Trust on the Web: the Power of Subjective Norm across Cultures

This study finds that subjective norm plays a critical role in online trust formation. It is the covariate of all cultural variables. For a person of any cultural orientation, others' opinions matter. Uncertainty avoidance and power distance, but not collectivism, most strongly influence subjective norm and trust constructs. Introduction While e-commerce is a global phenomenon, and understanding the cross-cultural aspects of online trust creation is inevitably crucial for its success, little study has been done on online trust and culture. Winning customers' trust is key to e-commerce success, yet " research on trust and trust beliefs in e-commerce has mostly ignored the possible effects of national culture " (Gefen and Heart, 2006, 1). Furthermore, no work has examined culture and trust at the individual level in an online context. Extending McKnight, Choudhury, and Kacmar's trust model (2002), this study explored the relationship between online trust formation and cultural influences at the individual level.