Online Trust Research Articles

Stages in the development of consumers' online trust as mediating variable in online banking system: a proposed model

Several studies suggest that consumers have not adopted online banking system to the same degree primarily because of online trust related issues. It is a long-term barrier for realising the potentials of B2C banking innovations. However, current literature relating to trust in online banking arguably falls short in at least two areas. First, lack of comprehensive study detailing the stages of trust as mediating variable between antecedents and consequence in order to understand consumers' online trust formation on self-service technologies. Second, most prior studies focus only on the general concept and effect of trust on consumer behavioural intention, adoption decision, and utilisation of innovations. This study tries to fill these gaps by systematically analysing online trust based on behavioural adoption models and technology acceptance theories as a fundamental prerequisite of B2C relationship in the retail industry, leading to the positive adoption of innovation.

Stages in the development of consumers' online trust as mediating variable in online banking system: a proposed model

Several studies suggest that consumers have not adopted online banking system to the same degree primarily because of online trust related issues. It is a long-term barrier for realising the potentials of B2C banking innovations. However, current literature relating to trust in online banking arguably falls short in at least two areas. First, lack of comprehensive study detailing the stages of trust as mediating variable between antecedents and consequence in order to understand consumers' online trust formation on self-service technologies. Second, most prior studies focus only on the general concept and effect of trust on consumer behavioural intention, adoption decision, and utilisation of innovations. This study tries to fill these gaps by systematically analysing online trust based on behavioural adoption models and technology acceptance theories as a fundamental prerequisite of B2C relationship in the retail industry, leading to the positive adoption of innovation.

The Colombian electronic consumer: analysis of the leading factors of e-commerce use

There are few studies describing the adoption of electronic business-to-consumer (B2C) commerce in poor and developing countries, in that vein the purpose of this article is to examine which factors lead to electronic purchasing in Colombia. This study was conducted on a national level using an online survey, with a total of 941 responses from electronic commerce users. The results validated UTAUT2 model, with only the expected variables of effort and hedonistic motivations not being significant; additionally, online trust is positively affected by perceived security, information quality and perceived privacy. Finally, this analysis confirms that the relationships proposed in the theory of the adoption of online shopping in an emerging country are met, offering a detailed analysis of each of the variables that the online shopper considers; additionally, this article has validated that in Colombia, online shopping affects the search for low prices.

Preference Criteria for Online Shopping among University Students

We are now living in the era of technology and the use of e-commerce is increasing every day, which has become increasingly more important as most activities can be done by using e-commerce, thus aiding the business industry. The younger generation especially students nowadays spend hours on the internet. The aim of this research was to identify the preference criteria among Malaysian university students. It also identified the relationship between the independent variables (situational factors, trust and consumer trait) which were the preference criteria and the dependent variable (online shopping) among Malaysian university students. In this research, the preference criteria that drove them to shop online was analysed using the survey method distributed to 200 university students. The results of this research showed a strong correlation between online shopping and situational factors, a weak correlation between online shopping and trust, and a strong correlation between online shopping and consumer trait.

The Antecedents of Electronic Banking Adoption in Saudi Arabia: Using Diffusion of Innovation Theory

Despite the rapid growth in technology and the research effort given on investigating the adoption of electronic banking services, both banks and academic researchers in developing countries perceive the problem of low-level adoption of electronic banking. Most studies which have investigated the adoption, acceptance, or intention to use electronic banking, have agreed that customers «trust is one of the most important impediments that have frustrated the success of the adoption process. Therefore, in developed countries,customers» trust became the pivot of research studies that investigated the electronic dealings between customers and new IT/IS innovations. Recently, a few researchers have started investigating online trust in developing countries. Although electronic banking services have been widely adopted in developed countries, there is still low usage in developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. This quantitative research aims to empirically determine the significant antecedents of electronic Banking Service Adoption, as well as to explain how the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOIT) is being used in determining the antecedent of electronic banking in Saudi Arabia. Using an adopted survey instrument, (5-point-Likert scale) is used. Were eventually used to further analyse the data using mainly The Partial Least Square (PLS). This study contribute to the body of knowledge by extending existing literature to identifying the factors influencing the acceptance of electronic banking among banks customers, developing a comprehensive model which contributes to online customer literature by extending the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOIT) to include trust and system reliability applying them to the context of electronic banking, extending existing literature by applying the developed model to Saudi customers, contributing to technology acceptance theories by showing the role of system reliability in the acceptance of electronic banking, Contributing to the electronic trust literature by examining the role of customer trust in the context of electronic banking and how it might be increased. Keywords: electronic banking services, developing countries, Diffusion of Innovation Theory, trust, partial least square.

