Online Consumer Trust and Cultural Influences in America and Japan

As an experimental investigation, this study examines how retailer familiarity and dynamic pricing affect American and Japanese online consumer trust. The results show significantly different trust concepts. Generally, American online consumers have higher trust concepts and lower risk perceptions than Japanese online consumers do in online transactions. When a familiar online retailer offers dynamic pricing, American consumers have higher online shopping trust and increased purchase intention, whereas Japanese consumers negatively respond to dynamic pricing and there is a decrease in online shopping trust. However, when a less familiar online retailer offers dynamic pricing, both American and Japanese online shopping trust scores were decreased. Interestingly, American consumers have a lower online retailer trust in an unfamiliar online retailers image than Japanese consumers do. As part of the mainstream research in the field of online communication, this study provides substantive theoretical knowledge on building online consumer trust, as well as a practical side concerning online consumer behavior.