Asia Pacific Business & Economics Perspectives, Summer 2017, 5(1). 98 The moderating effect of brand trust on business tools subscription: An application of the Theory of Planned Behavior Reynaldo A. Bautista, Jr. De La Salle University Manila, Philippines reynaldo.bautista@dlsu.edu.ph Jose Luis C. Legaspi De La Salle University Manila, Philippines jose.luis.legaspi@dlsu.edu.ph Mary Jessica P. Dailo De La Salle University Manila, Philippines mary.jessica.dailo@gmail.com Mary Katherine G. Cruz De La Salle University Manila, Philippines kathcruz122594@yahoo.com Maria Clarissa Beatrice Partosa De La Salle University Manila, Philippines clarissapartosa@gmail.com ABSTRACT This study involves the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the influence of Brand Trust among Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s) towards the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services offered by an established telecommunications company. The study measured two kinds of brand trust - cognitive trust, which responds to the utilitarian value of a brand, and affective trust, which responds to the hedonic value of a brand. The review of related literature reveals that although attitudes are related, they are still distinct and it is possible that one attitude could be more relevant than the other. The researchers operationalize the Theory of Planned Behavior by Icek Ajzen with the addition of brand trust as a moderating variable. Moreover, instead of only considering the intention of the respondents to incorporate and retain or upgrade ICT services, the researchers also test the intention of incorporating and retaining or upgrading Business Tools in general. Through this framework, the study will identify how MSME’s make decisions towards the use of business tools and measure the kind and level of brand trust that they have with the service provider. The research is quantitative in design and involved the use of a structured questionnaire distributed to 256 respondents reached through purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Through the use of Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares Path Modeling, it was found that perceived behavioral control moderated by hedonic brand trust is the variable that significantly affects the intention of potential clients for availing the ICT services. Meanwhile, attitude towards behavior moderated by utilitarian brand trust is the variable that significantly affects the intention of existing clients for retaining or upgrading ICT services. In the case of hedonic and utilitarian brand trust moderating the relationships between the independent variables and their intention to use business tools in general, the researchers agree that the results are spurious correlations based on past literatures. Therefore, the researchers recommend