Trust and Loyalty: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

This research examines how website trust differs across cultures (using a four-country sample that includes Canada, the U.S., Germany, and Japan). More specifically, the research looks at institutional-based trust (McKnight et al, 2002) and addresses: (1) how consumer attitudes towards security, privacy, legitimacy of the online vendor, and quality assurance differ across cultures in the context of e-commerce, (2) how consumer attitudes affect website trust (3) how website trust and e-loyalty (the latter defined as intent to return to the site to purchase) differ across cultures, and (4) how website trust results in e-loyalty. Implications of the research are relevant for academics and practitioners who seek empirical understanding of how to better address cultural issues related to website trust. A review of the literature is presented, including hypotheses for testing. Preliminary results are presented. General Terms Management, Trust, Experimentation