Customers’ International Online Trust - Insights from Focus Group Interviews

While scholars have made an extensive research contribution on the field of customers´ online trust towards domestic retailers, customers’ international online trust has not yet attracted researchers’ attention. Following the extensive expansion of customers’ online purchasing the purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper knowledge of the multidimensionality of trust in customer international online trust. In this paper trust is discussed and explored on three analytical levels: trust towards country of origin (COO), trust towards retailers, and retailers’ website. Using data from five focus group interviews, the findings show that in an international online context the multidimensionality of trust is even more complex than previously assumed. At first sight the study reveals the importance of trust toward the COO of the retailer, the retailer´s website, and the retailer itself. But interestingly the study revealed that third parties had a significant impact on customer international online trust and decreased the impact of customers´ trust towards COO, websites, and retailers.