Abstract
Knowledge-based trust is trust that is grounded in knowledge about another party developed through repeated interaction. Knowledge-based trust is especially important for online business environments where there are repeated transactions between fixed pairs of consumers and merchants. Building on previous studies of trust, this paper examines the proposition that players’ knowledge about website characteristics (i.e., security and interface design) and about website outputs (i.e., online game quality and service quality) has an effect on the development of trust in the context of online game websites. The impact of trust on building an effective online game website is also investigated. A conceptual model of knowledge-based trust is tested with questionnaire responses of 253 online game players. Overall, the results indicate that all of these four classes of knowledge engender trust and that trust helps develop effective online game websites.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agarwal, R., & Karahanna, E. (2000). Time flies when you’re having fun: cognitive absorption and beliefs about information technology usage. MIS Quarterly, 24, 665–694.
Agarwal, R., & Prasad, J. (1999). Are individual differences germane to the acceptance of new information technologies. Decision Science, 30, 361–391.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. NJ, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Arrow, K. (1974). The limits of organization. New York: W. W. Norton.
Ba, S., & Pavlou, P. A. (2002). Evidence of the effect of trust in electronic markets: price premiums and buyer behavior. MIS Quarterly, 26, 243–266.
Baier, A. (1986). Trust and antitrust. Ethics, 96, 231–260.
Barney, J. B., & Hansen, M. B. (1994). Trustworthiness as a source of competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 15, 175–190.
Bart, Y., Shankar, V., Sultan, F., & Urban, G. L. (2005). Are the drivers and role of online trust the same for all Web sites and consumers? A large-scale exploratory empirical study. Journal of Marketing, 69, 133–152.
Belanger, F., Hiller, J. S., & Smith, W. J. (2002). Trustworthiness in electronic commerce: the role of privacy, security, and site attributes. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 11, 245–270.
Borys, B., & Jemison, D. (1989). Hybrid arrangements as strategic alliance: Theoretical issues in organizational combinations. Academic Management Review, 14, 234–249.
Bramall, C., Schoefer, K., & McKechnie, S. (2004). The determinants and consequences of consumer trust in e-retailing: a conceptual framework. Irish Marketing Review, 17, 13–22.
Chen, S. C., & Dhillon, G. S. (2003). Interpreting dimensions of consumer trust in e-commerce. Information Technology and Management, 4, 303–318.
Chin, W. W. (2001). PLS-Graph user’s guide version 3.0. Houston, TX: C.T. Bauer College of Business, University of Houston.
Chin, W. W. (1998). The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. In G. A. Marcoulides (Ed.), Modern methods for business research (pp. 295–336). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Chin, W. W., & Todd, P. A. (1995). On the use, usefulness, and ease of use of structural equation modeling in MIS research: a note of caution. MIS Quarterly, 19, 237–246.
Cole, S. J. (1998). Testimony before the subcommittee on telecommunications, trade and consumer protection committee on commerce. Retrived October 8, 2006, from US House of Representatives, Better Business Bureau Web site: http://www.bbb.org/alerts/cole.asp.
Compeau, D. R., Higgins, C. A., & Huff, S. (1999). Social cognitive theory and individual reactions to computing technology: a longitudinal study. MIS Quarterly, 23, 145–158.
Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design and analysis issues for field settings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Crosby, L. A., Evans, K. R., & Cowles, D. (1990). Relationship quality in services selling: an interpersonal influence perspective. Journal of Marketing, 54, 68–81.
Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P., & Warshaw, P. R. (1989). User acceptance of computer technology: A comparison of two theoretical models. Management Science, 35, 982–1003.
Degeratu, A., Rangaswamy, A., & Wu, J. (2000). Consumer choice behavior in online and traditional supermarkets: The effects of brand name, price, and other search attributes. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 17, 55–78.
DFC Intelligence (2004). Retrieved October 8, 2006 from http://www.dfcint.com/news/praug32004.html.
Doney, P. M., & Cannon, J. P. (1997). An examination of the nature of trust in buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 61, 35–51.
