The role of trust in online B2B information gathering Are decision-makers in the B2B sector giving up information gathering for partnerships?
(R2020-85043)

AUTHORS

Zsófia Gyulai, University of Szeged - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Business Studies

KEYWORDS

online trust; B2B partnerships; online information gathering

ABSTRACT

Trust plays a significant role in business relationships. This role in the online space is only growing due to the asymmetric information of partner companies. Conscious information seekers attach less importance to the communication coming from the company, they are informed based on indirect touchpoints. I was looking for the answer to the question: How can companies build trust in conscious information seekers like B2B sector decision-makers? I was able to identify four trust-building factors related to the (1) information content and (2) design of the corporate website, the (3) monitoring of indirect touchpoints, and the (4) confidential partnership.