C2C E-Commerce Platform Trust from the Seller’s Perspective Based on Institutional Trust Theory and Cultural Dimension Theory

Abstract

With the development of electronic retailing in C2C e-commerce platforms, the issue of trust loss from sellers has worsened. It is urgent for platform operators to learn how to retain quality sellers and improve their trust. Based on institutional trust theory, we combine formal institutions (structural assurance) and informal institutions (cultural factors), intending to examine the direct effects of masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation on platform trust, the moderating effects of website quality, institutional guarantee and security systems, and the relationships among cultural factors. A total of 2970 valid responses were collected and analyzed from individual sellers on Taobao, which is one of the most representative C2C e-commerce platforms in China. The results reveal that uncertainty avoidance is negatively associated with platform trust, while masculinity and long-term orientation are positively associated with platform trust. Significant associations are also found among cultural factors. Website quality and institutional guarantee weaken the negative correlation between uncertainty avoidance and platform trust, while the security system strengthens it. Details of theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

1. Introduction

With the development of information and communication technologies, e-commerce is rapidly evolving. Over the last few years, e-commerce transactions in China have been expanding steadily, reaching CNY 50.57 trillion with a growth of 6.31% year-on-year in 2023 with global electronic retailing market ranking top [1]. According to the 2023 China E-commerce Market Data Report, the number of employees in e-commerce reached 7.55 million, which was up 4.57% year-on-year. E-commerce platforms provide a fast and effective trading venue for online transactions. While online shopping offers convenience to consumers, it also brings benefits to sellers, such as assisting sellers to easily and efficiently access more consumers, obtaining market signals, reducing marketing and communication costs, increasing revenue, facilitating transaction settlement, improving company competitiveness, and monitoring consumers [2,3,4]. For example, eBay has developed a comprehensive trust system that covers the entire transaction process through structured platform design, information transparency, buyer credit ratings, and seller protection policies. These measures not only reduce the risks faced by sellers during transactions but also create a positive feedback loop that incentivizes sellers to consistently deliver high-quality services. Ultimately, this fosters a mutually beneficial ecosystem for the platform, buyers, and sellers. Moreover, the transactional sales and economic success of e-commerce marketplaces are largely dependent on the number of consumers and sellers who enter and actively participate in e-commerce platforms [5].

However, the virtuality of online shopping has, to some extent, led to the opportunistic behavior of consumers and sellers as well as risks to them due to information asymmetry caused by the inability to monitor platform behavior [6,7]. It is worth noting that most previous studies on e-commerce have been conducted from the consumer’s perspective. They assumed that consumers are disadvantaged and developed effective solutions to enhance their confidence in participating in e-commerce [8,9,10]. However, successful online transactions require trust not only from consumers but also from sellers [11]. Although e-commerce has contributed to rapid economic growth, it has also generated some new market and social risks for sellers with uncertainty about their transactional success, including platforms owing merchants payments, untimely responses back, system failures, disclosure of personal information, and consumer fraud. These risk issues put sellers at a disadvantage, which to some extent affects sellers’ willingness to trade [12,13]. In conclusion, sellers’ lack of trust has already become an urgent concern for e-commerce platforms.

A study found that it is of greater significance for sellers to drive the evolution of e-commerce platforms, as their capacity to attract consumers is 3.5 times greater than that of consumers [14], resulting in an imperative to study sellers’ trust in the platform. With aggressive market clustering and progressively higher consumer demand, e-business operators are increasingly aware of the importance of quality sellers. At the same time, some changes are emerging, with e-commerce platforms tending to enhance the quality assurance of sellers by replacing small individuals with large enterprises, and a trend of gradual development of C2C to B2C mode integration [15]. It can be seen that the e-commerce platform operation mode has begun to change from quantity to quality. B2C e-commerce reduces transaction risks through brand reputation and platform guarantees [16]. However, in C2C e-commerce, where both transaction parties are individuals, the role of brand reputation is weakened, and platform-mediated mechanisms become more prominent [17]. This shift in mechanisms results in a greater reliance on technological tools rather than traditional commercial reputation to establish trust in C2C transactions. To maintain the ecological diversity of platforms, it is crucial to retain high-quality individual sellers and enhance their trust in the platform, which is vital for the long-term development of e-commerce platforms. Therefore, it is significant to examine the formation of platform trust from sellers, who play a critical role in e-commerce platform development.

Zucker (1986) [18], who pioneered institution-based trust doctrine, argued that institutions are fundamental to trust building and underlined that well-designed impersonal structures are more likely to foster success. In economics, institutional trust is usually divided into two parts: formal institutional trust and informal institutional trust [18]. In particular, structural assurance is a formal institutional factor and culture is an informal institutional factor. In the formal institution perspective, it is believed that well-designed impersonal structures are more likely to increase the likelihood of success [11,19]. According to the sociological perspective on trust, the institutionalization of operating mechanisms that are not tailored to specific transactions or traders would foster exchange party trust by establishing rules and norms to regulate exchange behavior and insure against subsequent deviant behaviors [18]. As an informal institutional factor, culture influences trust in different ways during social evolution and development [20]. While investigating the relationship between culture and trust, previous studies have generally restricted the definition of culture to national or organizational cultures. Indeed, cultural differences exist at individual level as well [21]. Given the low-cost and high-return benefits of e-commerce, an increasing number of retailers and individuals are opening online stores. At the same time, the distinctive personal characteristics of sellers are also integrated into the e-commerce platform, the most prominent of which is the cultural values of individual sellers, whose differences have a salient impact on e-commerce trust. Therefore, it is necessary to combine formal and informal rules to improve institutional trust system in e-commerce activities [11].

The first objective of the study is to reveal how cultural characteristics of individual sellers affect platform trust. The second objective is to determine the relationship among cultural values. The third objective is to examine the moderating effect of the structural assurance. Based on institutional trust theory and cultural dimension theory, we extend the literature on e-commerce trust by considering sellers’ platform trust and applying formal institutions (three platform-based structural assurances) and informal institutions (three individual-based cultural values). Above all, our three research questions are as follows: Firstly, do the cultural values of individual sellers impact their platform trust? Secondly, what is the association among the cultural values of individual sellers? Thirdly, do structural assurances of the platform significantly moderate the correlation between sellers’ uncertainty avoidance and platform trust?