The Persistent Power of Promises

Using a large-scale hybrid laboratory and online trust experiment with pre-play communication this paper investigates how the passage of time affects trust, trustworthiness, and cooperation. We provide evidence for the persistent power of communication. Even when three weeks pass between messages and actual choices and even when these choices are made outside of the lab, communication (predominantly through the use of promises) raises cooperation, trust, and trustworthiness by about 50 percent. Delays between the beginning of the interaction and the time to reciprocate neither substantially alter trust or trustworthiness nor affect how subjects choose to communicate.

The effect of online interaction and trust on consumers’ value co-creation behavior in the online travel community

ABSTRACT This study proposes a three-dimensional conceptualization of consumer value co-creation and examines perceived online interactivity as its major antecedent in the context of the Chinese online travel community. Through a structural equation model analysis, it is found that Chinese online travel community users’ value co-creation behavior can be conceptualized as a three-dimensional model consisting of engagement, personalization and dependence, and their value co-creation behavior was effectively triggered by online interactivity. Path analysis revealed evidence for the underlying psychological mechanism of perceived online interactivity on consumers’ value co-creation via online trust. Based on these findings, theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.

PENGARUH KEAMANAN, PRIVASI, DAN REPUTASI TERHADAP KEPERCAYAAN KONSUMEN ONLINE SHOPPING DI KOTA PADANG

This research aims to understand the Influence of security, privacy, and reputation toward trust in online shopping consumer. The purpose of this research are: (1) the effect of security toward trust in online shopping consumer, (2) The effect of privacy toward trust in online shopping consumer, (3) The effect of reputation toward trust in online shopping consumer, (4) The effect of security, privacy, and reputation toward trust in online shopping consumer. The type of research used in this study was a causal quantitative research. The population in this study was citizens of Padang city, that has been to online shopping. The sampling technique employed in this study was purposive sampling method with the total samples of 100 people. The data collection technique used in this study was questionnaire that has been tested for validly and reliability. The data analysis technique employed in this study to answer the hypothesis was multiple regressions. The result of this study shows that partially independent variable security (X1) significantly influenced the trust in online shopping consumer, privacy variable (X2) significantly influenced the trust in online shopping consumer, and reputation variable (X3) significantly influenced the trust in online shopping consumer. Simultaneously, variables security, privacy, and reputation significantly influenced trust in online shopping consumer.Keyword: Trust In Online Shopping Consumer, Security, Privacy, and Reputation.

Trust and Other Factors that Drive Students’ Self-Disclosure on Social Networking Sites (SNSs)

The aim of this study is to examine the factors that drive students’ self-disclosure on Social Networking Sites (SNSs). A total of 215 undergraduates from two public universities in East Malaysia were recruited as respondents. This study adapts self-disclosure model by Elmi, A.Iahad and Ahmed (2012), where the model proposed trust as one of the factors that complementing other existing factors in online self-disclosure. This study proved that privacy concerns (r = -.212, p < .01), perceived trust (r = .22, p < .01), perceived ease of use (r = .213, p < .01), and perceived enjoyment (r = .28, p < .01) are significantly related to students’ online self-disclosure on SNSs. In addition, as trust plays a vital role in moderating the users’ online self-disclosure behavior, this study formulated students’ trusts on SNSs based on three dimensions which are individual, institutional and online trust. Findings of study suggested that there is a significant difference between online trust based on male and female respondents.Keywords: Formulation of trust, online self-disclosure, privacy concern, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, perceived trust

