Seeing is believing: The transitory influence of reputation information on e-commerce trust and decision making

This research examines the transitory influence of reputation information on consumer decision making regarding an e-vendor. Using social judgment theory to explain how reputation information's effect on perceptions may be fleeting, we specifically examined how user trusting beliefs related to an e-vendor change after a simple exposure to the Web site. A total of 369 college students participated in an experiment that found that reputation information was initially strongly related to trusting beliefs regarding the e-vendor, but a brief nonpurchase-related exposure to the e-vendor's Web site-that is, direct experience-reduced reputation's effects significantly. This research provides insights into why reputation information may be more important in certain circumstances than in others and enhances our understanding of how consumer decision making is affected by different purchasing contexts. This research also has implications on the design and use of trust-building technologies.