App Innovation and Perceived Value on Etsy: The Mediating Role of Trust and Community

Abstract

This study investigates the mechanism of value creation on the creative e-commerce platform Etsy through an integrated mediation-moderation model. Using a quantitative approach and data from 458 active Etsy users in Indonesia, the study examines the effect of application feature innovation on perceived value through the mediating mechanisms of trust and community engagement, as well as the moderating effect of user type (buyer vs. seller). The PLS-SEM analysis results show that the relationship between feature innovation and perceived value is primarily indirect (90.5% VAF), with trust as the dominant mediator (58.5% VAF) and community engagement as a complementary mediator (32.0% VAF). Multigroup analysis reveals significant differences between buyers and sellers, where sellers are more responsive to feature innovation and rely more on community engagement for value formation. These findings contribute to the development of the Dual-Mediation Model for Creative Platforms and provide practical implications for platform managers and micro-business sellers.