A Study On The Impact Of Negative Information On Lenders Continued Use Of The P2P Network Lending Platform

With the rapid development of Internet technology and increasing demand for microloans among small businesses and individuals,online peer to peer(P2P)lending as a new model of Internet finance has witnessed rapid development and expansion.However,due to the ambiguous nature of the industry,lack of legal regulation and inadequate internal governance,various risk events have arisen recently with large numbers of negative information about online P2P network lending that ensued from them.Studying how negative information influences lenders' continued usage intention can provide insight into sustainable development of online P2P lending platforms for providers.Therefore,the influences of negative information on online P2P lending platforms is discussed in the thesis.Based on review and summarizing of prior researches in the field of online P2P lending,we found that only a few empirical researches have been conducted on the factors determining lenders' continued usage intention towards online P2P lending platforms,and researches on how negative information influences lenders 'continued usage intention towards online P2P lending platforms are sparse.Built on prospect theory,Shannon's information theory and information processing theory,this study proposed a structural model to examine the influence of negative information on online P2P lending platforms combining the theoretical perspectives of perceived risk theory.Eleven independent variables are included in our model,namely information persuasive,degree of negativity,information relevance,reliability of resource(from platform),reliability of resource(from individuals),reference group opinions,risk attitude,knowledge comprehensiveness,perceived risk and perceived benefits.Through analysis of the sample data collected from 428 questionnaires using structural equation modeling method,this paper explored the factors influencing lenders ' continued usage intention towards online P2P lending platforms from the view of negative information.The results of this study suggest that information relevance,degree of negativity,risk attitude and reference group opinions has a direct negative impact on perceived risk,and negatively impact continued usage intention through the mediation of perceived risk;knowledge comprehensiveness and reference group opinions has a positive impact on perceived benefits,and positively impact continued usage intention through the mediation of perceived benefits;however,there is no evidence that information persuasive and information sources reliability(both from platform and individuals)is related to perceived risk.This study contributes to existing literature in several ways.First,it integrates information theory,information processing theory,perceived risk theory and prospect theory and constructs a structural model to empirically test the influencing factors on lenders' continued usage intention towards online P2P lending platforms,which are not adequately explained in traditional financial behavior studies.Second,though prior researches has been conducted on factors influencing lenders' investment behavior,they are usually limited to one single focus;this study is novel in taking various aspects of source,destination,channel and environment into consideration from the view of negative information.Third,from a practical point of view,our study offers feasible suggestions to online P2P lending platforms providers.For example,creating a network public opinion monitoring system,or entrusting a specialized agency to gather information regarding its own platform;building user community and encouraging investors to share their investment experience;establishing a feedback mechanism so as to investors can receive timely response;paying close attention to negative information towards online P2P lending platforms despite the authenticity of information resources(both from platform and individuals).