Creating and Maintaining Trust Online

CREATING AND MAINTAINING TRUST ONLINE:Ethical and Practical Dimensions : 

CREATING AND MAINTAINING TRUST ONLINE:Ethical and Practical Dimensions LEWIS POSY University of Baltimore 2009

Trust Defined : 

Trust Defined Many definitions exist across the literature, but two seem to encompass the consensus. Trusting is a relationship among individuals, entities and institutions, involving (i) a reasonable belief, supported by an acceptable level of verification that (ii) another party is telling the truth and will abide by its promises. 2 How do we create trust in an ADR and an ODR environment? Trust is defined as expected behavior of the other party and readiness to risk disappointment. 1

Slide 3: 

Risk, fear, and uncertainty limit activity and freedom. That is why many businesses see value in trust. Trust helps people overcome barriers and makes it easier to trade and interact. Trust sets an overall tone that promotes positive experiences, affirmative word of mouth, and transaction volume that helps a business to grow.3 This is even more important when the nature of the interaction is about more than “just business” When individuals look to a 3rd or 4th party, they have a higher level of uncertainty, and often a greater need for a positive experience. Why does trust matter?

Trust in Face to Face ADR : 

Trust in Face to Face ADR Maintained through Tone of Voice Body Language Phrasing of Questions Maintaining mediator Composure Active listening 4

Creating trust in online is not so simple : 

Creating trust in online is not so simple In an on-line environment, where you cannot rely on your own senses to assess the reliability of a different person you communicate with or you buy a product or service from, trust is as important an asset as in the off-line world. However, in an on-line environment, it has to be established in a different way. 5 Trust would not be needed if actions could be undertaken with complete certainty and no risk. One important reason for the importance of trust in e-commerce and ODR is the fact that in a virtual environment the degree of uncertainty of economic transactions and interpersonal interactions is higher than in traditional settings6 .

Creating Trust in ODR : 

Creating Trust in ODR While it may look difficult, there are ways to use the some of the same techniques from ADR online as well! Example of empathetic language in an ODR context on Squaretrade “Thank you both for your messages – You have now reached an agreement to …” “Let me know what you both think and how you both feel most comfortable accomplishing this” 3 Language use (even by automated systems) can help create a trusting environment.

Certification and “Trust Seals” : 

Certification and “Trust Seals” Some organizations have come to promote ‘‘seals’’ that attest to the trustworthiness of a particular merchant or site. By putting the weight of a certifying body (like the Better Business Bureau) behind a particular mark, the trustworthiness of the certifying body can rub off on the individual who posts the seal. This ‘‘vouching for’’ helps to build a sense of trustworthiness, particularly where information as to trust is sparse. The field of certification in ODR is in its beginning stages www.internetbar.org www.verisign.com www.bbb.org

The risks of being online are stills significant – especially when it comes to privacy.ADR adage - “If we Can’t trust each other, need to trust the process.” What are the implications when someone can breach that trust? : 

The risks of being online are stills significant – especially when it comes to privacy.ADR adage - “If we Can’t trust each other, need to trust the process.” What are the implications when someone can breach that trust? Unscrupulous individuals can use all sorts of means to obtain data even when privacy protocols are put in place. See this CNET 60 Minutes video about how millions of dollars was stolen from online gamblers and the perpetrators were based on Native American tribal land so they can avoid prosecution. (Thanks to Professor Wolf for the putting me on to this information) What does this do to the perception of the internet and how willing parties are to place their trust in the system?

Technological solutions : 

Technological solutions Information can be encrypted, to guaranty that only one person is able to read a message. Digital signatures, for example, are codes that are embedded in a message that can be employed to verify that a message was sent by someone.

