Trust has been called vital or key to e-commerce (Keen et al., 2000). If trust is
vital, then building trust is even more essential. Yet, as Keen et al. observed, both
trust and its antecedents are elusive. By delineating the roles of trust, this paper
focuses on the significance of each aspect of trust in the domain of e-commerce,
particularly in the initial phase of a relationship when the user does not have direct
experience with a vendor. Two key trust-in-the-web-vendor concepts—trusting beliefs
and willingness to depend—have been shown by this study to have a critical influence
on key behavioral intentions of web consumers—intentions to purchase from the site,
to share personal information, and to follow web site vendor advice. These are three
intentions that represent an effective transactional vendor–consumer partnership.
Three key trust building levers that can be managed by web vendors (reputation, site
quality, and structural assurance) have been tested and shown to be effective in
building initial trust in the web vendor. Finally, the TBM successfully incorporates
the concept of perceived web risk, illuminating the interactive roles of trust and risk
in the web environment.