Antecedents of Building Trust in E-Commerce Websites: Evidence from Ghana

Abstract

One of the underlying factors that need to be taken seriously when using the internet to transact business is trust. The lack of face to face interaction in e-commerce trade leads to lack of trust which is hindering e-commerce. This research seeks to investigate how Ghanaian e-commerce firms institute trust in their websites and how that influences consumer trust. Past research on trust in e-commerce have been considering only one side of trust at a time, that is, either at the consumer side or organizational side. Other studies on trust have shown that empirical results on trust are far from univocal implying possible effects of different trustworthiness cues on the development of trust in online transactions according to different contexts. This study seeks to expand past knowledge by studying trust from both stakeholders. This study investigated the antecedent of trust using a comprehensive model which enables the holistic understanding of trust from both the organizational and consumer side from a developing country perspective. Following the objective of this study, the Technological, Organizational, and Environmental framework was conceptualized. Based on the realism paradigm, the study adopted mixed-methods approach. Using in-depth interviews the qualitative approach was used to answer the research question: which mechanisms Ghanaian e-commerce firms use to institute trust? On the other hand, the quantitative approach used surveys to answer the research question: which mechanisms influence Ghanaian e-commerce consumers trust using variables identified from the literature review. The findings of this study indicated that the e-commerce firms were using recommender systems and social presence applications (technological antecedents) to institute trust. They were also instituting trust using policies, third party alliance, offline presence, and product guarantee/warranty (organizational antecedents). The quantitative results showed that the factors influencing trust in Ghanaian e-commerce firms are Perceived Risk, Familiarity, Perceived Reputation, Ease of Finding, Ease of Understanding, and Disposition to trust. The study recommended that e-commerce websites reduce consumers’ perceived risk by decreasing their perceived environmental risks; and also unfamiliar and small e-commerce firms can liaise with already established brand names in order to win the trust of prospective consumers thereby increasing sales. Future research should focus on identifying elements that contributes to consumers’ perceived environmental risks and how to mitigate them. Further studies can also consider the impact of these factors on trust with respect to gender differences. More specifically, by assessing the factors that influence online males’ trust and those that influence online females’ trust.