Consumers and trust

Abstract

This article introduces the special section on consumers and trust. It discusses how the concept of trust has been treated in the literature and identifies concepts of institutional trust and generalized trust that permeate much of the trust literature. An introduction to the five papers in the special section is provided and common themes across the papers are identified. The papers in the special section provide new empirical insights into the drivers and outcomes of consumer trust in food, with applications to environmental attributes, nanotechnology and functional food, as well as a focus on the relationship between firm-level initiatives (cause-related marketing, branding) and consumer trust. A common policy theme throughout the papers, across different study contexts and in different countries, is that institutional trust remains important and is a shared responsibility across public and private sector actors.