Trustmarks: Strategies for exploiting their full potential in e-commerce

Internet-based commerce has undergone explosive growth over the past decade and is expected to keep growing. With the increasing popularity of online marketplaces, trust is seen as a key foundation for consumers’ willingness to purchase, in particular, from unknown sellers. While trust has been examined in various contexts, limited focus has been placed on the importance of displaying institutional trust assurances such as trustmarks on retailers’ websites. We conducted two studies into how the use of trustmarks impacts consumer trust, consumer risk perceptions, and, consequently, influences consumer purchase intentions. The results of the two studies suggest that the use of trustmarks increases consumer online trust and purchase intentions, as well as reducing their perceived risk. We use these results to inform managerial decision making in e-commerce, particularly for marketers and e-retailers. We provide three important managerial lessons to be learned from our insights. Our implications are important not only for mature e-commerce markets to create a competitive advantage but also for growing and emerging e-commerce markets, where new retailers are trying to establish trust among their consumers to increase market share.

An Empirical Study in the Effect of the Experience on Consumers’ Trust in the Familiar Online Retailers

The virtualization of the situation of online retailing makes it more easy and profitable for retailers to sell adulterated goods, make false propaganda, and make promises not to be fulfilled, and therefore the risks increase higher for online shopping than that of offline. Since the accordingly risks increase, the customers would hesitate to make an online order unless he/she realizes the risks are limited. In the situation that the trustworthy 3rd-part payment and delivery service are used, the risk depends on the honesty, integrity, benevolence and other characters of the retailers, therefore the customer’s trust on the retailers will help him/her to make the purchasing decision. While many researches have been done in online trust for unfamiliar website, for example, McKnight 2002 used the theories of structural assurance and situational normality to understand the building up of online trust, in this study, our focus is the effect of a customer’s former online shopping experience on his/her trust in the website which is familiar to him/her. We collected more than 3000 data from Chinese online customers, and verified the effect of the different experience on consumers’ trust in the online retailing website, and also the effect of the trust on purchase intent in two dimensions: repeat buy and the average amount of once purchase.

Online relationship marketing and customer loyalty: a signaling theory perspective

PurposeOnline technologies have, in recent times, revolutionized the process of relationship building between firms and their customers. Nonetheless, there is a limited focus and theorization when it comes to explaining the link between online relationship marketing (ORM) activities and their impact on firm relationship marketing (RM) objectives. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the signaling role of ORM activities in generating online trust and customer loyalty, through the lens of the signaling theory.Design/methodology/approachData for the study were gathered through a survey of 429 Ghanaian retail bank customers. Results were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques.FindingsThe paper highlights the signaling role of engagement and interactivity online in influencing banks’ RM outcomes per the signaling theory. It concludes that bank’s online relationship activities, over and above the online tools utilized, need to communicate appropriate and useful signals in order to positively influence online trust and loyalty among customers.Originality/valueThe study, in its uniqueness, utilizes the signaling theory to explain the role and impact of online RM activities in the banking industry.

Taking it to the next level: The negligible role of trust when online dating goes offline

According to the socioemotional selectivity theory, adults place greater emphasis on finding a life partner. As the traditional dating means and opportunities no longer suffice, online dating has become the perfect intermediary to start an offline relationship. This transition from the online to the offline dating sphere is called modality switching. Interestingly, researchers have not yet addressed the personal variables predicting this behavioral dating transition. From an online viewpoint, when purchasing online goods for offline use, online trust has proven to be crucial. From an offline perspective, general trust is key during initial offline encounters because it guides us in our assessment of another individual. However, the combination of these variables with age has not yet been investigated to explain online dating behavior or modality switching. A total sample of 645 individuals (n = 339 online daters) aged between 18 and 73 years completed an online questionnaire. They reported their levels of trust in general and online as well as their modality switching behavior. Results show that age was the overall and only predictor of online dating and continuing the online relationship offline. This research reveals that as individuals grow older, their inclination to switch modalities and date offline increases.

