Trust and Quality Assurance in Business-to-Consumer Electronic Commerce: Enhancing Consumer Acceptance and Participation

The growth of electronic commerce (e-commerce) has been inhibited by consumer fears and concerns about the risks, real and perceived. This paper discusses the risks associated with ecommerce transactions and the measures to gain consumers' trust in order to enhance their acceptance and participation. The quality assurance in e-commerce, and therefore the enhancement of consumer's trust and acceptance, should be a combination of self-regulation, technology, and legislation. Regulations similar to those for traditional businesses could be applied to the electronic commerce environment to protect consumers with the assurance regarding the existence of business entities and define the related liabilities to consumers.