To Trust or to Distrust, That Is the Question: Investigating the Trust-Distrust Paradox
One major obstacle to the widespread diffusion of e-commerce is consumer distrust. In the highly uncertain virtual environment, people have a more prevalent tendency to distrust than to trust, so as to avoid potentially negative consequences. Although mechanisms to promote trust have been extensively researched, it is not clear whether these recommended trust-building mechanisms would be equally effective in reducing distrust.