The role of perceived risk factors in willingness to use CBDC: mediating role of hard trust and soft trust

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of perceived risk factors – financial risk (FR), operational risk (OR), privacy concerns (PC) and security risk (SR) – on the willingness to use central bank digital currency (WCBDC) in China, both directly and indirectly through hard trust (HT) and soft trust (ST). Design/methodology/approach This study employs partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze survey data gathered from 491 participants in China. Findings We find that various perceived risk factors, including FR, OR, PC and SR, significantly and negatively affect the WCBDC, HT and ST. Furthermore, HT and ST serve as partial mediators in the relationship between perceived risk factors and WCBDC, with HT exerting a significantly stronger positive effect on WCBDC than ST. Additionally, the paper finds that SR drives OR, which in turn significantly influences FR. Practical implications An important policy implication is that central banks can draw valuable insights from this research to make well-informed CBDC implementation decisions. Originality/value Perceived risk factors influencing technology adoption have garnered significant attention, but their impact on individuals' WCBDC, HT and ST remains unclear. Furthermore, the mechanisms by which HT and ST mediate the relationship between perceived risks and the intended adoption of a CBDC remain unexplored. We address these research gaps. This research corroborates the complementarity of the theory of perceived risk (TPR) and institutional trust theory (ITT) in comprehensively explaining people's behavioral intentions to use CBDC in China's exceptionally high-trust context, providing nuanced insights into the interplay between perceived risks, trust dimensions and adoption decisions.