2. Literature Review

2.1. Institutional Trust

Trust is one of the most vital forces in society, and almost all human activities are based on it. Trust has been considered as a critical factor for customer retention and continued use in previous literature, as it has a key ability to reduce social complexity, uncertainty and vulnerability perceived in e-commerce transactions [22]. In recent years, the e-commerce landscape has undergone profound transformations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic [23]. Consumers’ shopping habits and preferences have been significantly reshaped. The increased dependence on online shopping during lockdowns heightened the emphasis on the security and reliability of e-commerce platforms [24]. In the post-pandemic era, there has been a growing shift toward more sustainable and socially responsible consumption patterns [25]. These changes in the e-commerce environment have further highlighted the critical role of trust in facilitating online transactions.

With regard to e-commerce trust, scholars mostly define it from two perspectives: interpersonal trust and institutional trust. Trust established through innate blood relations and acquired life interactions is considered interpersonal trust [26]. Due to the expansion of social interactions and communication methods, trust that relies on social institutional norms, laws and regulations, and cultural traditions to guarantee and restrain belongs to institutional trust [27]. Zucker (1986) [18], who pioneered institution-based trust doctrine, argued that institutions are fundamental to trust building and put emphasis on institutional trust as the most imperative model of trust creation in impersonal economic environments. In economics, two dimensions are included in institutional trust: formal institutional trust and informal institutional trust [28]. Formal institutions refer to various formal restraint rules, which are disciplinary regulations published to maintain normal social order, such as constitutions, relevant laws in diverse fields and their extensions. Informal institutions are behavioral rules or constraints formed in human social interactions, existing and inherited in the form of ideas and concepts, such as traditional customs, ethics and morals, and value orientations.

Trust can be separated into two dimensions from the standpoint of formal institutions: structural assurance and situational normality [29]. One is structural assurance, which means that a successful transaction is due to guarantees of the environment, such as commitments, contracts and regulations. The other is situational normality, which means that the prerequisite to ensure that transaction can be successful is that the process and link are carried out properly. Pavlou and Ratnasingam (2003) [30] added the third dimension: facilitating conditions, which refers to shared values and trust commitments based on common goals, involves a self-management of behavior beyond guaranteeing treaties, and is an effective marketing tool. The proposal of facilitating conditions introduced informal institutions, which opened a new perspective for institutional trust research and improved institutional trust theory. For example, culture is an informal institutional factor.

Existing research on institutional trust has primarily concentrated on a formal institutional provision of security. Nevertheless, it is gradually appreciated by scholars that a combination of formal and informal rules is indispensable to improve the institutional trust system in e-commerce activities [11]. High-quality consumers and merchants are retained by e-commerce platforms not only via contracts or advanced technology, but also through informal mental discipline. As a result, investigating e-commerce trust from structural assurance and cultural perspectives is critical.

2.2. E-Commerce Platform Trust Based on Structural Assurance

Institutionalization which is not tailored to any particular trader, in accordance with the sociological perspective of trust, generates trust from participants by setting up rules to control exchange behavior that provide a safeguard against future transgressions [18]. Recent literature suggests that trust could motivate consumers to engage in online purchasing behavior, of which the effect depends on the effectiveness of institutional mechanisms [31,32]. As with consumers, sellers also lack control over the platform involved, resulting in them being exposed to e-commerce fraud, such as platform default payments to merchants, privacy breaches, consumer refund fraud and unreasonable disputes [6,13]. Therefore, it is crucial for service/product providers not only to sell more goods and gain more value through platform but also ascertain whether e-commerce institutions can provide effective transaction guarantees.

E-commerce institutional mechanisms create a less risky environment for online transactions and reduce environmental uncertainty through clear regulatory guarantees [33]. Institutional norms for e-commerce include many kinds, such as feedback mechanisms, escrow services, credit card guarantees, provider certification, information security, urgent rescue and dispute resolution [22]. Platform trust depends largely on users’ perceived effectiveness of the institutional structure established by e-commerce, where each perceived effectiveness based on platform underlying mechanisms makes a significant contribution to the formation of platform trust [11]. Jiang and Lau (2021) [34] found that structural assurance trust reinforces platform-based trust through a trust transfer process, resulting in indirect improvements in willingness.

Above all, the existing literature on the formation of institutional trust from the perspective of structural assurance still needs to be improved. For different e-commerce users (consumers and sellers) or their different growth stages, the role played by various institutional factors may differ. Specifically, consumers try to purchase high-quality and economical products, while sellers attempt to regularly sell their products for long-term profits [15], whose different purposes may induce different trust perceptions from sellers when it comes to the use of e-marketplaces. Understanding these differences is crucial for institutional improvement and personalized service design in e-commerce platforms.

2.3. Culture

Institutional trust includes not only formal laws, regulations and guarantee mechanisms but also informal ideological constraints. Culture, considered as a crucial informal institutional constraint, is the transmission of moral norms, which forms a subtle rule system of ideology within a country or a group. Culture exerts an influence on how people reflect on their environment and guides their performance.

Hofstede (1980, 2001) [35,36] pioneered the quantitative analysis for culture, refined six cultural dimensions, and created a culture index score and ranking: power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence. Specifically, power distance refers to the acceptance of unfair events and aspirational attitudes toward rights. Individualism refers to a focus on individual independence and the embodiment of personal values, while collectivism refers to an emphasis on the collective interests of organizations and the expectation for organizational protection by absolute loyalty. Masculinity emphasizes material achievement, aggressiveness and competition, while feminism focuses on life quality, the pleasure of the process, and the pursuit of spiritual communication. Uncertainty avoidance describes the intolerance for unknown potential risks. Long-term orientation is characterized by hard work and frugality, strong faith, and not abandoning their pursuit of ideals due to tradition and face. Finally, indulgence is the extent to which a person’s basic demands and desire to enjoy the pleasures of life are permissible. These six dimensions effectively distinguish peoples and culture from different nations. Hallikainen and Laukkanen (2018) [21] suggested that Hofstede’s cultural dimension model also applies at the individual level, which is because people from the same cultural background are not necessarily all fully aligned with the cultural values of their country and society, and thus cultural differences can exist among individuals.

2.4. Culture and Trust

Sociologists highlight trust as a critical component in social relations, which represents a social phenomenon intimately associated with social structures and cultural norms. That is, trust is related to environment, and it varies greatly in different societies due to sociocultural differences [12,20], which has been confirmed by both theoretical and practical aspects. Once e-commerce corporations have an increasing comprehension about the cultural values of their target markets, the failure rate of online strategies decreases [37].

