Online Consumer Trust and Cultural Influences in America and Japan

As an experimental investigation this study examineshow retailer familiarity and dynamic pricing affectAmerican and Japanese online consumer trust. Theresults show significantly different trust concepts.Generally American online consumers have highertrust concepts and lower risk perceptions thanJapanese online consumers do in online transactions.When a familiar online retailer offers dynamicpricing American consumers have higher onlineshopping trust and increased purchase intentionwhereas Japanese consumers negatively respond todynamic pricing and there is a decrease in onlineshopping trust. However when a less familiar onlineretailer offers dynamic pricing both American andJapanese online shopping trust scores were decreased.Interestingly American consumers have a lower onlineretailer trust in an unfamiliar online retailer'simage than Japanese consumers do. As part of themainstream research in the field of onlinecommunication this study provides substantivetheoretical knowledge on building online consumertrust as well as a practical side concerning onlineconsumer behavior.