Effects of cognitive and affective trust on online customer behavior

PurposeAlthough prior works in online retailing have addressed the influence of trust on customer responses, they conceptualized trust as a single dimension. Based on social-psychological literature and sociological literature, this study proposes that consumer trust in an online retailer has two principal forms: cognitive trust and affective trust. The purpose of this paper is to examine various factors influencing the development of each form of customer online trust and the subsequent effect on customer satisfaction (CS) and loyalty intention (LI).Design/methodology/approachSurvey approach is employed to validate the research model. Data are collected from 334 Indian consumers and using structural equation modeling the causal pathways of the model are investigated.FindingsThe results show that cognitive trust and affective trust are empirically distinguished variables in online retailing context. Cognitive trust and affective trust are found to mediate the relationship between perceived website quality, security and privacy policy, prior-interaction experience, perceived e-tailer reputation and shared value and CS. CS also positively influences LI toward the online retailer.Practical implicationsThe paper provides interesting insights about Indian consumers’ evaluation of online retailers. These useful insights would enable both international and national online retailers to develop and apply different strategies to improve customer trust, which is a key driver of CS and LI.Originality/valueDrawing from signaling theory and organizational studies literature, this paper investigates the relationship between different antecedents and affect-based and cognition-based trust in online retailing context. In particular, this is the first study to examine multi-dimensional nature of consumer trust in online retailing context. Besides, this paper clearly shows that cognitive trust and affective trust are the mediating variables that positively affect CS toward online retailers and help in building strong customer LI.

Examining factors affecting patients trust in online healthcare services in China: The moderating role of the purpose of use.

With the development of Web 2.0 technologies, an increasing number of websites are providing online healthcare services, and they have potential to alleviate problems of overloaded medical resources in China. However, some patients are reluctant to trust and continue using online healthcare services, partly due to the immature development of healthcare websites. Previous research has argued that online trust is significantly associated with the risk or benefit perceived by users. This study aims to extend prior research and examine how perceptual factors influence patients' online trust and intention to continue using online healthcare services. We developed a model with the moderating role of purpose of use and tested it with data collected from 283 participants. The results support the validity of the model and most hypotheses. The moderating role of purpose of use between the perceived benefits/risks and patients' online trust is also highlighted. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Research on transfer of patient trust in online health websites

Objective To explore the determinants and mechanism of trust transfer among patients for online health websites using the equation model. Methods A trust transfer model was built based on the theory of group convergence and doctor-patient interaction. 225 doctor records of online consultations were collected from Haodf, an online health website by data crawling from May 1 to Nov.30, 2017. Multiple regression was used for an empirical analysis. Results The patients′ online trust has a positive impact on the physicians′ trust offline, with a regression coefficient of 0.94, being significant at the level 0.01. Patient incentives, group size, and frequency of group interaction are important for online patient trust. Meanwhile, patient motivation, group size, and patient online efforts all have significant effect on patient offline trust. Conclusions Online patients′ trust affects their offline trust significantly. Developers of online health websites can increase the online trust of patients by motivation and interaction, which help create a desirable medical environment and encourage their trust to offline doctors, contributing to higher medical satisfaction. Key words: Information services; Patient trust; Trust transfer; Online health website

Online customer relationships: switching cost drivers for different relationship lengths

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of selected online drivers on perceived switching costs, with consideration of the personality trait of Openness to Experience. The research explores how these relationships vary with varying lengths of relationship. Data were collected from online banking users using paper-based surveys and were tested using structural equation modeling. Openness to Experience influences online trust and satisfaction positively, perceived switching costs negatively, but not online loyalty. Online satisfaction affects online loyalty positively, but not perceived switching costs. Online trust predicts online loyalty and perceived switching costs positively. Online loyalty enhances perceived switching costs significantly. The explanatory power of the model fluctuates over different relational periods and is best when customers’ relationships reach medium-term duration. The research adds new insights to the customers’ online relationship literature and provides managers with new ways to customize online banking services for better online relational strategies.

