Evaluating trust in electronic commerce: a study based on the information provided on merchants’ websites

Abstract

Lack of trust has been identified as a major problem hampering the growth of Electronic Commerce (EC). It is reported by many studies that a large number of online shoppers abandon their transactions because they do not trust the website when they are asked to provide personal information. To support trust, we developed an information framework model based on research on EC trust. The model is based on the information a consumer expects to find on an EC website and that is shown from the literature to increase his/her trust towards online merchants. An information extraction system is then developed to help the user find this information. In this paper, we present the development of the information extraction system and its validation. This is then followed by a study looking at the use of the identified variables on a sample of EC websites. IntroductionNew technologies have deeply modified traditional forms of social relations and communications, in particular norms, social rules, hierarchies, familiarity, reputation, delegation and trust [Castelfranchi and Pedone, 2003]. This is certainly true for Businessto-Consumers (B2C) Electronic Commerce (EC However, there are many hindrance factors which cause EC to not reach its full potential and consumers lack of trust has often been identified as one of the main reasons for the disappointing development of B2C EC [Luo, 2002;Merrilees and Fry, 2003;Corbitt et al., 2003;Cazier et al, 2006]. This leads consumers to perceive the Web as a world of chaos, offering both opportunities and threats [Cheskin, 1999]. There are several critical failure factors that need to be addressed by the industry to ensure EC usage will continue to grow [Han and Noh, 1999]. Studies and reports by consumer associations, government organisations and academics identified some of these factors to include consumers dissatisfaction on the unstable EC systems, a low level of personal data security, disappointments with purchases such as non delivery of goods, hidden charges and difficulties in getting a refund and fraud [Han and Noh, 1999;Luo, 2002;Merrilees and Fry, 2003;Patton and Jøsang, 2004;Cazier et al, 2006]. These concerns are well justified as consumers' loss to Internet fraud has increased from US$3.2 millions in 1999 [Ba, and this continues to increase. It is generally perceived that it is relatively easy to set up a company in the digital world that appears legitimate but is actually a fraud [Ngai and Wat, 2002]. The question that many consumers are asking is "who to trust in the cyber space?" and most importantly, how to quantify trust? Many variables should be considered when attempting to quantify or just trying to understand the trust relationship between the vendor and the consumer. It is in this environment of risk and uncertainty that EC merchants must develop strategies for establishing trustworthiness, and that systems should be developed to assist consumers in assessing the level of trust they should place in an EC transaction [Patton and Jøsang, 2004]. Research Cont...

The Impact of Social Influence and Third Party Endorsement on Online Shopping in Saudi Arabia

“…Indeed, a sense of chaos in the ECommerce marketplace might be felt by customers; for example, they may fear that their personal information could be stolen due to untrustworthy online companies (Head, and Hassanein, 2002). It is well known that information accuracy, which is found in the E-Commerce websites, is incomplete (Meziane and Kasiran 2008). Some businesses claim to have a 'privacy policy', however there is no assurance that it can be found on the merchants' websites and the reviews that are found on many of these websites are hard to verify that they are from genuine consumers (Meziane and Kasiran 2008).…”

“…It is well known that information accuracy, which is found in the E-Commerce websites, is incomplete (Meziane and Kasiran 2008). Some businesses claim to have a 'privacy policy', however there is no assurance that it can be found on the merchants' websites and the reviews that are found on many of these websites are hard to verify that they are from genuine consumers (Meziane and Kasiran 2008). Therefore, friends and family members' recommendations enhance the trust of some business websites (Nor and Pearson, 2008).…”

An Investigation into Saudi Online Shoppers' Behaviour Abroad

“…However, this dramatically decreases in online markets. The absence of trust is identified as the main issue obstructing the development of EC [3,6]. Trust is always a strong factor in developing and maintaining relationships.…”

“…In Saudi Arabia the infrastructure of EC is not forthcoming because of the monopoly of Internet service providers [7] though Saudi customers would be encouraged to engage in EC if the facilities are provided [1]. Security and Integrity have been identified as the main concern in reference to trust relating to technology [3]. In another study, Internet payment systems have been identified as a major trust concern [7].…”

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“…In e-commerce platforms, where wide range of business activities that accommodate online products and services available for customers and business owners (Aulkemeier et al, 2015;Meziane & Kasiran, 2008;Ranganathan & Ganapathy, 2002) can be executed, deployment on cloudbased environment is economical and technologically reliable, but highly prone to security issues, especially the Business to Consumer (B2C) ecommerce model (Thaw, Mahmood, & Dominic, 2009;Pavlou, 2003). The B2C characterises e-commerce activities like purchasing, selling and exchange of goods and services via a computer network in an electronic form (Digitsmith, 2011 Authenticating the true identities of the receivers of associated transaction documents in a B2C e-commerce platforms, in a cloud-based environment, is still experiencing unresolved issues, owing to the deficiencies of the prominently-used XML signatures (Ramgovind et al, 2010;Siani & Charlesworth, 2009).…”