Do You Trust the Cloud? Modeling Cloud Technology Adoption in Organizations

Cloud computing has become popular as an alternative to adding new information systems in IT-based organizations. As more corporate information and data are stored in the cloud, concerns for cloud-based security have grown. This study proposes a theoretical model for understanding cloud adoption, and furthers inquiry into the causal relationships between predictive and moderating factors. We empirically examine how these factors affect trust in corporate decisions to adopt cloud computing by performing a path analysis using SmartPLS. The result demonstrates that the perceived risks of cloud computing do influence the corporate users’ attitude and behavioral control over cloud computing, but does not necessary have a significant impact on public trust in adopting cloud technology. People trust the cloud based on information received from marketing messages, social media and friends. This study contributes theoretically as well as methodologically to our understanding of cloud technology adoption.