Are the drivers and role of online trust the same for all web sites and consumers? A large-scale exploratory empirical study

The authors develop a conceptual model that links Web site and consumer characteristics, online trust, and behavioral intent. They estimate this model on data from 6831 consumers across 25 sites from eight Web site categories, using structural equation analysis with a priori and post hoc segmentation. The results show that the influences of the determinants of online trust are different across site categories and consumers. Privacy and order fulfillment are the most influential determinants of trust for sites in which both information risk and involvement are high, such as travel sites. Navigation is strongest for information-intensive sites, such as sports, portal, and community sites. Brand strength is critical for high-involvement categories, such as automobile and financial services sites. Online trust partially mediates the relationships between Web site and consumer characteristics and behavioral intent, and this mediation is strongest (weakest) for sites oriented toward infrequently (frequently) purchased, highinvolvement items, such as computers (financial services). Yakov Bart is a doctoral student

Determinants and Role of Trust in E-Business: A Large Scale Empirical Study

This research investigates the determinants and role of consumer trust in e-business. It examines consumer perceptions of trust in a Web site and addresses the following key research questions: What factors influence consumer trust in a Web site and what specific Web site trust cues are associated with these factors? How does trust affect consumer behavioral intent on a Web site? To address these questions, we develop a conceptual model that links consumer perceptions of Web site characteristics, consumer characteristics and demographics to perceptions of trust in a Web site, and trust to behavioral intent related to a Web site. We also examine whether trust mediates the relationship between Web site and consumer characteristics and behavioral intent related to the Web site. We test our hypotheses in a large-scale empirical study that estimates this model from 6831 consumers across 25 Web sites and eight industry categories. We validate the model using a holdout sample. The results show that Web site, consumer, category and demographic variables can explain 76% of the variance in trust. Web site characteristics such as privacy and security, navigation, presentation, brand, and advice account for as much as 98% of this explained variance in Web site trust. Surprisingly, over 80% of the explained variance in Web trust is due to factors other than privacy and security-mainly navigation, brand, advice, absence of errors, and presentation. We also find that trust mediates the relationships between Web site and consumer characteristics and behavioral intent related to Web sites. The results offer important implications for Web site strategies that include the manipulation of factors influencing Web site trust to favorably impact consumer behavior at the Web sit

A simulation model of population and agricultural growth in a developing country : a case study of Pakistan.

Thesis. 1977. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mathematics.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE.Bibliography : leaves 201-202.M.S