Most studies on the impact of Hofstede’s cultural dimensional theory on e-commerce trust are based on the classical e-commerce trust theory model, and researchers select appropriate cultural factors and introduce them as moderating variables to enhance the interpretability of model in different cultural contexts. Kim and Srite (2021) [38] analyzed the differences in customer review evaluations between the US and Germany by applying culture where they found more emphasis on review content in an individualistic culture and more attention to review information in a high uncertainty avoidance culture. Olaleye et al. (2021) [39] demonstrated that collectivism values in countries such as Nigeria in comparison to individualism values are more likely to inspire trust owing to being more tolerant and less demanding.

However, some scholars indicated that culture does not always have a significant moderating effect in the relationships between variables [40,41], but cultural differences in consumers can directly affect their behavior and perception. Creazza et al. (2023) [42] found that cultural values influence e-commerce fulfillment preferences, with Western Europeans being more inclined than Americans to choose eco-friendly delivery options, despite similar environmental concerns. Qin et al. (2022) [12], based on data from Taobao sellers, observed that masculinity, long-term orientation and uncertainty avoidance all significantly affect platform trust. Febrian and Fadly (2021) [43] revealed that while collectivism culture does not play a significant moderating role, it directly influence consumers’ purchase intentions. Zhang et al. (2025) [44] demonstrated that cultural context influences the effectiveness of China’s rural e-commerce poverty alleviation program, with greater impacts observed in eastern regions where a strong local entrepreneurial culture aligns more effectively with digital adoption and infrastructure development.

As far as we know, few studies are concerned with trust issues in terms of individual sellers. Such sellers operate on a smaller scale and have absolute freedom to decide whether to remain on the platform depending on their own feelings, which gives us the opportunity to examine platform trust from a cultural perspective at the individual seller level [12]. On the other hand, many studies based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions have ignored the influence of other factors on this relationship and the correlation between cultural dimensions, which our study remedies.

The C2C e-commerce platform serves as a third-party service system, providing sellers with services such as matching customers, product sales, order handling, financial settlement, tracking of logistics information and credit assessment services [45]. They feature a flat organizational structure with no hierarchical relationship between sellers and the platform. Therefore, we argue that the dimension of power distance is not particularly applicable in this context. Moreover, sellers on C2C e-commerce platforms are usually independent individuals who autonomously decide on product categories, pricing, sales strategies without the need for extensive collaboration with other sellers. The competitive relationship among sellers is relatively pronounced, and they are more focused on maximizing their own interests rather than sacrificing personal interests for the collective good, as emphasized by collectivism. Additionally, the dimension of indulgence is a relatively recent addition to the cultural framework and currently lacks sufficient theoretical grounding and empirical support for cross-sectional studies. Given these considerations, cultural dimensions such as power distance, collectivism, and indulgence are unlikely to significantly influence sellers’ perceptions of e-commerce platforms. Therefore, not all cultural dimensions are suitable for this study [12], and we ultimately focus on three cultural traits that are widely used in e-commerce research: masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation.

3. Hypotheses Development

We establish a conceptual model based on institutional trust theory and cultural dimension theory, as shown in Figure 1, aiming to explore the logical relationship between formal institutions, informal institutions, and platform trust.

3.1. Cultural Values and Platform Trust

The value differences in gender are described by masculinity vs. femininity, which is likely to be relevant to the level of trust. People with masculinity values are typically considered to be assertive, aggressive and biased toward material achievement, while those with femininity values are typically considered modest, cooperative and valuing of quality of life and job security [46]. Since biological gender indeed has an effect on trust levels in online environments [47], it is inferred that psychological gender performance can also impact trust [48]. Researchers interpret the dominance effect of trust level with the masculinity value mainly based on risk preference theory [49]. In culture with high levels of masculinity, people are inclined to derive trust from their ability to make inferences [50]. Ambitious masculinity attempts to demonstrate their achievements on the platform, so they express optimistic and trust attitudes even when they are aware of a vulnerable environment.

H1. 

Masculinity has a positive correlation with platform trust.

Focused on the acceptance of uncertainty and ambiguous scenarios, uncertainty avoidance is deemed to be closely related to trust [46]. It influences our behavior and decision-making processes in various contexts. Boubakri (2021) [51] conducted a study on the impact of cultural characteristics on corporate innovation and concluded that firms with higher levels of uncertainty avoidance are generally unwilling to take risky innovative actions. A higher level of uncertainty is involved in e-commerce than in traditional brick-and-mortar commerce, which reduces the trustworthiness of online commerce. This increased uncertainty stems from factors such as the inability to physically inspect products, concerns about data security, and the anonymity of online transactions. People typically feel threatened by uncertainty and are more sensitive to the perception of risk, which can lead to a reduced sense of trustworthiness in online commerce [52]. When individuals perceive a high level of uncertainty, they are more likely to question the reliability and integrity of online platforms, thereby diminishing their trust in these platforms.

H2. 

Uncertainty avoidance has a negative correlation with platform trust.

In cultural contexts that strongly emphasize long-term orientation, values such as perseverance, thrift, and the cultivation of enduring relationships are highly prioritized [21]. Within these societies, trust emerges as a critical parameter in both interpersonal and institutional interactions, serving as a foundation for sustained cooperation and mutual understanding [12]. By its nature, trust entails a willingness to accept vulnerability and navigate uncertainties regarding interaction outcomes [53]. This willingness is particularly pronounced in individuals and societies that endorse long-term orientation, as they tend to prioritize future rewards over immediate gains and are more inclined to invest in relationships that promise stability and continuity [54]. Moreover, individuals with a strong long-term orientation tend to hold firm beliefs that enable them to undertake risks in uncertain situations, and once their trust is established, it is unlikely to change [55]. Since short-term earnings from untrustworthy behavior are less valuable, societies with long-term oriented cultural values encourage trust [56]. Consequently, such societies inherently foster an environment where trust is not only encouraged but also reinforced through deeply ingrained social norms and expectations.

H3. 

Long-term orientation has a positive correlation with platform trust.

