumers involved in technology-driven transactions comprise the data sample. Trust, distrust, and intentions are investigated to determine (1) if trust and distrust are truly two distinct constructs, (2) if individuals from diverse cultures perceive trust and distrust differently, and (3) the impact on consumer intentions toward transactions. The study expands the literature treating trust and distrust as distinct yet inter-related constructs while introducing culture as a moderating variable. The findings demonstrate statistically significant differences across cultural clusters for trust, distrust, and intentions.