(The) impact of swift trust on message credibility assessment in online virtual meetings: exploring the moderating role of media naturalness based on evolution theory

Abstract

The post-pandemic era has witnessed a rapid increase in the use of information and communication technology (ICT), leading to a normalization of its use. This shift has resulted in a diverse range of settings for platform characteristics and self-representation, as users seek more immersive and realistic virtual communication experiences. In this context, the process of trust-building becomes even more crucial during the early stages of virtual communication. Understanding how trust is formed, evolves, and interacts with online settings in the early stages of communication is essential. This research utilized a Vignettes experiment, involving 138 online participants, to investigate the impact of swift trust on the speaker’s message credibility during the early stage of a virtual meeting. Additionally, the moderating effect of media naturalness, based on evolution theory, on the relationship between swift trust and message credibility was examined. Moreover, a comparison was made between two settings: a virtual meeting with real-time avatars that supported synchronized facial expressions and a traditional virtual meeting with human faces. The results indicated a significant positive effect of swift trust on message credibility during the early stages of virtual meetings, in both avatar and human settings. Furthermore, the study revealed a significant moderating effect of media naturalness in all settings. However, when utilizing real-time avatars, no significant differences were found in the moderating effect compared to the human face setting. The findings of this paper are expected to contribute to the understanding of trust dynamics in virtual communication and the impact of media characteristics on the evolution of trust.