Social collaboration solutions as a catalyst of consumer trust in service management platforms - a research study

Abstract

We can observe a relatively low popularity of service management platforms (SMPs). Therefore is a need for searching causes of this situation and remedies. In the course of the conducted research, the authors identified a significant problem of lack of social trust in SMPs and service providers on the Internet. One of the ways to reduce its scale is to use social collaboration solutions (SCSs). Relying on transparency of activities and on social and professional relations, they can bring the consumer closer to the service provider and its customer community by receiving various stimuli resulting from social interactions. The aim of this paper is to determine consumer attitudes towards SMPs and to identify and analyse the impact of determinants of the usefulness of SCSs in building trust in service providers and SMPs. The questionnaire survey conducted by means of CSAQ, the scope of which embraced the Polish market, identified consumer experiences with SMPs to date and their expectations of such platforms. This paper is part of a project funded by the National Science Centre awarded on the basis of the decision number DEC-2011/03/HS4/04291.