A Research on the Customer's Trust and their Cultivation Mechanism in Energy-saving Service-An View from Social Exchange Theory and Transaction Cost Theory

This paper analyzes the transaction cost evolution of customer's trust and their relative importance evolution in energy-saving relation governance after illustrating the social exchange essence of energy-saving service. And then, this paper puts forward the factors influencing the development of customer's trust. Finally, this paper establishes the cultivation mechanism model that customer participation influences customer's trust. Empirical study from 149 Energy Service Companies found that the responsible behaviors of customers have significantly positive effects on calculus based trust, competence based trust; responsible behaviors have no significantly positive effect on emotion based trust; information searching behaviors have significantly positive effects on calculus based trust, competence based trust and emotion based trust; interpersonal behaviors have significantly positive effects on calculus based trust, competence based trust and emotion based trust.