Abstract
Online trust has been widely discussed in the marketing research area and mainly in these two forms namely: trust toward internet technology and trust toward an online merchant. Nonetheless, very few studies have examined a very particular form of an online trust that is trust in a merchant website. Also, the literature examination revealed the importance of social presence in e-commerce. To this end, this research focuses on the one hand, to identify the dimensions of trust in a merchant website. On the other hand, it aims to explore different forms of perceived social presence on a website and determine their respective impacts in the formation of consumer trust toward a retail website. The results of a qualitative study in the form of semi-structured interviews, conducted with thirty individuals show that trust in a commercial website includes both two types of dimensions: trust beliefs and trust intentions. In addition, different manifestations of online social presence were identified namely: FAQ, forums, animations, instant messaging, website data, the number of registered on the website, human pictures, personalized welcome and virtual agents. Likewise, the results show that the online social presence is an antecedent of trust toward a retail website.
Highlights
Based on the literature review, humans look for reducing social uncertainty
The results show that the online social presence is an antecedent of trust toward a retail website
We propose the definition of integrative trust in a retail website stating that "trust is the willingness of the user to depend on a merchant website on the basis of certain beliefs or expectations arising from the competence, the integrity and the benevolence perceived in this website "(adapted from the definition of Moorman et al (1992, p.315)
Summary
Based on the literature review, humans look for reducing social uncertainty. In other words, they are looking for ways to understand, predict and sometimes control the behavior of others. When the individual fails to reduce uncertainty through social rules and customs, he first uses the concept of trust or a higher degree of familiarity that constitute methods of reducing social complexity (Luhmann , 1979). Trust is still the main distinctive feature of human interaction (Blau, 1964; Luhmann, 1979) especially when the outcomes of interactions with others are not entirely governed by rules and safeguards (Thibaut and Kelley 1959; Blau, 1964, Kelley and Thibaut, 1978; Kelley, 1979). The trust can be a substitute for formal agreements in established exchange
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
