The effects of three dimensions of trustworthiness and other contextual factors on likelihood of internet purchase

This paper presents a model of trust on the Internet that focuses on three dimensions: benefit delivery, willingness to rectify, and privacy protection. It investigates the perceived value a consumer places on these dimensions when set in the context of different product categories, price discounts, delivery time and where the products are available. It was found that, for all of the categories tested, a store was preferred to the web. Also, product category had a
substantial effect on which aspects most affected the respondents’ willingness to choose either the WWW or a store. Mostly, discounts and the presence of a brand (i.e. ability to deliver the benefit) were critical, although having a privacy statement (privacy protection) was most important for one product. While the overall order changes from one product category to another, all three of the trust dimensions were significant in all product categories.