Fogg, B. J., Soohoo, C., Danielson, D. R., Marable, L., Stanford, J., & Tauber, E. R. (2003). How do users evaluate the credibility of Web sites? A study with over 2,500 participants. In Proceedings of the 2003 Conference on Designing for User Experiences (pp. 1–15).
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equations models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 39–50.
Fung, R. K. K., & Lee, M. K. O. (1988). EC-trust: exploring the antecedent factors. In W. E. Haseman & D. I. Nazareth (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fifth American Conference on Information Systems (pp. 517–519).
Gefen, D. (2002). Reflections on the dimensions of trust and trustworthiness among online consumers. The Data Base for Advances in Information Systems, 33, 38–53.
Gefen, D., Karahanna, E., & Straub, D. W. (2003). Trust and TAM in online shopping: An integrated model. MIS Quarterly, 27, 51–90.
Gulati, R. (1995). Does familiarity breed trust? The implications of repeated ties for contractual choice in alliances. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 85–112.
Hoffman, D. L., Novak, T. P., & Peralta, M. (1999). Building consumer trust online. Communications of the ACM, 42, 80–85.
Holsapple, C. W., & Wu, J. (2008). An empirical study of flow experience in online gaming: antecedents and outcomes. International Journal of Intercultural Information Management, forthcoming.
Houston, R. W., & Taylor, G. K. (1999). Consumer perception of CPA WebTrust assurances: Evidence of an expectation gap. International Journal of Auditing, 3, 89–105.
Hsu, C. L., & Lu, H. P. (2004). Why do people play on-line games? An extended TAM with social influences and flow experience. Information & Management, 41, 853–868.
Husted, B. W. (1998). The ethical limits of trust in business relations. Business Ethics Quarterly, 8, 233–248.
Jarvenpaa, S. L., & Todd, P. A. (1997). Consumer reactions to electronic shopping on the World Wide Web. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 1, 59–88.
Jarvenpaa, S. L., & Tractinsky, N. (1999). Consumer trust in an Internet store: A cross-culture validation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 5.
Jarvenpaa, S. L., Tractinsky, N., & Vitale, M. (2000). Consumer trust in an Internet store. Information Technology and Management, 1, 45–71.
Jiang, Z., & Benbasat, I. (2005). Virtual product experience: Effects of visual and functional control of products on perceived diagnosticity and flow in electronic shopping. Journal of Management Information Systems, 21, 111–147.
Kalakota, R., & Whinston, A. B. (1996). Frontiers of electronic commerce. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Keen, P. G. W. (1999). Electronic commerce relationships: Trust by design. NJ, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57, 1–22.
Kim, Y. (2005). The effects of buyer and product traits with seller reputation on price premiums in e-auction. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 46, 79–91.
Kim, H. W., Xu, Y., & Koh, J. (2004). A comparison of online trust building factors between potential customers and repeat customers. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 5, 392–420.
Koufaris, M., & Hampton-Sosa, W. (2004). The development of initial trust in an online company by new customers. Information & Management, 41, 377–397.
Liao, Z., & Cheung, M. T. (2002). Internet-based e-banking and consumer attitudes: An empirical study. Information & Management, 39, 283–295.
Lee, J., Pi, S., Kwok, R. C., & Huynh, M. Q. (2003). The contribution of commitment value in internet commerce: An empirical investigation. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 4, 39–64.
Lee, M. K. O., & Turban, E. (2001). A trust model for consumer Internet shopping. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 6, 75–91.
Lewicki, R. J., & Bunker, B. B. (1995). Trust in relationships: a model of development and decline. In B. B. Bunker, & J. Z. Rubin (Eds.), Conflict, cooperation, and justice: Essays inspired by the work of Morton Deutsch. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Lewicki, R. J., & Bunker, B. B. (1996). Developing and maintaining trust in work relationships. In R. M. Kramer, & T. R. Tyler (Eds.), Trust in organizations: Frontiers of theory and research (pp. 114–139). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Lewicki, R. J., & Stevenson, M. A. (1997). Trust development in negotiation: Proposed actions and research agenda. Business and Professional Ethics Journal, 16, 99–132.
