Perceptions of Trust Between Online Auction Consumers

Trust between partners is a precondition for business transactions. The perceptions of trust were studied among the users of a popular Finnish online auction site, ‘Huuto.net’. Results are based on interview and survey data collected from 358 users. According to the interviews, a reputation system that is based on user feedback is essential for the evaluation of other users and their reliability, but the more experienced users had also adopted more advanced strategies for looking for additional reliability cues. The results of the survey indicate that experienced users with a longer transaction history often tend to establish regular contacts, and, partly for this reason, perceive online transacting as reliable. The experienced users were also more positive about the system and its administration than less experienced users. As a practical result, in this paper, the authors examine which kinds of design elements of the service support the experience of trust. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-2779-6.ch015