Blockchain affordances and trust pathways to purchase intention and loyalty in e-commerce: Evidence from Vietnam

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractTrust remains an important issue in consumer adoption of e-commerce, particularly in contexts characterized by information asymmetry and perceived online transaction risk. This study examines how perceived blockchain-enabled affordances, including transparency, security, decentralization, and control, are associated with consumer trust and how trust relates to purchase intention and loyalty, while testing the moderating role of blockchain literacy. Data were collected through a purposive online survey of Vietnamese e-commerce users between March and June 2025. The questionnaire was administered using Google Forms and distributed through e-commerce-related groups, blockchain-related communities, university networks, and social media platforms. After screening incomplete and low-quality responses, 427 valid questionnaires from respondents with prior experience of blockchain-enabled applications were retained for analysis using PLS-SEM. The results show that transparency (β = 0.29, p < 0.001) and security (β = 0.25, p < 0.001) are positively associated with consumer trust, followed by decentralization (β = 0.17, p = 0.001) and perceived control (β = 0.14, p = 0.011). Moderation tests indicate that blockchain literacy strengthens the effects of transparency (β = 0.11, p = 0.005) and security (β = 0.09, p = 0.024) on trust. The model explains meaningful variance in trust (R² = 0.61), purchase intention (R² = 0.57), and loyalty (R² = 0.53). These findings suggest that blockchain may contribute to consumer trust in e-commerce when transparency and security are made visible, understandable, and relevant to consumers through platform design and communication.