Promoting trust in B2B virtual organisations through business and technological infrastructures

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to propose ways to increase the level of trust in online Business-to-Business (B2B) communities, through the use of business and technological schemes. From the business point of view, two mechanisms are proposed: (1) the use of Service Level Agreements, special forms of contracts popular in the provision of IT services industry, which can be introduced to cover all legal and non-legal requirements of online trading; and (2) the establishment of Support Centres, which can act as intermediaries between companies in case of dispute, and which can guarantee the trustworthiness of the companies involved in e-commerce. From the technological point of view, the use of a peer-to-peer approach in B2B e-commerce is discussed. From an empirical perspective, the work within the framework of the European Union co-funded research project 'LAURA' is presented.