3.2. Cultural Values

In societies with a predominantly feminine cultural orientation, femininity holds a prominent position within the social hierarchy, influencing behavioral norms and risk-taking propensities [36]. Feminine cultures, which emphasize values such as care, quality of life, and interpersonal relationships, tend to foster environments where risk aversion is more prevalent [57]. This inclination toward risk aversion can be attributed to the experientially observable tendency of femininity to prioritize stability and security over bold, uncertain ventures [58]. Empirical evidence suggests that individuals and societies that endorse feminine values are less likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, as they are more attuned to potential negative outcomes and seek to mitigate uncertainties [59]. In contrast, masculinity, as a cultural dimension, exhibits distinct risk preferences that diverge from those of femininity [36]. Masculine cultures, which emphasize assertiveness, competition, and achievement, tend to encourage individuals to pursue ambitious goals and take calculated risks [60]. This propensity for risk taking is underpinned by a belief in the inherent value of competition and the pursuit of success even in the face of uncertainty [61]. Consequently, individuals with a strong masculine orientation are more likely to exhibit a higher tolerance for risk and a greater willingness to engage in uncertain situations [62]. Meanwhile, uncertainty avoidance reflects the ability to perceive and tolerate risk [46]. One strength of a masculinity orientation is its greater ability to perceive and endure uncertainty and ambiguity compared to a feminine orientation. Therefore, masculinities are less likely to exhibit uncertainty avoidance.

H4. 

Masculinity has a negative correlation with uncertainty avoidance.

Groups that uphold masculine values are often characterized by a strong goal-oriented mindset and a set of material expectations for the future [36]. They tend to prioritize long-term planning and investment that is driven by a belief in the intrinsic value of sustained effort and the rewards that perseverance brings [63]. Long-term orientation reflects the extent to which individuals and societies hold expectations and concerns for the future, emphasizing perseverance, thrift, and the cultivation of enduring relationships [46]. Those with strong masculine values are typically motivated by a desire to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage, which necessitates a forward-thinking approach and a willingness to invest in long-term objectives [60]. They are more likely to perceive their endeavors, such as running a business or managing a store, as long-term projects that require continuous effort and strategic planning [61]. This perspective is further reinforced by their belief in the value of hard work and the potential for future rewards, aligning closely with the principles of long-term orientation.

H5. 

Masculinity is positively correlated with long-term orientation.

Individuals with a high level of long-term orientation are typically characterized by a strong respect for traditions and a cautious attitude toward future changes [46]. The conservative attitude toward future changes exhibited by those with a strong long-term orientation stems from their belief in the importance of maintaining stability and avoiding unnecessary risks [12]. They are likely to approach new situations and innovations with a sense of caution, preferring to rely on tried-and-tested methods and practices rather than embracing uncertainty and ambiguity [46]. This cautiousness is not a sign of fear or inflexibility but rather a reflection of their commitment to long-term success and sustainability [64]. Consequently, individuals with a high level of long-term orientation also tend to have a conservative attitude toward uncertainty factors [65]. They are concerned about the risks associated with uncertainty, particularly when it comes to pursuing future growth and development. This concern is rooted in the understanding that uncertainty can disrupt plans, undermine stability, and jeopardize long-term goals [66]. Accordingly, they are more likely to seek clarity, predictability, and control in their environments, which aligns with the principles of uncertainty avoidance.

H6. 

Long-term orientation has a positive correlation with uncertainty avoidance.

3.3. The Moderating Role of Structural Assurances

It was found by Kailani and Kumar (2011) [67] that participants in online transactions appear to be more cautious from cultures with a low acceptance of uncertainty. Those who fear situations of uncertainty and ambiguity are believed to require more persuasion from online stores to develop trust [40]. Davis et al. (2008) [68] propose that a well-designed website should support consumers’ culture. Website quality includes the quality of information, systems and services [69], which together affect the usefulness of the website and the satisfaction of users, so website quality is the key to the success of the website [70]. It is not hard to imagine that a well-designed and stable search function of the website will enable sellers to appreciate the ease of operation and reliability of the platform, and the personalized service offered represents a responsibility of the e-marketplace to take participants seriously [3]. The positive attitude toward the reliability of specific platforms relieves sellers of potential risks when participating in online marketplaces. Above all, perfect website quality can weaken the perceived risk of high-uncertainty avoidance sellers and win platform trust.

H7a. 

Website quality moderates the relationship between uncertainty avoidance and platform trust, such that strong website quality weakens the negative relationship.

Cultures with high scores in uncertainty avoidance discourage risk taking, resulting in a high priority for structure and safety, while it is the opposite in cultures scoring low [71]. In a culture of uncertainty avoidance, people are less trusting, and transaction norms and legal institutions play an important role in offering assurance [52]. There might be a higher need for order and structure [72], and formalization is favored over deregulation [73]. In order to gain trust, platforms provide various guarantee institutions, which mainly contain relevant laws and regulations in the external environment, internal management rules of e-commerce platforms, and service commitments, which play an important role in successful online transactions [74]. Hence, in the case of higher institutional guarantees, uncertainty avoidance can be better avoided [72,75], providing a basis for sellers to build trust on e-commerce platforms.

H7b. 

Institutional guarantee moderates the relationship between uncertainty avoidance and platform trust, such that strong institutional guarantee weakens the negative relationship.

The security system of an e-commerce platform includes the implementation of technical security measures, the adoption of third-party services, and suspicious identity authentication. For e-commerce sites, advanced technical security protection is an important concern for both consumers and sellers [76]. Through transaction security mechanisms, e-commerce platforms can avoid most security risks for sellers, including financial risk, logistics risk, marketing risk, and so on [3]. Sellers with uncertainty avoidance value will increase their trust in the platform after perceiving these advanced technical security and authoritative third-party service support.

H7c. 

Security system moderates the relationship between uncertainty avoidance and platform trust, such that strong security system weakens the negative relationship.

4. Methodology

4.1. Questionnaire Design

This paper studies the platform trust model from the perspective of sellers, so our research subjects are operators who open stores on e-commerce platform. Given Taobao’s development momentum and huge market share, we chose to focus on sellers that utilize it. After a small sample pilot test (100 samples), we observed the item (“I trust the platform to handle disputes fairly”) exhibited low factor loadings (<0.40) in exploratory factor analysis (EFA), indicating a weak correlation with the overall platform trust construct. Therefore, we deleted the fourth item that measured platform trust. The Ali Group Taobao User Experience Department distributed 9500 questionnaires form sellers through internal research tools from 2 March to 10 April 2023. We removed incomplete, over-filled and randomly oriented invalid questionnaires, obtaining 7216 valid questionnaires, which was a valid response rate of 75.96%.

4.2. Measurement

The measurement scales are adapted from the literature and adjusted in the context of our study. All items are measured with a seven-point Likert-style scale. The specific measurement items are shown in Table 1.

