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The Development of Trust in Virtual Communities

The Development of Trust in Virtual Communities
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Author(s): Catherine M. Ridings (Lehigh University, USA)and David Gefen (Drexel University, USA)
Copyright: 2001
Pages: 4
Source title: Managing Information Technology in a Global Economy
Source Editor(s): Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. (Information Resources Management Association, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-930708-07-5.ch071
ISBN13: 9781930708075
EISBN13: 9781466665323

Abstract

This empirical study applies an existing scale to measure trust in the context of virtual communities on the Internet, and explores factors that build trust in this unique environment. The results show that trust is composed of two dimensions: trust in others’ abilities and trust in benevolence/integrity. In addition, this research found that trust has relationships with perceived responsiveness, disposition to trust, and perceptions regarding the degree to which others confide personal information. Trust itself affected participants’ desire to get and to provide information to others in the online community.

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