Situating trust challenges of online trade
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-07-2018-0019 |
| Published date | 11 March 2019 |
| Date | 11 March 2019 |
| Pages | 272-286 |
| Author | Tove Engvall |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance |
Situating trust challenges of
online trade
Tove Engvall
Faculty of Science, Technology and Media, Sundsvall, Sweden
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to offer an improved understanding of trust challenges in online trade,
providing examples of issues thatshould be addressed for a trustworthy online environment. It also aims to
illustratehow records and recordkeeping can contribute in terms of enabling trust and accountability.
Design/methodology/approach –The paper is based on results from a self-ethnographic study of
online trade (Engvall,2017); the results are analyzed further. Kelton, Fleischmannand Wallace’s (2008) model
for trust is used to gain a better understandingof the characteristics of the challenges and wherethey should
be addressed.
Findings –This paper recognizes that there are different types of trust challenges at different levels –
individual, betweenclients and businesses and at a societal level –that should be addressedat these levels in
differentways.
Originality/value –This paper providesan understanding of trust challenges in theonline environment.
Keywords Sustainability, Trust, Accountability, Online trade
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
Trust is an important part of social structures; it is a requirement for everyday life and
activities. People have to trust processes to engage in them (Larsson and Runeson, 2014).
Records have a central rolein these interactions, which is why it is important to ensure their
trustworthiness(Rogers and Tennis, 2013).
This is also related to accountability; records have an important role in serving as
evidence of human acts (Duranti, 1989) and social and organizational activities
(McKemmish, 2001). With the development of information technology, activities,
businesses and processes can take place in a digital context online. Activities which
often takes place in an international setting, crossing national jurisdictions, beyond
physical places involving different actors with complex relationships. In this evolving
landscape, it is important to look at how this infrastructure corresponds to societal
concerns and targets. The online environment raises challenges in terms of ownership,
liability, jurisdiction and records’trustworthiness, which is also addressed in the
international research project, InterPARES Trust (Duranti and Jansen, 2013). If records
processes supporting trust, transparency and accountability have mainly been built on
the structures within the frames of nation states, there is a need to consider how to
guarantee these mechanisms in a globalized digital environment to promote social and
economic fairness. It is necessary to be more aware of how the landscape evolves to
develop something that serves its purpose. In a study of online trade in the financial
market, severe challenges have been identified. A complex business environment, scam
companies, dishonest brokers and firms, manipulation to increase clients’investments
and fear and greed, being factors in the decisions people make, have led to frequent
money losses and a lack of trust in brokers and the business domain. The way
RMJ
29,1/2
272
Received15 July 2018
Revised15 July 2018
Accepted15 July 2018
RecordsManagement Journal
Vol.29 No. 1/2, 2019
pp. 272-286
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/RMJ-07-2018-0019
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