David Gefen

Trust and TAM in online shopping: an integrated model

A separate and distinct interaction with both the actual e-vendor and with its IT Web site interface is at the heart of online shopping. Previous research has established, accordingly, that online purchase intentions are the product of both consumer assessments of the IT itself-specifically its perceived usefulness and ease-of-use (TAM)-and trust in the e-vendor. But these perspectives have been examined independently by IS researchers. Integrating these two perspectives and examining the factors that build online trust in an environment that lacks the typical human interaction that often leads to trust in other circumstances advances our understanding of these constructs and their linkages to behavior. Our research on experienced repeat online shoppers shows that consumer trust is as important to online commerce as the widely accepted TAM use-antecedents, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Together these variable sets explain a considerable proportion of variance in intended behavior. The study also provides evidence that online trust is built through (1) a belief that the vendor has nothing to gain by cheating, (2) a belief that there are safety mechanisms built into the Web site, and (3) by having a typical interface, (4) one that is, moreover, easy to use.

Gender differences in the perception and use of E-mail: an extension to the technology acceptance model

This study extends the TAM model (Davis 1989) and the SPIR addendum (Straub 1994) by adding gender to an IT diffusion model. The technology acceptance model (TAM) has been widely studied in IS research as an explanation of the use of information systems across IS types and nationalities. While this line of research has found significant cross-cultural differences, it has ignored the effects of gender, even though in socio-linguistic research, gender is a fundamental aspect of culture. Indeed, socio-linguistic research has shown that men tend to focus discourse on hierarchy and independence, while women focus on intimacy and solidarity. This literature provides a solid grounding for conceptual extensions to the IT diffusion research and the technology acceptance model.Testing gender differences that might relate to beliefs and use of computer-based media, the present study sampled 392 female and male responses via a cross-sectional survey instrument. The sample drew from comparable groups of knowledge workers using e-mail systems in the airline industry in North America, Asia, and Europe.Study findings indicate that women and men differ in their perceptions but not use of e-mail. These findings suggest that researchers should include gender in IT diffusion models along with other cultural effects. Managers and coworkers, moreover, need to realize that the same mode of communication may be perceived differently by the sexes, suggesting that more favorable communications environments might be created, environments that take into account not only organizational contextual factors, but also the gender of users. The creation of these environments involves not only the actual deployment of communication media, but also organizational training on communications media.

Validation in information systems research: a state-of-the-art assessment

Over 10 years ago, the issue of whether IS researchers were rigorously validating their quantitative, positivist instruments was raised (Straub 1989). In the years that have passed since that time, the profession has undergone many changes. Novel technologies and management trends have come and gone. New professional societies have been formed and grown in prominence and new demands have been placed on the fields research and teaching obligations. But the issue of rigor in IS research has persisted throughout all such changes. Without solid validation of the instruments that are used to gather data upon which findings and interpretations are based, the very scientific basis of positivist, quantitative research is threatened. As a retrospective on the Straub article, this research seeks to determine if and how the field has advanced in instrument validation. As evidence of the change, we coded positivist, quantitative research articles in five major journals over a recent three year period for use of validation techniques. Findings suggest that the field has advanced in many areas, but, overall, it appears that a majority of published studies are still not sufficiently validating their instruments. Based on these findings, approaches are suggested for reinvigorating the quest for validation in IS research via content/construct validity, reliability, and manipulation validity.

Encouraging Citizen Adoption of E-Government by Building Trust

A b s t r a c t The growing interest in e-Government raises the question of how governments can increase citizen adoption and usage of their online government services. e-Government becomes especially important given its potential to reduce costs and improve service compared with alternative traditional modes. Citizen trust is proposed to be an important catalyst of e-Government adoption. By investigating online tax services, already available and used extensively in the West, we propose several ways in which governments can increase citizen trust and thus encourage the adoption of this new and potentially significant mode of government service. The proposed e-Government adoption model also takes in account issues of cultural variables, risk, control and technology acceptance. Institution-based trust, such as an independent judicial system with appropriate legal powers, is proposed to be the major tactic to build trust in e-Government. In addition, among new users of online government services, characteristic-based and cognitive-based antecedents should be crucial; general psychological dispositions and knowledge of the process should also engender trust. Among experienced users, on the other hand, it is suggested that the nature of previous interactions with the e-Government system should be the major predictor of trust, and hence of continued use. These propositions are elucidated, as they apply to different cultures and to highintrusive versus low-intrusive government services. This study has practical implications for the design of mechanisms for the adoption of e-Government.

