Sellers’ Trust and Continued Use of Online Marketplaces

Abstract

Despite the fact that more and more people are selling things online, the community of sellers is under-investigated by information systems researchers. This research explores the role of sellers’ trust in the continued use of online marketplaces. This research differentiates between the sellers’ trust in intermediaries and their trust in the community of buyers. In addition, the concept of trust is examined with a balanced view of cognitive and affective trust. A research model is developed. Empirical data collected from sellers at uBid.com confirm the research model and hypotheses. The findings show that, for online sellers, (1) both cognitive and affective components of trust matter; (2) trust in the intermediary impacts trust in the community of buyers through the trust transference mechanism; (3) trust influences sellers’ retention to online marketplaces indirectly via perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment of using online marketplaces; and (4) perceived enjoyment is an important antecedent of sellers’ retention. This research has implications for information systems research and practice.