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The effect of web communities on consumers' initial trust in B2C e‐commerce websites

Author

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  • Malaika Brengman
  • Farhod P. Karimov

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to test the effectiveness of the mere integration of social network applications to provide a signal concerning the “trustworthiness” of an unfamiliar e‐vendor in order to enhance subsequent purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach - To investigate the impact of web communities on consumers' initial trust beliefs (i.e. ability, benevolence and integrity), a 2×3 between‐subjects full factorial online experiment was carried out, using a fictitious web site for a gift gadgets selling company, manipulating it for inclusion or exclusion of a “social networking site”, and for inclusion or exclusion of “a corporate blog (text only blog, photo and text blog, or no blog)”. Data were obtained from 226 online shoppers. Findings - Although the authors could not reveal any effects of the integration of social network applications on “ability” beliefs, it was possible to demonstrate their capacity to “signal” “benevolence” and “integrity”, which in turn have a significant impact on purchase intentions. Unfamiliar e‐retailers may foster perceptions of “integrity” by utilizing text‐blogs into their web sites, but they should avoid embedding facial photos of shop representatives in the blog. If e‐retailers want to make use of “a corporate blog with facial photo”, it is recommended to combine it with the integration of a social networking site such as Facebook in order to boost perceptions of “benevolence”. Research limitations/implications - The simple integration of “social network applications” can affect “initial trust beliefs” towards unfamiliar e‐tailers and subsequent “purchase intentions”, but it appears essential to utilize just the right cue combination in order to obtain the desired effect. The effectiveness of integrating a social network application may vary according to the type and may affect different trust beliefs (benevolence, integrity). Originality/value - An important issue in e‐commerce remains how trust is developed between consumers and e‐retailers. This paper investigates the use of different web communities and the influence of their integration in the commercial web site on consumers' initial trust beliefs in the online environment. The findings will help business managers to understand how social media should be used to lead to optimal results.

Suggested Citation

  • Malaika Brengman & Farhod P. Karimov, 2012. "The effect of web communities on consumers' initial trust in B2C e‐commerce websites," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(9), pages 791-817, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:mrrpps:v:35:y:2012:i:9:p:791-817
    DOI: 10.1108/01409171211256569
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fei Song & Alex Bitektine, 2018. "Firm Status and Evaluators’ Trust: The Many Ways to Trust a Firm," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 503-518, December.
    2. Phan, Tien-Thao Cong & Dang, Tri-Quan & Nguyen, Luan-Thanh, 2023. "Consumer trust in social network sites in Vietnam: PLS-SEM-ANN analysis," EconStor Conference Papers 278766, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    3. Son, Youngdoo & Kim, Wonjoon, 2023. "Development of methodology for classification of user experience (UX) in online customer review," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    4. Tuğba Koç & Fatih Çevik, 2022. "Building Trust in E-Commerce: A Practical Trust Guide for Evaluation," Alphanumeric Journal, Bahadir Fatih Yildirim, vol. 10(2), pages 167-184, December.
    5. Osama Sohaib & Kyeong Kang & Mohammad Nurunnabi, 2018. "Gender-Based iTrust in E-Commerce: The Moderating Role of Cognitive Innovativeness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.
    6. Luo, Nuan & Wang, Yu & Zhang, Mingli & Niu, Tao & Tu, Jianbo, 2020. "Integrating community and e-commerce to build a trusted online second-hand platform: Based on the perspective of social capital," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    7. Yeon, Jewoo & Park, Inyoung & Lee, Daeho, 2019. "What creates trust and who gets loyalty in social commerce?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 138-144.
    8. Catherine Baethge & Julia Klier & Mathias Klier, 2016. "Social commerce—state-of-the-art and future research directions," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 26(3), pages 269-290, August.
    9. Abeer A. Mahrous & Abdelhamid K. Abdelmaaboud, 2017. "Antecedents of participation in online brand communities and their purchasing behavior consequences," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 11(2), pages 229-251, June.
    10. Mattison Thompson, Frauke & Tuzovic, Sven & Braun, Corina, 2019. "Trustmarks: Strategies for exploiting their full potential in e-commerce," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 237-247.
    11. Thomas Friedrich & Sebastian Schlauderer & Sven Overhage, 2021. "Some things are just better rich: how social commerce feature richness affects consumers’ buying intention via social factors," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 31(1), pages 159-180, March.

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