4.2.1. Dependent Variable

Platform trust represents the willingness to trust that drives sellers to use and depend on the platform, which is measured based on a scale adopted by Wang et al. (2020) [77].

4.2.2. Independent Variables

Given the maturity of Hofstede’s cultural dimension research, this paper measures masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation with reference to it, as shown in Table 1.

4.2.3. Moderator

This study measures the structural assurance of e-commerce platforms in three areas: website quality, institutional guarantee, and security system. Website quality measures information quality, system quality, and service quality with reference to DeLone and McLean (2004) [69]. Institutional guarantee references Zhu et al. (2014) [78] to measure laws and regulations in the external environment and Strohmaier et al. (2019) [74] to measure business rules in the internal environment and service commitments to complement them. Security system measures payment security, data confidentiality, and website structure security with reference to Cui et al. (2019) [3].

4.2.4. Control Variable

A series of variables about seller characteristics are selected for control, including trade transaction (sale), store star level (star), average per customer transaction (pct), and online sales time (history).

Table 1. Measurement items.

Constructs	Items	Reference
Masculinity	I believe that both men and women should have a clear division of labor and play to their strengths, and not just emphasize that they are all the same.	[79,80,81]
	I believe it is more important to achieve tasks than to care for others.
	I believe that men should be strong and women should be feminine.
Uncertainty avoidance	In work and life, I feel intimidated when faced with unknown situations and when involved in unfamiliar activities.
	I am afraid of the uncertainty of the future.
	When it comes to going to work in a new environment, I feel scared.
Long-term orientation	I think it is important to be frugal.
	I think it is important to be persistent.
	I feel ashamed when I don’t get things right.
Website quality	Proper website design.	[69]
	Easy to use.
	Strong and practical search functions.
	Existence of potential customers.
	Provide personalized services.	[74,78]
Institutional guarantee	Laws and regulations and technical system.
	Fair and reasonable business rules.
	Service commitment.
Security system	Technologies such as encryption, transaction protection mechanisms, and payment security measures.	[3]
	Third-party services.
	Identity verification and exception alerts.
Platform trust	I consider the site to be credible.	[77]
	If problems arise during the transaction, I think the site is capable of helping users resolve them.
	I am willing to provide information about my company (i.e., business license number, company address, company phone number, and so on) to this website.
	If the site requires payment to use it, I am willing to pay and continue to use it. (Deleted)

Table 1. Measurement items.

Constructs	Items	Reference
Masculinity	I believe that both men and women should have a clear division of labor and play to their strengths, and not just emphasize that they are all the same.	[79,80,81]
	I believe it is more important to achieve tasks than to care for others.
	I believe that men should be strong and women should be feminine.
Uncertainty avoidance	In work and life, I feel intimidated when faced with unknown situations and when involved in unfamiliar activities.
	I am afraid of the uncertainty of the future.
	When it comes to going to work in a new environment, I feel scared.
Long-term orientation	I think it is important to be frugal.
	I think it is important to be persistent.
	I feel ashamed when I don’t get things right.
Website quality	Proper website design.	[69]
	Easy to use.
	Strong and practical search functions.
	Existence of potential customers.
	Provide personalized services.	[74,78]
Institutional guarantee	Laws and regulations and technical system.
	Fair and reasonable business rules.
	Service commitment.
Security system	Technologies such as encryption, transaction protection mechanisms, and payment security measures.	[3]
	Third-party services.
	Identity verification and exception alerts.
Platform trust	I consider the site to be credible.	[77]
	If problems arise during the transaction, I think the site is capable of helping users resolve them.
	I am willing to provide information about my company (i.e., business license number, company address, company phone number, and so on) to this website.
	If the site requires payment to use it, I am willing to pay and continue to use it. (Deleted)

5. Analyses and Results

5.1. Descriptive Statistics of Samples

Based on their internal classification for sellers, the survey sample included manufacturers, product agents, service providers, part-time individuals and full-time individuals, covering sellers who have stores on Taobao platforms. The proportions of part-time and full-time individuals in the surveyed samples reached 35.91% and 45.65%, respectively, totaling more than 80%, which indicates that individual stores on Taobao account for the majority of the stores. Therefore, online stores with an employee size of less than five people accounted for a high percentage of 91.34%, and 89.33% belonged to online store owners. Online stores with annual transactions of less than CNY 10,000 comprised 80.3%, which shows that the large volume of transactions on Taobao is mostly inexpensive small goods, which is consistent with the actual e-commerce market. Our samples were confirmed by the Taobao operations team to be well structured.

The stores used in this study were individual full-time employees with less than five employees, and their respondents were “familiar” or “very familiar” with online transactions, with 2970 valid questionnaires.

Table 2. Sample characteristics.

Demographic Variable	Items	Frequency	Percentage
Sale	Under CNY 1000	1311	44.1
	CNY 1000–3000	475	16
	CNY 3000–5000	254	8.6
	CNY 5000–10,000	346	11.6
	CNY 10,000–30,000	413	13.9
	CNY 30,000–50,000	119	4
	CNY 50,000–100,000	24	0.8
	CNY 100,000–500,000	14	0.5
	CNY 500,000–1,000,000	9	0.3
	Over CNY 1 million	5	0.2
Pct	CNY 100 and below	1657	55.8
	CNY 100–300	1025	34.5
	CNY 300–500	147	4.9
	CNY 500–1000	80	2.7
	CNY 1000–3000	45	1.5
	CNY 3000–5000	12	0.4
	Over CNY 5000	4	0.1
Star	1 star or below	289	9.7
	2–3 stars	683	23
	4–5 stars	574	19.3
	1–3 diamonds	887	29.9
	4–5 diamonds	385	13
	1–2 crowns	128	4.3
	3–5 crowns	16	0.5
History	3 months or less	600	20.2
	4–6 months	626	21.1
	7–12 months	583	19.6
	1–2 years	635	21.4
	2–3 years	296	10
	3–5 years	166	5.6
	Over 5 years	64	2.2
Identity	Owner	2784	93.7
	Senior management	91	3.1
	Supervisor	44	1.5
	Employee	23	0.8
	Other	28	0.9

presents basic information about the sample.

5.2. Reliability and Validity

Reliability analysis verifies consistency by using the same method to measure the same thing repeatedly. All Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability (CR) values exceeded the threshold value of 0.7 (see

Table 3. Reliability and convergent validity.

