Online trust versus trustworthiness

Online trust versus trustworthiness: Which one is more important and effective for marketing efforts in online environment?

For one to comprehend the nature of trust and how it operates it is essential to observe the dimension and situation in the framework of an online environment. According to Gefen. Benbasat and Pavlou (2008), the basis of trust in an online environment is centered on the trustee’s trustworthiness which comprises of integrity benevolence and ability. Previous research pertaining to trust in an online environment has combined trustworthiness and trust, but in fact they are two quite different notions.

According to Xiao Juan Ou and Choon Ling Sia (2009) trust can be defined as the notion in which an internet shopper places a degree of belief in an internet vendor and is prepared to carry out an internet shopping transaction even at the risk of incurring a loss, expecting that the vendor is likely to employ suitable means in delivering the products as promised.

Regarding the distinction or differences between trust and trustworthiness, both concepts involve the perception consumers have towards the company and its employees. Gefen, Benbasat and Pavlou (2008) saw trust as an attitudinal and control belief in which trusting a seller promotes the buyers purchase intentions to engage in a transaction with an online seller. This is made possible by the enhancement of the attitude of the buyer and perceived behavioral control over the outcome of the online transaction performance.

Trust is the general opinion held with respect to a company and its employees whilst trustworthiness provides a particular focus as to how the employees and the organization are viewed by the customers during the period of delivery of a service. A consumer can trust employees of a company but not the company itself which underlines the importance of trustworthiness.

Trustworthiness is said to be an ethical value considered to be a virtue. It concerns the insight of clients towards a company and its employees in the process of service and business delivery. Trustworthiness unswervingly examines the process linked with the effective delivery service rendered by employees and the evaluation of management practices. The more trustworthy an online seller is perceived by its client, the stronger the client’s intention to buy from these sellers (McKnight, Cummings and Chervany, 2008). The intention to buy depends on the level of trust towards the provider which in turn depends on the provider's perceived trustworthiness (Mayer, Davis and Schoorman, 1995). Trustworthiness refers to the person’s perception towards the second or third party, and its ability/ benevolence that he or she is a person or organization of integrity, high credibility and reputation in its dealings. The conceptual foundations of trustworthiness as stated by Ou and Sia (2009) are based on several elements. First is the operational competence which has to do with the ability of employees and management to execute their service to clients. Second is the operational benevolence, i.e. the service provider’s ability to place the consumers’ interest first and foremost, through employee reaction. Third is the problem solving orientation which is the ability of the service provider to anticipate and resolve consumer problems during and after service or purchase, whereby keeping in touch with its customers.

Trustworthiness can be potentially by the employees due to their fast, friendly service and responsiveness, thereby reducing perceived risk to the customer (Buttner and Goritz, 2008). On the other hand, customers may hold a low level of trustworthiness towards the company due the restrictive business processes which prohibit employees from making fast decisions in times of service failures in its transactions with clients. In electronic/online shopping trustworthiness tends to be imperative for its ability towards converting non-buyers or users into users/buyers. When engaging in online transaction customers have to rely on the promises given by the online retailers, in terms of assurance/safety delivery. The more trustworthy an online vendor is perceived, the more likely he or she is to take an actual financial risk towards purchase, and the higher the perceived risks of an online buying and selling, the higher the impact of perceived trustworthiness on intention to buy from a provider. The more risky a transaction is perceived, the more trustworthy a provider needs to be perceived in order to engage in a transaction (Mayer, Davis and Schoorman, 1995). Trustworthiness, on the other hand, involves the organizations capacity to deliver to others, as they expect, and in the process, creates value for the group as a whole. If a consumer perceives no risks at all, the intention to buy should be independent from the perceived trustworthiness of a vendor. Therefore, perceived risk is expected to moderate the relationship between trustworthiness and intention to buy.

Trustworthiness is most important for effective marketing efforts in online business; this is because results have shown that actual purchase and financial risk are both promoted by trustworthiness and this is as a result of the fact that perceived risk was not discovered to mediate the relationship between trustworthiness and the intention to purchase. However, trustworthiness mediated the influence of the perceived risk on intention to buy partially (Buttner and Goritz 2008). This would be helpful for online marketing because when the company is trustworthy this would make the customer to make purchase without having to think about financial risk, that is the purchase was made as a result of trustworthiness.

Thus, if the three factors ability, benevolence and integrity are high the trustee would be quite trustworthy, (Mayer, Davis and Schoorman, 1995). Therefore it is important for an organization to possess those three factors because they all add up to trustworthiness. Furthermore if a high level of trustworthiness exists it is very likely that a high level of trust will be expressed by the customer. The commitment-trust theory proposed by Morgan and Hunt (1994) suggests that when a company has the trust of its customers which from their side perceive the company to be trustworthy a commitment is maintained by both sides. Such commitment is perceived to be beneficial to provider and consumer therefore trust and trustworthiness are both essential in online business development.

REFERENCES

Buttner, O., and Goritz A. (2008) ‘Perceived trustworthiness of online shops’ Journal of

Consumer Behaviour, 7, 35-50

Gefen, D., Benbasat, I., and Pavlou, A. (2008) ‘A Research Agenda for Trust in Online

Environments’. Journal of Management Information Systems 24 (4) 275-286

Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., Schoorman, F. D. (1995). ‘An Integrative Model of Organizational Trust’. The Academy of Management Review 20 (3):709-734.

McKnight, D., Cummings, L., and Chervany, N. (2008). ‘Initial Trust Formation in New Organizational Relationships’. Landmark Papers on Trust. Vol. 2: 313-330.

Morgan, R., & Hunt, S. (1994). ‘The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing’. Journal of Marketing, 58(3), 20-38.

Xiaojuan Ou, C., Choon, L. (2009) ‘To trust or to distrust, that is the question investigating the

trust-distrust paradox’ Communications of the ACM, 52(5), 135-139