Highlighting the Influence of Virtual Communities on the Online Shopper Trust

Abstract

The increasing use of the virtual communities as a communication tool, raise interest in understanding the relationship between the information existing in virtual communities and the level of trust in electronic commerce. Given the difference between the traditional websites and the virtual communities the concept of trust must be reviewed. This research identifies three key elements related to trust in virtual communities, namely the usability of virtual communities, virtual communities ' sociability, and security. Analysis of the results also highlighted the importance of virtual Communities as a key way that can help marketers to develop their perceived customer’s trust by members of virtual Communities.