The elements of online trust

Abstract

The increasing success and popularity of the Internet makes this a critical time to examine elements that can cause online user interactions to be a success or a dismal failure. One of the most important of these elements, trust, has been identified as critical in ensuring a successful online interaction (Cheskin, 2000; Egger, 2000; Stratford, 2000). Human trust is essential for effective online experiences in part because these systems eliminate or minimize face-to-face contact. Online interface designers are also interested in trust as it relates to their ability to design elements into their websites that engender trust on the part of their users. They require knowledge about what goes into building an online trust relationship with a user which they can use to facilitate this process. While the importance of online trust is recognized, its study is just beginning. Questions such as 'what exactly is online trust?' and 'What makes a website trustworthy?' are some of the key issues in the study of online trust. We have identified two online contexts upon which to focus during the workshop. These are: ecommerce and health care information systems.