A study of trust in e-shopping before and after first-hand experience is gained

This study reports the quantitative findings of trust in e-shopping before and after first-hand experience is gained. A trust model is adopted and the results are based on the effect of the ability, benevolence, and integrity of e-merchants on the trust of e-shoppers. An e-shopping experiment was designed and the relevant information collected in a two-stage study. Stage one collected feedback from participants before they had gained e-shopping experience, and stage two gathered information after they had gained experience. The results show that the integrity of e-merchants had a positive and significant effect on the trust of e-shoppers before they gained first-hand experience, whereas the ability and integrity of e-merchants had a positive and significant effect on the trust of e-shoppers after they gained first-hand experience. The discussion on the managerial implications of these results is also included.