ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how traditional trust concepts translate to the online context and examines empirical literature on online trust at three different levels. It also discusses the role of the internet in relationships between individuals and organizations with particular attention to the provision of e-services. The chapter analyses trust in the system of the internet itself as a distributed connected infrastructure made up of indirect system service providers which are often nameless or in the background. It focuses on individual trust in other individuals, organizations and the system of the internet itself. Trust from the perspective of the organization may also be of interest to trust scholars. The chapter also analyses into three categories: website characteristics, organizational characteristics and the external environment. At an organizational level, research suggests that trust can transfer from offline to online if there is evidence that the organization providing the web service also has physical premises.