Liu, C., Arnett, K., Capella, L., & Taylor, R. (2001). Key dimensions of Web design quality as related to consumer response. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 41, 70–77.
Luhmann, N. (1979). Trust and power. Chichester, England: Wiley.
McKnight, D. H., & Chervany, L. N. (2001). What trust means in e-commerce customer relationships. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 6, 35–59.
McKnight, D. H., Choudhury, V., & Kacmar, C. (2002). Developing and validating trust measures for e-commerce: An integrative typology. Information Systems Research, 13, 334–359.
Misztal, B. A. (1996). Trust in modern societies: The search for the bases of social order. New York: Polity Press.
Miyazaki, A. D., & Fernandez, A. (2000). Internet privacy and security: An examination of online retailer disclosures. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 19, 54–61.
Muylle, S., Moenaert, R., & Despontin, M. (2004). The conceptualization and empirical validation of Web site user satisfaction. Information & Management, 41, 543–560.
Njite, D., & Parsa, H. G. (2005). Structural equation modeling of factors that influence consumer Internet purchase intentions of services. Journal of Services Research, 5, 43–59.
Pavlou, P. A. (2002). What drives electronic commerce? A theory of planned behavior perspective. Best Paper Proceedings of the Academy of Management Conference, Denver, CO.
Pavlou, P. A. (2003). Consumer acceptance of electronic commerce: Integrating trust and risk with the technology acceptance model. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 7, 69–103.
Pavlou, P. A., & Gefen, D. (2004). Building effective online marketplaces with institution-based trust. Information Systems Research, 15, 37–59.
Reicheld, F., & Sasser, W. E. (1990). Zero defections: Quality comes to service. Harvard Business Review, 68, 105–111.
Resnick, M. L., & Montania, R. (2003). Perceptions of customer service, information privacy, and product quality from semiotic design features in an online Web store. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 16, 211–234.
Rotter, J. B. (1971). Generalized expectancies for interpersonal trust. American Psychologist, 26, 443–450.
Sambamurthy, V., & Chin, W. W. (1994). The effects of group attitudes toward GDSS designs on the decision-making performance of computer-supported groups. Decision Sciences, 25, 215–242.
Sirdeshmukh, D., Singh, J., & Sabol, B. (2002). Consumer trust, value, and loyalty in relational exchanges. Journal of Marketing, 66, 15–37.
Staples, D. S., Wong, I., & Seddon, P. B. (2002). Having expectation of information systems benefits that match received benefits: does it really matter. Information & Management, 40, 115–131.
Wakefield, R. L., Stocks, M. H., & Wilder, W. M. (2004). The role of Web site characteristics in initial trust formation. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 45, 94–103.
Wang, H., Lee, M., & Wang, C. (1998). Consumer privacy concerns about Internet marketing. Communications of the ACM, 41, 63–70.
Westin, A., & Maurici, D. (1998). E-commerce and privacy: What net users want. Louis Harris & Associates Survey.
Wingfield, N. (2002). E-commerce (a special report): cover story—a question of trust: Online consumers are buying—but warily; here’s how you can minimize the risk. Wall Street Journal, 16.
Wu, J., & Liu, D. (2007). The effects of trust and enjoyment on intention to play online games. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 8, 128–140.
Yang, Z., Cai, S., Zhou, Z., & Zhou, N. (2005). Development and validation of an instrument to measure user perceived service quality of information presenting Web portals. Information & Management, 42, 575–589.
Yang, B., & Lester, D. (2004). Attitudes toward buying online. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7, 85–91.
Yi, M. Y., & Davis, F. D. (2003). Developing and validating an observational learning model of computer software training and skill acquisition. Information Systems Research, 14, 146–169.
Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means-ends model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52, 2–22.
Zucker, L. (1986). Production of trust: institutional sources of economic structure, 1840–1920. In B. M. Staw, & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (pp. 53–111). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 8.
Zwass, V. (1996). Electronic commerce: Structures and issues. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 1, 3–23.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Holsapple, C.W., Wu, J. Building effective online game websites with knowledge-based trust. Inf Syst Front 10, 47–60 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-007-9060-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-007-9060-5