The Significance of Reputation and Brand for Creating Trust in the Different Stages of a Relationship between an Online Vendor and its Customers

The article aims to clarify the meaning of the concepts ‘reputation’ and ‘brand’ where reputation represents the collective perception and second hand information of an actor, for example a firm, whereas the most important part of a brand, the brand image, resides in the minds of the individual. Based on these conceptual differences, the collective nature of reputations versus the individual nature of brands, these phenomena take up different roles when it comes to engendering trust in an online vendor. The significance of reputation and brand for creating trust in a market partner are further elaborated upon with a particular focus on the specific features of the different stages of trust as a relationship between an online vendor and its (potential) customers progresses.