Distinguishing Different Types Of Initial Trust In Online C2C Auction Markets

Many researchers observe that trust is of importance in online transactions. Most of them have focussed on the trust a buyer has in a seller. In an online C2C auction market, such as eBay, trust in the organization that facilitates the auction is an additional trust relationship that is of importance for the outcome of the transactions. Here we investigate which types of trust relationships are present in an online C2C auction market and which differences exist between these relationships. The focus lies on situations of initial trust, in which parties have not gained experience with each other yet. We present a model of antecedents of initial trust that can be used to analyze these different types of trust relationships. These antecedents are: reputation, formal control structures, disposition to trust and communication.