The Generation of Trust in the Online Services and Product Distribution: the Case of Spanish Electronic Commerce

Not all countries have the same level of e-commerce penetration. This could be due to the influence of cultural factors on consumer trust with regard to online purchasing. This may also explain why countries like Spain, with similar economic and technological levels to its neighbours’, have a lower level of e-commerce usage. This paper examines the antecedents of trust, and, the relationship between trust and consumer commitment in Spain. The results obtained show that the factors governing the development of online trust are similar to those detected in other countries. Specifically, the results show that consumer trust is influenced by perceived website usability and reputation, by the consumer satisfaction and by the perceived privacy and security policy of the website. This paper also verifies that consumer trust has a positive effect on consumer commitment. Besides, no significant differences are observed in the research model between online services and product distribution. Finally, managerial recommendations and future research lines are suggested.