A framework for classifying trust for online systems

There is no single universally agreed definition of trust for online systems. This has resulted in various trust metrics being proposed by researchers with diverse methods of computing and sourcing trust information. Consequently, it becomes difficult to carry out a comparative study of different types of trust in an organized manner. A classification framework of trust research is required to understand research trends and gaps in existing research. Existing trust classification frameworks are based on few dimensions and have restricted scope. There is a need for developing a generic and scalable method of classifying online trust approaches that can serve as a framework for researchers to analyze upcoming works and carry them forward. In this paper, we develop an open, extensible and scalable trust classification framework built on a set of orthogonal trust dimensions. After taking a bird’s eye view of existing trust classifications, we use wide applicability and extensibility as guidelines to incorporate and extend some of the existing trust categories and propose new dimensions for developing a more comprehensive classification framework. We enhance the prior proposed dimensions computational approach, computational model, trust inference, genesis of trust and trust context by adding new trust categories within each of them. We introduce a new classification dimension that is based on the life cycle maturity of trust systems. Taking a cue from the study of offline trust in social sciences, we refine implicit trust into two new sub-branches namely, relational and similarity based. We categorize existing works on online trust within the proposed framework to highlight their properties along different trust dimensions. Finally, we present a comprehensive review of similarity based implicit and relational implicit trust metrics, the two new key trust sub-categories defined in this paper.

E-tailer website attributes and trust: understanding the role of online reviews

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report the results of an experimental study designed to better understand the role of online product reviews, both valence and volume, in the formation of initial online trust during a consumer’s exploratory stage with an e-tailer. This is done within the context of simultaneously varying e-tailer reputation and product type.Design/methodology/approachParticipants take part in a conjoint task that involves viewing fictitious web pages and indicating their level of trust in using the site to purchase the product displayed. The web pages are developed by manipulating four attributes (e-tailer reputation, product type, summary product star rating and number of online reviews) according to a full factorial design. Conjoint models are estimated to determine the relative influence of each attribute on trust perceptions, the significance of selected two-way interactions among the four attributes, and potential moderating effects of varied prior online experiences, including previous usage frequency of online reviews.FindingsResults reveal that e-tailer reputation has the greatest impact on initial trust perceptions, followed by the summary review star rating of the product. Significant two-way interactions show that a large number of reviews enhance the effect of a positive summary review on trust while shopping for high priced experience products diminishes the positive influence of e-tailer reputation. Prior online experiences moderate the relationship between these website attributes and perceived trust by interacting with the two strongest trust cues in the model. The effects of these attributes on trust perceptions are less for those with higher levels of prior online experiences.Originality/valueThe study uses conjoint analysis, which requires participants to implicitly “tradeoff” among website attributes in making overall judgments about e-tailer trustworthiness. Consequently, the relative influence of online reviews (both valence and volume) on initial trust perceptions is derived empirically in a realistic setting that involves online shopping contexts with different risk (by varying product type). Moreover, the authors are able to estimate interaction effects. A significant interaction between summary product star rating and number of reviews implies that online review volume may be more important to perceived e-tailer trustworthiness than earlier studies suggest.

An Empirical Study of SME’s Embroidery Website in Indonesia: A Proposed Model of Website Re-visit Intention

This paper aims to analyze the influence of system anxiety and perceived company’s website reputation toward online trust, which in turn lead to website re-visit intention. Data were collected using questionnaires based field survey from 120 visitors on La linda Boutique website, one of famous SME’s embroidery in West Sumatera, Indonesia. Purposive sampling technique was adopted in order to enhance representatives. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) through Smart-PLS software was used to test the multidimensional construct of first-order reflective and second-order formative. The results revealed that online trust, such as perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, enjoyment of technology, privacy and security, and company competence, have had the greatest effect on website re-visit intention. In addition, results indicate that perceived company’s website reputation impact on online trust, while the effect of system anxiety was not statistically significant. Cross-sectional data of this study tends to have certain limitation to explain the level of website re-visit intention. Nevertheless, theoretical and practical implications for further research are likely to increase the number of visitor’s to re-visit the website.