The antecedent of trust should be acknowledged and addressed to cultivate the trust necessary to secure long - term customer relationships. The perceived trustworthiness of an organization and its products proceeds the trust required for ongoing customer engagement. By evaluating indicators of trustworthiness, such as an organization's ability, integrity, and benevolence, a determination can be made of the likelihood of customers’ continued investment in the product being produced (Hallikainen & Laukkanen, 2021) . Community also plays a role in creating the perception of trustworthiness (Carlson et al . , 2019; Kiran et al . , 2023) . With many online social media communities formed around a brand or brand’s product, what the community believes about the trustworthiness of a producer is transferred to others considering the product (Kiran et al . , 2023; Zhao et al . , 2019) . Peer influence is significant, and the role of community in brand trust cannot be understated