Empirical research in on-line trust: a review and critical assessment

Lack of trust is one of the most frequently cited reasons for consumers not purchasing from Internet vendors. During the last four years a number of empirical studies have investigated the role of trust in the specific context of e-commerce, focusing on different aspects of this multi-dimensional construct. However, empirical research in this area is beset by conflicting conceptualizations of the trust construct, inadequate understanding of the relationships between trust, its antecedents and consequents, and the frequent use of trust scales that are neither theoretically derived nor rigorously validated. The major objective of this paper is to provide an integrative review of the empirical literature on trust in e-commerce in order to allow cumulative analysis of results. The interpretation and comparison of different empirical studies on on-line trust first requires conceptual clarification. A set of trust constructs is proposed that reflects both institutional phenomena (system trust) and personal and interpersonal forms of trust (dispositional trust, trusting beliefs, trusting intentions and trust-related behaviours), thus facilitating a multi-level and multi-dimensional analysis of research problems related to trust in e-commerce.