Trust building processes on web-based information-sharing platforms

Identified trust building mechanisms varied according to their complexity and acceptability, especially among low e-skilled companies. Appropriate selection and user friendly implementation can enhance trust and liquidity on the web business platforms. In the paper we present results from two European IST projects Seamless and Fluid=Win focused on trust issues on the web B2B platforms. To identify suitable trust building mechanisms and strategies regarding implementation into a SEAMLESS platform, a questionnaire survey was carried out which was focused on trust building mechanism significance and minimum necessity. The results show the significance of the e-skills of the company, which affect the trust perception in more sophisticated mechanisms. Several interesting implications were revealed, e.g. the banks appear as the most trusted partner for escrow services and generally simpler mechanisms in ODR are more trusted than complex ones. The research can help to build effective trust strategy on B2B web based platforms.