Constructs	Items	VIF	Factor Loading	CA	KMO	CR	AVE
Normative mechanism	MA1	1.444	0.712	0.801	0.795	0.805	0.508
	MA2	1.589	0.708
	MA3	1.533	0.701
	UA1	2.502	0.832
Supervisory mechanism	UA2	2.423	0.831	0.800	0.787	0.804	0.506
	UA3	2.492	0.844
	LO1	1.577	0.668
	LO2	2.130	0.796
Reward-punishment mechanism	LO3	1.606	0.670	0.798	0.782	0.800	0.501
	IG1	2.117	0.846
	IG2	2.324	0.781
	IG3	2.879	0.735
Community building	SS1	3.358	0.733	0.838	0.802	0.831	0.552
	SS2	3.275	0.873
	SS3	2.241	0.866
	WQ1	2.896	0.821
Perceived risk	WQ2	2.528	0.801	0.871	0.817	0.873	0.633
	WQ3	2.724	0.821
	WQ4	2.619	0.795
	WQ5	2.725	0.804
Platform big data capability	PT1	3.093	0.829	0.815	0.805	0.815	0.524
	PT2	2.546	0.787
	PT3	1.929	0.797

), indicating that the proposed model has excellent internal consistency. The variance inflation factor (VIF) values are below the recommended threshold of 10, which indicated that there was no serious problem of multicollinearity in this study.

Validity analysis refers to validity estimates of questionnaire scales. In this study, convergent validity and discriminant validity were examined, requiring (1) factor loading values above 0.6, (2) CR values above 0.7, (3) average variance extracted (AVE) values above 0.50, (4) the square root value of AVE to be greater than the absolute value of the correlation coefficient between two other variables, and (5) each indicator’s factor loading to be greater than its cross-loadings with other constructs. As reported in Table 3,

Table 4. Means, standard deviations, and discriminant validity.

Construct	M	SD	MA	UA	LO	IG	SS	WQ	PT
MA	4.814	1.301	0.707
UA	4.375	0.318	0.616	0.836
LO	6.018	0.281	0.398	0.274	0.714
IG	5.750	0.210	0.369	0.151	0.595	0.789
SS	5.982	0.173	0.302	0.131	0.695	0.899	0.932
WQ	5.721	0.138	0.427	0.178	0.660	0.859	0.866	0.969
PT	5.455	1.149	0.432	0.184	0.695	0.913	0.911	0.943	0.967

The square root of AVE (bold) is shown on the diagonal of the matrix. Construct correlations are below the diagonal. M: mean, SD: standard deviation, MA: masculinity, UA: uncertainty avoidance, LO: long-term orientation, IG: institutional guarantee, SS: security structure, WQ: website quality, PT: platform trust.

and

Table 5. Discriminant validity based on cross-loading evaluation.

Indicator	MA	UA	LO	IG	SS	WQ	PT
MA1	0.648	−0.069	−0.066	−0.140	0.082	−0.030	−0.182
MA2	0.723	−0.192	−0.003	0.075	−0.130	−0.123	−0.047
MA3	0.703	−0.009	−0.034	−0.207	−0.014	−0.082	0.088
UA1	0.143	0.878	−0.089	−0.216	0.029	−0.130	0.045
UA2	−0.084	0.863	−0.046	−0.001	−0.094	−0.091	−0.052
UA3	−0.231	0.842	0.001	−0.003	−0.206	−0.013	−0.079
LO1	0.006	−0.048	0.804	−0.022	−0.112	−0.058	0.034
LO2	−0.072	−0.090	0.729	−0.011	−0.066	−0.074	−0.001
LO3	−0.069	−0.065	0.689	−0.060	0.005	−0.066	−0.010
IG1	−0.040	−0.086	−0.052	0.669	0.325	−0.229	−0.112
IG2	−0.075	−0.062	−0.003	0.612	−0.043	−0.193	−0.106
IG3	−0.003	−0.075	0.001	0.662	−0.096	−0.111	0.033
SS1	−0.032	−0.014	−0.086	0.108	0.682	−0.139	0.200
SS2	−0.071	0.030	−0.052	0.135	0.613	−0.102	0.139
SS3	−0.197	0.072	−0.024	0.284	0.645	0.122	−0.254
WQ1	−0.074	0.051	−0.066	0.042	0.010	0.706	−0.211
WQ2	0.010	−0.080	−0.012	−0.097	−0.067	0.622	−0.158
WQ3	−0.021	−0.049	−0.047	−0.148	−0.032	0.625	−0.072
WQ4	−0.076	−0.061	−0.041	−0.276	0.064	0.628	0.089
WQ5	−0.085	−0.075	0.010	0.012	−0.175	0.689	−0.093
PT1	−0.045	0.015	−0.082	−0.036	0.067	0.026	0.711
PT2	−0.009	−0.112	0.007	0.307	−0.221	0.016	0.732
PT3	−0.066	−0.060	0.030	−0.085	−0.161	−0.133	0.989

Note(s): An indicator has the highest loading value (in bold) with the construct to which it has been assigned to. MA: masculinity, UA: uncertainty avoidance, LO: long-term orientation, IG: institutional guarantee, SS: security structure, WQ: website quality, PT: platform trust.

, both convergent validity and discriminant validity were satisfied.

5.3. Common Method Bias (CMB)

Common method bias is a potential problem in self-report-based questionnaires and behavioral research. Given that the information we collected when measuring independent variables, dependent variables and moderating variables all came from the same respondents, the issue of common method bias may exist. Harman’s single-factor test was conducted, which showed common method variance unlikely to be a concern. We put items of all variables together in an exploratory factor analysis, and the results of the unrotated factor analysis showed that factors with eigenroot values greater than 1 together explained 73.829% of all variance. The first factor explained 23.160% of variances, which was less than the threshold value of 40%, and no single factor explained too much. Therefore, common method bias does not seriously affect this study.

5.4. Hypothesis Testing

We empirically estimated our proposed hypotheses by ordinary least squares regression. The results are presented in

Table 6. Regression results.

