Investigating trust, awareness and social influence on online banking adoption, moderated by customer relationship management: technological adoption insights

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine how users’ intention to adopt online banking is influenced by perceived trust (PT), awareness (AWE) and social influence (SI) and to assess whether customer relationship management (CRM) moderates the impact of these factors on adoption intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 565 respondents in Pakistan using a stratified sampling technique. The analysis was conducted using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling with SmartPLS-4 to examine the proposed relationships.

Findings

This study’s findings reveal that PT, AWE and SI do not directly influence users’ intention to adopt online banking. Trust impacts intention through perceived ease of use, while AWE and SI affect intention via both perceived usefulness and ease of use. CRM negatively moderates SI but positively moderates the effects of PT and AWE on users’ intention.

Originality/value

This study explores the novel role of CRM as a moderator, offering fresh insights into how CRM enhances the impact of PT, AWE and SI on online banking adoption.

Citation

Asif, M. and Sarwar, F. (2025), "Investigating trust, awareness and social influence on online banking adoption, moderated by customer relationship management: technological adoption insights", Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-06-2024-0384