A Prediction Model for Initial Trust Formation in Electronic Commerce

This research investigates trust-building strategies that may influence transactions between individuals and unknown Internet firms, focusing on three influential components that mediate the relationship between online shoppers and online vendors. Results indicate significant direct effects for trust in the Internet infrastructure, susceptibility to the social influence of media, and the presence of influential site characteristics on user willingness to provide personal information to unknown Internet firms. This study extends the research on trust in electronic commerce by providing a prediction model that is demonstrated to calculate the probability of user willingness to provide information. The utility of the model for identifying the relative importance of factors and predicting outcomes lends insight into important issues in online trust formation. Knowledge of effective trust-building strategies guide organizations that use the Internet for selling, marketing, or servicing customers to gain maximum benefits from investments in e-commerce applications.