Variables	Platform Trust			Uncertainty Avoidance	Long-Term Orientation
	Model 1	Model 2	Model 3	Model 4	Model 5
Independent Variables
Masculinity		0.295 *** (0.016)		0.514 *** (0.022)	0.270 *** (0.013)
Uncertainty avoidance		−0.037 ** (0.012)	−0.046 *** (0.008)
Long-term orientation		0.426 *** (0.019)		0.200 *** (0.028)
Moderators
Website quality			0.519 *** (0.020)
Institutional guarantee			0.213 *** (0.018)
Security system			0.136 *** (0.022)
Interaction effects
Uncertainty avoidance * Website quality			0.062 *** (0.012)
Uncertainty avoidance * Institutional guarantee			0.015 * (0.006)
Uncertainty avoidance * Security system			−0.049 *** (0.013)
Control variables
Sale	0.024 (0.016)	0.020 (0.013)	0.021 * (0.010)
Pct	−0.016 (0.025)	−0.018 (0.021)	−0.005 (0.015)
Star	−0.036 (0.021)	−0.029 (0.017)	0.013 (0.013)
History	−0.037 * (0.016)	−0.033 * (0.014)	−0.009 (0.010)
Constant	5.686 *** (0.083)	1.837 *** (0.130)	0.166 (0.099)	0.697 *** (0.168)	4.717 *** (0.066)
Observations	2970	2970	2970	2970	2970
R-squared	0.004	0.319	0.642	0.217	0.122

Note(s): Standard errors are in the parentheses; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

. Model 1 only contains the control variables. To answer the first research question (Do the cultural values of individual sellers impact their platform trust?), we contained the main effects in Model 2 and tested the impacts of masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation on platform trust. The results indicate that masculinity and long-term orientation are both positively related to platform trust (Model 2: β = 0.295, p < 0.001; β = 0.426, p < 0.001), and uncertainty avoidance is negatively related to platform trust (Model 2: β = −0.037, p < 0.01). Thus, hypotheses 1, hypothesis 2 and hypothesis 3 are supported.

To answer the second research question (What is the association among the cultural values of individual sellers?), we tested the impact of masculinity and long-term orientation on uncertainty avoidance in Model 4 as well as the impact of masculinity on long-term orientation in Model 5. The results indicate that masculinity and long-term orientation are both positively related to uncertainty avoidance (Model 4: β = 0.516, p < 0.001; β = 0.198, p < 0.001), and masculinity is positively related to long-term orientation (Model 5: β = 0.271, p < 0.001). Thus, hypothesis 5 and hypothesis 6 are supported, but hypotheses 4 is not supported.

To answer the third research question (Do structural assurances of the platform significantly moderate the correlation between sellers’ uncertainty avoidance and platform trust?), we contained the moderation test results including the main effects and interaction effects in Model 3. We mean-centered the construct scores and created the interaction terms of website quality, institutional guarantee, security system and uncertainty avoidance. The results show that website quality and institutional guarantee both significantly moderate the relationship between uncertainty avoidance and platform trust (Model 3: β = 0.062, p < 0.001; β = 0.015, p < 0.05), and the moderating effect is shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3, thus supporting H7a and H7b. In addition, security system also significantly moderates the relationship between uncertainty avoidance and platform trust (Model 3: β = −0.049 p < 0.001), but it has the opposite impact on the hypothesis, and the corresponding moderating effect is shown in Figure 4; thus, H7c is not supported.

6. Discussion

This empirical study investigated the impact of cultural factors on C2C e-commerce platform trust from the seller’s perspective, explored the relationship among masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation, and examined the moderating effect of structural assurance on the relationship between cultural factors and platform trust. Our specific empirical conclusions are described below:

Considering the first research question, this study comes to the following findings. This study targets the impact of three cultural factors—masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation—on platform trust. Masculinity and long-term orientation are both positively correlated with platform trust, and uncertainty avoidance is negatively related to platform trust. Groups with masculinity values are usually more receptive to new factors [82], so masculine-oriented individual sellers are more likely to adopt popular e-commerce platforms like Taobao for small and micro-entrepreneurship. In addition, sellers with high levels of long-term orientation are endowed with resolute beliefs, are more committed and long-lasting in their trust intentions regardless of whatever trust perception they have acquired, and attempt to grow with the platform they work on [12]. Moreover, sellers with low levels of uncertainty avoidance show a higher acceptability of frustration, so that they are less likely to have an avoidant attitude in the face of uncertainty [40]. They are more receptive to adopting new things and trust is easily built, so uncertainty avoidance is proven to be a negative influence on platform trust.

Considering the second research question, we investigate the relationship among the cultural values. The positive impact of masculinity on long-term orientation can be explained by the fact that sellers with masculinity are more concerned about the long-term development of their stores [21]. Long-term orientation positively impacting uncertainty avoidance reflects the operator’s mindset of envisioning a positive entrepreneurial outlook but simultaneously shying away from the inevitable risks that arise [12]. Contrary to our hypothesis, masculinity positively influences uncertainty avoidance. One explanation is that masculine-oriented sellers in e-commerce platforms focus more on material results and are more careful. Another explanation may be related to sellers’ size, as the stores selected for this study are those with less than five employees, and this type of operator should be more inclined to a stable and small business concept and risk aversion.

Considering the third research question, we provide empirical evidence on the boundary conditions of sellers’ perception and response. Since the above study on the relationship among cultural values suggests that uncertainty avoidance plays a mediating effect in the relationship between other cultural values and platform trust, this study only explores the moderating effect of structural assurance on uncertainty avoidance. We investigate the moderating effects of website quality, institutional guarantee and security system on the relationship between uncertainty avoidance and platform trust. The findings indicate that excellent website quality and institutional guarantee both weaken the negative impact of uncertainty avoidance on platform trust. Our explanation for this finding is that platform practicality and ease of use alleviate the sellers’ worries about the potential risks of operating business on the online market, and a perfect institutional guarantee can protect sellers’ legal rights and interests, which all weaken the perceived risk of sellers with uncertainty avoidance tendencies and thus enhance platform trust. Inconsistent with our hypothesis, security systems strengthen the negative impact of uncertainty avoidance on platform trust. Our explanation has three points. First, groups with uncertainty avoidance values are more apprehensive about advanced technologies and are generally reluctant to easily accept adoption [51], so such sellers will have much less favorable perceptions of the various advanced technological protections given by the website. Second, one of the measurement items of security systems in this study is on suspicious identity authentication. If the website has frequent reminders about abnormal transactor identities and advising to beware of fraud, sellers with high levels of uncertainty avoidance are more likely to perceive insecurity in e-commerce websites, which in turn reduces their trust in the platform and online transactions. Finally, sellers not only need to have confidence in security protection measures of e-commerce platform but also need to trust that the other third-party service platforms they work with are reliable enough. In fact, however, Taobao has very limited control over the third-party platforms that provide logistics and payment services [6,83]. Therefore, the more e-commerce platforms use third-party services, the less benefit there is regarding sellers with uncertainty avoidance value trusting the platform.

