This study examines how digitally embedded transaction taxes within enterprise payment systems influence consumer purchasing behaviour, using Ghana's Electronic Transaction Levy (e-levy) as an empirical context. Rather than treating transaction taxes as external fiscal instruments, the study conceptualises them as system-embedded rules integrated into digital payment infrastructures encountered at the point of transaction. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the research investigates how attitudes toward transaction-embedded charges, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control shape purchasing behaviour, while assessing whether institutional trust conditions these relationships. The study addresses a critical gap at the intersection of digital taxation, consumer behaviour, and enterprise information management in emerging economies.
The study adopts a quantitative, cross-sectional research design. Survey data were collected from 360 customers of a large digitally enabled retail enterprise in Ghana that routinely processes electronic payments subject to the e-levy. Established Theory of Planned Behaviour constructs were operationalised using multi-item Likert scales. Data were analysed using multiple regression analysis to test direct behavioural effects and Hayes' PROCESS macro to examine the moderating role of institutional trust. Reliability and validity were confirmed using Cronbach's alpha and correlation diagnostics. The methodological approach enables theory testing within an enterprise-mediated digital transaction environment affected by system-embedded fiscal rules.
The findings show that attitudes toward the electronic transaction levy and perceived behavioural control have statistically significant positive effects on consumer purchasing behaviour within digitally mediated payment systems. Together, the Theory of Planned Behaviour constructs explain approximately 36.7% of the variance in purchasing behaviour. Subjective norms do not exert a significant influence once individual cognitive evaluations and perceived control are accounted for. Institutional trust does not moderate the relationship between transaction-embedded charges and purchasing behaviour, despite low overall trust levels. The results indicate that behavioural responses to digitally embedded transaction taxes are driven primarily by individual evaluations and perceived system manageability rather than social pressure or institutional confidence.
The study is limited by its focus on a single retail enterprise, which may constrain the generalisability of findings to informal markets or alternative transaction environments. The cross-sectional design captures behavioural responses at one point in time and does not account for dynamic adaptation as users adjust to digitally embedded fiscal interventions. Reliance on self-reported purchasing behaviour may also introduce response bias. Despite these limitations, the study offers strong theoretical implications by extending the Theory of Planned Behaviour to enterprise-mediated digital taxation contexts and by empirically testing, rather than assuming, the behavioural relevance of institutional trust in low-trust environments.
For policymakers, the findings highlight that the effectiveness of electronic transaction levies depends not only on statutory authority but on how charges are embedded, communicated, and experienced within digital payment systems. Enterprises and payment platform providers should prioritise system transparency, clear cost disclosure, and user-friendly interfaces that enhance perceived behavioural control. Strengthening users' ability to anticipate and manage transaction-embedded charges can mitigate behavioural resistance and sustain purchasing activity. Digital financial literacy initiatives and interface design improvements are therefore critical for balancing revenue mobilisation objectives with enterprise transaction continuity and customer engagement.
Digitally embedded transaction taxes can generate unintended behavioural effects that disproportionately affect digitally dependent and financially vulnerable consumers. The findings suggest that when users feel capable of managing system-embedded charges, purchasing behaviour can be sustained even under additional cost burdens. However, low institutional trust combined with limited perceived control may exacerbate exclusion from digital payment ecosystems. From a social perspective, the study underscores the importance of designing digital taxation systems that preserve financial inclusion, minimise behavioural disruption, and promote equitable participation in digitally mediated markets, particularly in emerging economies with high reliance on mobile and electronic payments.
This study is among the first to conceptualise electronic transaction levies as digitally embedded rules within enterprise payment systems rather than as external fiscal instruments. It extends the Theory of Planned Behaviour to a novel context of enterprise-mediated digital taxation and provides empirical evidence on how behavioural responses unfold within information-rich transaction infrastructures. By integrating consumer behaviour theory with enterprise information management and digital taxation literature, the study offers a distinctive behavioural systems perspective. The findings generate original insights into why institutional trust may not moderate behaviour in low-trust contexts, advancing theory and informing more behaviourally informed digital tax design.
