Is Trust Gender Biased? A Bibliometric Review Of Trust In E-commerce

Trust is a crucial factor for the success of e-commerce platforms, as it determines whether people feel confident conducting online transactions. E-commerce relies on trust, just like any other economic or social interaction. Trust is developed through repeated successful actions that generate confidence in the outcome. Without consumer trust, e-commerce would not be sustainable, as people would not feel comfortable providing personal information or making payments online.

This literature review examines the study of trust in e-commerce from a gender perspective. The analysis finds that there has been an increase in the number of publications on this topic, with almost twenty-five studies published in 2019. The majority of these studies focus on consumer satisfaction with e-commerce, consumer trust, and gender differences in e-shopping habits. The review highlights potential research challenges and future opportunities in this area, including exploring the impact of trust in e-commerce by considering both gender and cultural factors.

The process of building trust in e-commerce is explored, with a focus on the similarities and differences between men and women in this regard. A systematic structure is proposed to analyze the main characteristics of trust in e-commerce. It is suggested that an integrated approach with mixed methods would be more effective in studying trust in e-commerce. Previous research has examined the pros and cons of consumers' trust in e-commerce, but there is a lack of research on how trust is generated in this context from a gender perspective.

This study applies the bibliometric technique to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) on trust, online shopping, and gender diversity in the context of business and economics. The goal is to analyze and visualize networks of sources, authors, and keywords to reduce bias and produce accurate scientific conclusions. The study uses data collected from a Scopus dataset, limiting the search results to articles published between 2002 and 2020 that are relevant to the topic. A total of 148 documents were included in the analysis.

Trust in e-commerce

Trust is crucial in e-commerce as it enables coordination and cooperation. A consumer's decision to make an online purchase is highly complex and trust plays a significant role in this process. Gender differences exist in terms of the trust, with men being more pragmatic and women experiencing greater anxiety in new online shopping contexts. While the factors driving trust in e-commerce are universal, gender significantly influences the trust-building process. E-commerce marketers are interested in understanding these gender differences in order to tailor their strategies accordingly.

Summary of the theoretical framework

The theory of reasoned action (TRA), the technology acceptance model (TAM), and various social theories are commonly used to study trust in e-commerce. These theories are used to understand how trust is developed and how it affects consumer behavior in online shopping. The TAM is particularly influential in this area of research. Some studies also explore the role of user-generated information and the influence of traditional experts in building trust in e-commerce platforms. Gender differences in trust are also explored, with women being found to exhibit more trust than men in online marketing.

Recent literature on trust in e-commerce from the gender perspective

The literature on trust in e-commerce from a gender perspective primarily focuses on developed countries. However, there are significant differences between men and women in countries like India, China, and Pakistan. The most common methods used in this literature are multigroup comparison and PLS-SEM, which are effective for studying gender differences in trust. The selectivity hypothesis and hierarchical-latent-variable model are also gaining attention as theoretical models for this topic. Overall, the literature finds that gender differences have a significant impact on consumer trust in e-commerce.

Factor analysis

Using multiple-correspondence analysis, the study identified four clusters of papers that made the greatest contributions. The red cluster included papers that applied SEM to derive new insights. The blue cluster focused on studying predictors affecting trust from a gender perspective. The green cluster explained female customers' e-trust and privacy concerns. The purple cluster examined e-trust among shoppers from different countries from a cross-cultural and cross-border perspective.

Figure 2 visualizes four types of themes in the study of trust in online marketing. The upper-right quadrant represents themes with high density and centrality, such as information and health satisfaction. The upper-left quadrant contains themes with high-density but unimportant external links, like social media and perceived ease of use. The lower-left quadrant represents under-researched themes with high centrality, such as consumer satisfaction and Internet banking. The bottom-right quadrant suggests the need for more research on trust in online shopping platforms.

Challenges to building trust in e-commerce

The expansion of e-commerce has posed challenges in studying trust in online transactions from a gender perspective. Trust has become an important concept in e-commerce research as more transactions and relationships are mediated by technology. Some challenges in building trust in e-commerce include value barriers, image barriers, and risk barriers. Both men and women face these challenges, but their reactions and outcomes differ, with women reporting higher trust and loyalty in e-commerce platforms.

The mix of culture and gender also has an impact on trust in e-commerce. Previous research has shown that national culture and trust are related, but there are few studies on how national culture specifically affects trust in e-commerce platforms. Hallikainen and Laukkanen's study found that both national culture and gender diversity influence trust in e-commerce, particularly in dimensions of trustworthiness such as ability, integrity, and benevolence. However, more research is needed to fully understand how the combination of gender and culture influences trust in e-commerce.