Do we need innovative trust intermediaries in the digital economy?

Abstract

Even almost 20 years after the launch of online shopping (B2C E-Commerce) as an important pillar of the digital economy, a significant number of consumers are still reluctant to buy goods and services via a website due to lack of trust. Study after study has shown that this lack of trust is due to privacy issues, IT security and performance risks. As a consequence, a few years after the advent of the digital economy trust marks began to be introduced which vendors can display on their websites in the hope of remedying this lack of trust. Several studies exploring the effectiveness of trust marks showed low awareness and an inadequate understanding of such certification. The aim of this repeat study is to explore whether awareness and understanding of German trust marks have changed from 2007 to 2012 through increased Internet experience and online purchasing activity as well as through the wider proliferation of Internet trust marks. The results show that the problems associated with lack of awareness of Internet trust marks identified earlier still persist and do not appear to have diminished over time.