TRUST-RELATED ARGUMENTS IN INTERNET STORES: A FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATION

A framework that identifies key trust-related issues and organizes them into four categories is developed and can be used as a foundation for future empirical studies investigating the effects of trust -related arguments on consumers ’ trust in Internet stores.

Abstract

This paper discusses the trust related issues and arguments (evidence) Internet stores need to provide in order to increase consumer trust. Based on a model of trust from academic literature, in addition to a model of the customer service life cycle, the paper develops a framework that identifies key trust-related issues and organizes them into four categories: personal information, product quality and price, customer service, and store presence. It is further validated by comparing the issues it raises to issues identified in a review of academic studies, and to issues of concern identified in two consumer surveys. The framework is also applied to ten well-known web sites to demonstrate its applicability. The proposed framework will benefit both practitioners and researchers by identifying important issues regarding trust, which need to be accounted for in Internet stores. For practitioners, it provides a guide to the issues Internet stores need to address in their use of arguments. For researchers, it can be used as a foundation for future empirical studies investigating the effects of trust-related arguments on consumers ’ trust in Internet stores.