Understanding the influencing factors of the effectiveness of trusted third party's trust transformation

Through the experimental data analysis, this paper found that trusted third parties (TTPs) can effectively reduce the trust barrier of consumers. Furthermore, we point out that TTPs have the function of trust transfer, which provides a meaningful framework for our understanding of the mechanism of TTPs. According to this research, consumers’ trust in unfamiliar enterprises is built on their trust of TTPs. The chain relationship of TTPs’ trust and certification of enterprises and consumers’ recognition of TTPs enables the transfer of consumer trust to enterprises and finally leads to consumers’ trust in these enterprises. Also, the reputation and presentation of TTPs can have a significant influence on the trust transfer. The results further reveal the internal mechanism of TTPs and clarify the regulatory factors that influence the trust transfer. These findings are helpful for understanding and extension of relevant theories and enterprises’ decision making on TTPs.