Perspective Change : 

Perspective Change Ethan Katsh: “The question becomes not how to prevent the copying of information or how to enforce guidelines concerning copying, but whether there exists some means to encourage parties in the electronic environment to reveal information about themselves in a way that will not, at some later date, place them at some disadvantage. The design of an effective dispute resolution space requires such an attitude and the working together of dispute resolution professionals and software designers because, as noted earlier, the solutions are largely software solutions.” Online Ombuds

Implications of this new perspective : 

Implications of this new perspective Trust must be built Trust is gained initially through reputation, and then through repeated experience. A buyer in a marketplace will first gain a sense of the ‘‘trustworthiness’' of that marketplace through reputation7 This is true in “real space” but especially true in cyberspace Soon, if the individual chooses to take the leap and actually use the marketplace, those reputation-based sources of information will be joined by actual experience. Study: Once users engage in e-commerce, instead of thinking about the site on a ‘‘brand’’ level, for example, users were found to think about the 25–30 transactions they have engaged in on the site. 7

How does this apply to ODR? : 

How does this apply to ODR? Trust Diverges into two discussions Trust of the technology Will my private information be kept safely and securely from outside parties? Will my negotiation strategy or personal feelings be accessible to the other party? Trust of the ODR process Can I truly get a “feel” for the dispute resolution discussion? Is the technology set up in such a way that tried and true DR principles are at work. Do the people behind the technology (software developers, facilitators, neutrals etc… truly have my interests at heart?

Slide 13: 

What the Data Shows In a study of 439 ODR users, 59% of users felt that it was important that they felt trust the design of a program (e-mediate) and many emphasized the importance of having a fair helpful and professional mediator with good control over the process.8 In both theory and practice, notions of trust are often opposed to concepts such as power or control. ODR providers need to create a feeling of safety and empowerment without making users feel controlled.9

New Model : 

New Model “Layered trusting supports.” (T. Frankel – Boston University Professor of Law) No one layer can create a culture of trust. Reputable institutions and intermediaries, verifiers, and providers of trust services, contribute to public trusting. If children are told, with their first computer, that computers are for creating, not for destroying; The same way they develop the inhibition on playing with matches to avoid destruction, yet recognizing that fire is good) Over time a meta-norm can rise to be enforced not only by governments, but also by members of the public10

Remember! : 

Remember! Online providers cannot directly control the trust their customers or clients feel. The goal needs to be to create conditions that encourage trust. Trust can be encouraged through reputation, perception of safety and professionalism of neutrals. It can be maintained through consistency of a positive experience.

References : 

References 1 Tamar Frankel (2001) Trusting and Non-Trusting on the Internet, Boston University Law Review, 81, 457-472 2 Rajeev Bhattacharya et al. (1998) A Formal Model of Trust Based on Outcomes, in The Academy of Management Review, Special Forum on Trust in and Between Organizations, Sim B. Sitkin et al. eds, 23(3), 460. 3 Sonja Grabner-Krauter, Ewald A. Kaluscha, Empirical research in on-line trust: a review and critical assessment, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Volume 58, Issue 6, Trust and Technology, June 2003, Pages 783-812 4 Katsh, Ethan, and Janet Rifkin. OnLine Dispute Resolution: Resolving Conflicts in Cyberspace. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001. Print. 5 Mommers, L. (2006, June). Virtualization of dispute resolution. Establishing trust by recycling reputation. Information & Communications Technology Law, 15(2), 175-187. 6 Sonja Grabner-Krauter, Ewald A. Kaluscha, Empirical research in on-line trust: a review and critical assessment, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Volume 58, Issue 6, Trust and Technology, June 2003, Pages 783-812, 7 Rule, C., & Friedberg, L. (2005, January 1). The appropriate role of dispute resolution in building trust online. Artificial Intelligence and Law, 13(2), 193-205 8 Turel, O.. Predictors of disputants' intentions to use online dispute resolution services: The roles of justice and trust. Ph.D. dissertation, McMaster University (Canada), Canada. Retrieved July 3, 2009, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text.(Publication No. AAT NR28126) 9 Knights, D., Noble, F., Vurdubakis, T., & Willmott, H. (2001, March). Chasing Shadows: Control, Virtuality and the Production of Trust. Organization Studies 10 Trust and the Internet - Chapter from unpublished manuscript.