Factors influencing trust in university websites: A survey amongst Generation Y students in South Africa

Abstract

Considering the growing number of Generation Y students enrolled at South African higher education institutions (HEIs), and university websites primarily being the first point of reference in sourcing and evaluating information about the university and the courses offered, as well as Generation Y students' scepticism about marketing tactics and their low trust propensity, it is imperative to understand the factors that influence this generation's trust in university websites. As such, the purpose of this study was to determine the influence of perceived system and information quality on Generation Y students' trust in university websites within the South African context. A single cross-sectional and descriptive research design was followed in this study. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to collect data from a convenience sample of 319 Generation Y students registered at two Gauteng-based South African HEI campuses. The methods used to analyse the data included descriptive statistics, Pearson's product-moment correlation analysis, reliability measures, regression analysis and collinearity diagnostics. The findings of the study suggest that Generation Y students' perceived information and system quality of university websites has a significant positive influence on their perceived trust in university websites. Insights gained from this study can assist universities in devising appropriate strategies that will foster trust in their website, thereby paving the way forward for an increased number of visitors and student enrolments.