Internet Exchange and Forms of Trust
by Denise Anthony, James A. Kitts, Christopher Masone, and Sean W. Smith
Published in Trust and Technology in a Ubiquitous Modern Environment: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives. Edited by Dominika Latusek and Andrea Gerbasi. IGI Global
ABSTRACT
All
economic
exchange
entails some uncertainty, but uncertainty is
exacerbated in periods of social change that disrupt conventional
patterns and modes of exchange. The increasing reliance on the Internet
as a medium for exchange has greatly increased uncertainty, raising
particular problems of trust between parties. This study examines how
information that may reduce uncertainty affects individuals’ trust in
online exchange. Within an experimental marketplace, subjects make
purchase decisions with a series of simulated vendors. Subjects receive
information about vendors in the form of ratings of transaction
security that vary as to the source of reputation information
(interpersonal vs. institutional sources) and the content of
information (rating of reliability vs. capability for engaging in
secure transactions). Subjects are more likely to trust vendors when
given reputation information from institutional sources, but they do
not differentiate capability from reliability information in evaluating
vendors in this context.
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