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- Title
Consumer Processing of Online Trust Signals: A Neuroimaging Study.
- Authors
Casado-Aranda, Luis-Alberto; Dimoka, Angelika; Sánchez-Fernández, Juan
- Abstract
The growth of online transactions coupled with the worldwide expansion of Internet-based information exchange has triggered fear, distrust and risk among online consumers. Despite the well-proven benefits to retailers when they include assurance services (online trust signals) such as seals of approval, rating systems or assurance statements in their websites, there is no consensus as the most trustworthy type. To fill this research gap, the current study reverts to neuroscience (fMRI) to compare the underlying brain mechanisms linked to each type. Twenty-nine subjects participated in an experiment simulating a low-involvement online purchase. The functional neuroimaging analysis reveals that seals of approval are the most trustworthy as they elicit activation of brain areas linked to reward and expected values. Although assurance statements reveal lower scores of trust than seals of approval, they do not arouse negative brain areas. By contrast, products accompanied by rating systems elicit brain areas linked to ambiguity, negativity and risk. Interestingly, more positive trust and purchase intentions toward seals of approval were predicted by the activation of value-computation areas, whereas higher scores of risk associated with rating systems were predicted by negative-related activations. These results offer invaluable insight into the psychological origin of trust conveyed to different types of online trust signals. • Participants processed online trust signals in a low-involvement purchase environment. • Consumer responses were recorded by neuroimaging (fMRI) and self-report tools. • Seals of approval are processed as the most trustworthy trust signal. • Rating systems elicit the most negative and ambiguous-related neural activations. • The results provide insight into the neural origin of trust in online trust signals.
- Subjects
TRUST; ASSURANCE services; EXPECTED returns; BRAIN imaging; FUNCTIONAL analysis; NEUROSCIENCES
- Publication
Journal of Interactive Marketing, 2019, Vol 47, p159
- ISSN
1094-9968
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1016/j.intmar.2019.02.006