6.1. Theoretical Contributions

Firstly, to fill the gap in research from the sellers’ perspective, we verified factors influencing sellers’ platform trust, extending existing e-commerce literature. Most previous research has focused on protecting the interests of consumers, and from this standpoint, it has been concerned almost exclusively with the antecedents of consumer trust in e-commerce and formulated effective solutions to increase their confidence in participating in e-commerce [9,74], while research from the seller’s perspective is lagging. Critically, the success of e-business also depends on the behavior of sellers and their decision on which platform to engage [3]. Only by satisfying sellers can e-marketplaces attract more and better sellers and provide suitable sellers for the best interests of consumers, thus generating more profits for platforms through the positive feedback generated [11]. Therefore, this paper explores the formation mechanism of platform trust from the seller’s perspective, which enriches the current theoretical research on e-commerce trust.

Secondly, the existing research lacks in-depth analysis and any comprehensive theoretical explanation of institutional trust, which is not conducive to identifying the differences between institutional factors. Integrating relevant theories and achievements in the fields of sociology, psychology and management, we broaden the concept of institution from a narrow sense to a broad one and analyze its effect mechanism in a specific e-commerce environment. We deepen the institutional trust theory by introducing formal institutions (structural assurance) and informal institutions (cultural value), and we divide structural assurance into website quality, institutional guarantee and security system, and cultural factors including masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. We further verify the moderating effect of formal institutions on informal institutions. Distinct from prior research, which often concentrated exclusively on the direct impacts of both formal and informal institutions on trust, our investigation unveils the moderating function of formal institutions. Consequently, an e-commerce platform trust model is formulated, thereby augmenting the existing institutional trust framework.

Thirdly, in previous studies on the impact of culture on online trust, most researchers have approached culture as a broad, often country-level characteristic, comparing the effects of Eastern and Western cultures on online trust [38,39]. These studies have provided valuable insights into cultural differences at a macro level but have not delved deeply into the nuances of individual cultural values and their direct impact on trust within specific contexts, such as e-commerce platforms. In contrast, our study focuses on the individual level rather than the country level. We recognize that even individuals from the same country can exhibit significant differences in cultural values, which can influence their trust in e-commerce platforms. To address this gap, we construct a model that specifically analyzes how sellers’ cultural values—such as masculinity, long-term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance—directly affect their trust in the platform. This not only allows us to explore the relationships among cultural factors but also innovatively combines cultural values with e-commerce trust models. In doing so, we aim to improve the theoretical study of cultural dimensions in the context of e-commerce trust. Specifically, our findings indicate that sellers with high scores in masculinity, high scores in long-term orientation, or low scores in uncertainty avoidance are more likely to trust e-commerce platforms.

6.2. Managerial Implications

Based on cultural characteristics, the platform can execute differentiated management for sellers with different cultural values and provide personalized services for them, which is especially vital to identify and attract more quality sellers to participate and enhance platform competitiveness. Furthermore, we have to better understand the circumstances under which sellers are more willing to trust the platform. In summary, our study provides several practical implications for platform operators and sellers.

Firstly, by grasping the cultural factors impacting platform trust and the relationship among cultural factors, e-commerce platforms are favorable to better guide and assist sellers with targeted operational development measures and promote long-term cooperation between platforms and sellers. In accordance with the positive effect of masculinity on long-term orientation and platform trust, it is indicated that sellers with masculinity in e-commerce platforms are more likely to have long-term ambitions to expand and strengthen their stores. However, it is noticeable that sellers with masculinity will be more inclined to avoid uncertainty. Given the negative effect of uncertainty avoidance on platform trust, the platform constructors or operators can determine the level of uncertainty avoidance to distinguish the characteristics of seller users so as to “tailor” their operations management, which will help e-commerce platforms retain sellers as well as facilitate the improvement of platform benefits. On the basis of the positive impact of long-term orientation on platform trust, it is available for platform builders to take advantage of their ambitious characteristics to provide sellers with long-term operational strategies. Long-term orientation positively affects uncertainty avoidance, so platform operators need to pay attention to the relationship between sellers’ positive entrepreneurial aspirations and negative risk awareness.

Secondly, it is concluded that website quality and institutional guarantee can alleviate the sense of less trust of sellers with uncertainty avoidance values. This requires e-commerce platforms to further improve the website design and enhance the quality of the website to ensure a simple and smooth operation process. At the same time, it is also necessary to continuously explore sellers’ functional demands and provide personalized services when conducting strategic operations to avoid the homogenization of websites. In addition, in the context of large institutional systems improving slowly, e-commerce platforms should be more focused on internal operational rules to simplify and improve, and they should also try to protect sellers’ legitimate rights and interests. After all, the long-term support of sellers is the key to the development of e-commerce platforms. Although the security system plays a positive role in the negative relationship between uncertainty avoidance and platform trust, it is recommended for e-commerce platforms to pay more attention to security system construction so as to enhance user stickiness, including advanced technical protection, high-quality and comprehensive third-party services, and intelligent abnormal protection.

Thirdly, for e-commerce platform sellers, through understanding the impact of cultural factors on platform trust, an adaptive adjustment of management philosophy and direction is conducive to better achieve store operational goals. Moreover, their recognition and mastery of cultural dimension theory and structural assurance can help them better understand the e-commerce platform and choose a suitable platform for their development.

6.3. Limitations and Future Research

This study comprehensively analyzes the effect of structural assurance, as a formal institution, and cultural factors, as an informal institution, on the e-commerce platform trust from the seller’s perspective, but we acknowledge a few shortcomings of our study that provide opportunities for further research. First, we only examined the effect of structural assurance as a formal institution on platform trust. Future research can be extended to situational normality factors. Second, future research on institutional trust can be carried out not only utilizing the perspective individual sellers but also from the perspectives of corporate sellers, cross-border e-commerce and individual consumers to further compare differences in the impact of institutional factors on platform trust between consumers and sellers. Finally, this research was conducted on Taobao, which is one of the C2C e-commerce platforms. Although Taobao is sufficiently representative of the C2C market, incorporating other platforms into future research will enable more complete contributions or findings to help explain the impact.