Social Trust and E-Commerce Experimental Evidence for the Effects of Social Trust on Individuals’ Economic Behavior

In this study, an experimental design embedded in a national survey is used to examine the impact of social trust on participation in e-commerce. To what extent does generalized trust in people influence economic behavior, particularly in newly established realms such as the Internet? Although some previous work has posited a role for social trust in encouraging both e-commerce and economic development more generally, evidence has been based on cross-sectional associations and, primarily, at the aggregate level of entire countries. While these relationships have been suggestive, studies have yet to confirm a causal role for social trust in influencing e-commerce. Would increasing levels of social trust actually encourage greater e-commerce participation? This study combines the representativeness of a national survey with the internal validity of an experimental design to answer this question.