Trust in International Electronic Commerce: A Study of Chinese Companies Engaged in International Trade

In this paper, the role of trust in the adoption of international electronic commerce (IEC) by Chinese firms engaged in international trade was empirically investigated by a questionnaire survey of international trade professionals in Chinese firms. The major findings are that, first of all, the adoption of the risky components of IEC by Chinese firms is relatively low. Secondly, their adoption of the risky components of IEC is only directly related to positive past experience in IEC, which, in turn, is directly related to positive past experience in traditional international trade with a particular partner. The limitations of this study and directions for future research are also discussed.