[Trust in e-commerce - Myth or Reality?]

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would first like to express my gratitude for my research supervisor, colleagues, peers and family whose immense and constant support has been a source of continuous guidance and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following dissertation/thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

Signature:

Dated:

Abstract

The rapid evolution of technology, the pressure to cut costs, and increased outreach to markets have made electronic business a popular trend, resulting in enhanced customer relationships and more efficient methods of conducting business. An increase in the number of reported Internet piracy problems, fraud scandals, and information security breaches give a clear indication that the web is not a fully secure and protected environment. E-businesses still lack solid, secure Internet business policies, systems, and plans that enhance customer loyalty and trust. Trust has become the foundation of a prosperous e-business. This qualitative study explores antecedents of trust between consumers and online merchants. The research investigates the influence of Internet security measures adopted by online merchants on consumers' online purchasing decisions and also the trust matters in which Ebay has been chosen as an example organization to explain the concept. Online business trustworthiness and trust in the Internet medium demonstrated significant relation with overall trust in e-commerce. It has been proved with the help of the literature review that the e-commerce trust is up till now a myth since it is a big trend which is bringing a new shape to the business and the information technology that runs it. But yet there is one main theme which resolves around the discussion made above, it says that in almost every case, there are some certain rules and principle of the business that e-commerce doesn't change. It requires a large amount of money to do the business on the web and make it successful, involve leadership that is creative and execution. It requires shrewdness of marketing, determination and also application of IT that is intelligent. A lot of aspects of the business and industry will be changed and will be better as the internet is taking more space in the industry. In the coming years but the certain principles of the business will remain the same.

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

Background1

Rationale2

Problem Statement3

Research Questions3

Nature of Study3

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW4

E-business Security4

Trust Matters: Risk and Uncertainty on eBay6

CHAPTER 03: METHODOLOGY10

Research Design10

Literature Search10

Reliability and Validity11

Generalizability11

Ethical Considerations12

CHAPTER 04: DISCUSSION14

Social Trust and E-Commerce14

Dimensions of Consumer Trust in E-Commerce15

Antecedents of Trust16

CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSION17

Further Research18

REFERENCES20

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Background

With the advancement of web-based services, electronic commerce is proving to be a desirable channel through which to conduct business. According to Burroughs and Sabherwal (2001), e-commerce removes traditional physical limitations and moves retailers to a new commercial marketplace, offering ways to reduce errors and cycle time while achieving a high degree of customizability of products and ...