Abstract
There has been a tremendous increase in the use of free public Internet or Wi-Fi as a crucial access point to the Internet world over. Consumers are increasingly performing e-commerce transactions over free public Internet, an infrastructure that they have no control over. This research looks at how trust of free public Internet influences consumer's trust of websites and perceptions of website security as consumers perform e-commerce transactions. Results of our study indicate (1) trust of free public Internet is a significant predictor of perceived trust and security of e-commerce websites, (2) the technology/hard dimension of trust is an important intermediary in the trust relationship between the consumer and the personal/soft dimensions of the e-commerce website, and (3) cultural environment plays a significant role in trust of the public Internet.