The Moderating Role of Trust in the Loyalty of University Students Through the Corporate Website

Gutierrez-Aguilar O.; Flores-Sánchez M.; Montesinos-Valencia L.; Duche-Pérez A.; Montesinos-Valencia P.; Chicana-Huanca S. · Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems (2026) · DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-12885-0_11

Resumen

The primary objective of this study was to explore the moderating role of trust in shaping university students’ loyalty, as manifested through interactions with the corporate website. Predictor variables included perceived visual attractiveness, ease of use, and usefulness. The research encompassed a sample of 427 undergraduate and postgraduate students in Peru. Employing a quantitative methodology, the study was designed as non-experimental and cross-sectional. Both exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses were conducted, followed by constructing a structural model with latent variables using variance-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that trust has emerged as a critical underpinning in the student-university dynamic in the post-pandemic landscape, eclipsing the impact of the functionality and design of digital educational platforms. The study concludes that trust is paramount in cultivating and sustaining loyalty in higher education. While the pandemic has indeed expedited the integration of digital technologies within educational settings, the results of this research highlight that such technologies must underpin trust and educational quality to foster long-term student commitment. Universities that recognize and implement these insights are poised to succeed in the evolving educational landscape of the post-pandemic world. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa; Universidad Católica de Santa María