Reflections on the dimensions of trust and trustworthiness among online consumers

Trust is emerging as a potentially central aspect leading to IT acceptance. It is especially needed in the case of gaining and later retaining consumers of online vendors. This has been shown by previous research using single dimensional constructs. But trust can also be viewed as a multi-dimensional construct combining specific beliefs (sometimes labeled as trustworthiness) that either directly or through an overall assessment of trust influence relevant behavioral intentions. To show the need to examine trust in a multi-dimensional perspective, this study proposes a three-dimensional scale of trustworthiness dealing with integrity, benevolence, and ability in the unique case of online consumer trust, and then shows the importance of examining the effects of each dimension individually. The data show that trustworthiness and trust should not be regarded as a single construct with a single effect. Rather, different beliefs influence different consumer activity intentions. Window-shopping intentions was affected by the ability-trustworthiness of the vendor, while overall trust in the vendor and its integrity-trustworthiness affected purchase intentions. The importance of differentiating among online customer activities and what dimensions of trustworthiness affect each is discussed.

TAM or Just Plain Habit: A Look at Experienced Online Shoppers

According to the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), behavioral intentions to use a new IT are primarily the product of a rational analysis of its desirable perceived outcomes, namely perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU). But what happens with the continued use of an IT among experienced users? Does habit also kick in as a major factor or is continued use only the product of its desirable outcomes? This study examines this question in the context of experienced online shoppers. The data show that, as hypothesized, online shoppers’ intentions to continue using a website that they last bought at depend not only on PU and PEOU, but also on habit. In fact, habit alone can explain a large proportion of the variance of continued use of a website. Moreover, the explained variance indicates that habit may also be a major predictor of PU and PEOU among experienced shoppers. Implications are discussed.

A Research Agenda for Trust in Online Environments

We present an agenda for the future research that has the potential to extend the conceptual foundations of trust in online environments and to improve the practice in the domain. The agenda draws on the previous work on trust, the papers included in this Special Issue, and our perspective on the state of the literature. This agenda is structured into four components-nature and role of trust, moderators of trust, antecedents of trust, and empirical methods for examining trust.

The impact of developer responsiveness on perceptions of usefulness and ease of use: an extension of the technology acceptance model

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) suggests that the perceived usefulness (PU) and the perceived ease of use (PEOU) of an information system (IS) are major determinants of its use. Previous research has demonstrated the validity of this model across a wide variety of IS types. However, prior research has not identified antecedents of PU and there has been only limited research on the antecedents of PEOU. Consequently, research has provided little guidance to IS managers on methods to increase use by augmenting PU and PEOU.Viewing IS development as an instance of Social Exchange Theory (SET), this study proposes that IS managers can influence both the PU and the PEOU of an IS through a constructive social exchange with the user. One means of building and maintaining a constructive social exchange is through developer responsiveness. The results of this study, examining the adoption of an expert system, indeed support this notion. Specifically, developer responsiveness strongly influenced both PU and PEOU, but only indirectly affected actual behavior --- IS use --- in accordance with the predictions of SET. An extension of TAM based on SET is presented and the implications of this extended model are discussed from both a managerial and theoretical perspective.

On the Need to Include National Culture as a Central Issue in E-Commerce Trust Beliefs

Trust and trust beliefs (trustworthiness) are key to e-commerce success but depend, to a large extent, on culture. With e-commerce being an international phenomenon, understanding the cross-cultural aspects of trust creation is therefore arguably required although mostly ignored by current research which deals almost exclusively with the U.S. This exploratory study examines whether definitions of trust beliefs as conceptualized and verified in the U.S. apply in Israel which differs markedly in individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance. The data, cross-validating the scale of trust and its antecedents in both cultures, generally support the proposition that trust beliefs apply across cultures, and may be a relatively unvarying aspect of e-commerce. However, as expected, the effects of predictability and familiarity on trust beliefs may differ across national cultures. Implications about the need to include national culture in the research on trust, in general, and in e-commerce in particular, are discussed.

Business familiarity as risk mitigation in software development outsourcing contracts

This study examines the role of business familiarity in determining how software development outsourcing projects are managed and priced to address risks. Increased business familiarity suggests both more prior knowledge, and hence reduced adverse selection risk, and increased implied trust about future behavior, and hence implied reduced moral hazard risk. Preferring high business familiarity partners may also alleviate concerns about incomplete contracts. By reducing these risks, higher business familiarity is hypothesized to be associated with higher priced projects, reduced penalties, and an increased tendency to contract on a time and materials rather than a fixed price basis. These hypotheses were examined with objective contractual legal data from contracts made by a leading international bank. Integrating trust theory into agency theory and into incomplete contract theory and examining unique contract data, the contribution of the study is to show that the premium on business familiarity and the trust it implies is not in directly affecting price, but, rather, in changing how the relationship is managed toward a tendency to sign time and materials contracts. Implications about integrating trust into agency theory and incomplete contract theory, as well as implications regarding trust premiums and software development outsourcing, are discussed.