When reputation engenders trust: An investigation in business-to-consumer electronic commerce
Journal
Electronic Markets
ISSN
1019-6781
ISSN-Digital
1422-8890
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2003
Author(s)
Einwiller, Sabine
Abstract
Consumers' enhanced risk perception is an important challenge to bemet in electronic commerce. The research presented here casts new light onthe concept of trust, which is a vital mechanism when it comes to reduce perceivedrisk. Trust is conceptualized as a multi?dimensional concept comprisedof a person's trusting attitudes toward the vendor, the system and theself as well as his or her trusting intention to buy from a vendor on theInternet. Based upon an online survey among 473 German Internet users, theinterrelationships between the dimensions of trust and the influential roleof a vendor's as well as the system's reputation to engender trustis analysed. Results show that a person's trusting intention is moststrongly influenced by a person's trusting attitude toward the vendor.The role of reputation to enhance trust is particularly pronounced if theconsumer's experience with a particular vendor or the Internet as a shopping environment in general are low. Implications of the research findings are discussed.
Language
English
HSG Classification
not classified
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Routledge
Publisher place
London
Volume
13
Number
3
Start page
196
End page
209
Pages
14
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
12914