An Empirical Analysis of Dimensional Trust in Online Group Buying Sites

Building websites that generate adequate perception of ability, integrity, and benevolence dimensions of trust amongst even the first-time visitors is critically important for online group buying (OGB) sites; otherwise, visitors may be reluctant to transact. Current literature suggests that certain website features can induce overall trust perception (TP); however, their impact on specific trust dimensions has received little attention resulting in scholarly and managerial lacunae to precisely diagnose and remedy the problem with TP. To address this knowledge gap, this study first categorizes the trust-inducing features and then explores their impact on the trust dimensions of an OGB website in India. The results indicate differential impact of feature categories on the trust dimensions, thereby revealing new insights into the theory and practice of achieving targeted trust perception in online retail stores. The study describes limitations and offers meaningful scholarly and managerial implications.