The Influence of Provider Trust on the Acceptance of Mobile Applications: An Empirical Analysis of Two Mobile Emergency Applications

Using a mobile application to report an emergency allows for the transmission of the current location. This not only helps rescue teams but supports the assistance service if provided by insurance companies. However, the acceptance behavior as well as the influence of trust related to the insurer is unknown. We hence explore the influence of provider trust on the acceptance of mobile emergency applications. Based on theoretical foundations of prior research on the interplay between technology acceptance and trust we develop and test a structural model using data collected from 1617 respondents in Switzerland. The results confirm the applicability of the acceptance model for the two considered mobile emergency applications. However, the influence of trust on the perceived usefulness and the intention to use, which was shown in other cases, could not be confirmed. The results demonstrate an above average intention to use for the two mobile applications and we reason that the influence of trust towards the insurance company cannot be considered a critical issue in the acceptance process.