1504 The Human Face of E-Business by 2004 these had increased to over £18 billion (Wallis, 2006). The growth in Internet sales be- tween 2003 and 2004 was over 67%; this clearly shows brisk expansion in the value of Internet VDOHV:DOOLV,QWKH$VLD3DFL¿FUHJLRQ sales also grew rapidly, from about $200 billion in 2003 to about $300 billion by 2004 (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD], 2003). In contrast, the situation in the $UDEZRUOGLVGLIIHUHQWVLQFHWKHHVWLPDWHG¿JXUH for B2C in Africa and the Middle East cannot be compared with those in the US, the EU, or China (UNCTAD, 2004). Trust in online shopping still represents a VLJQL¿FDQWEDUULHUIRU,QWHUQHWXVHUVDQGLVFULS- pling the e-commerce environment (Zhang & Zhang, 2005). Trust is a critical component for any business transaction, and is particularly es- sential in the e-commerce environment because of the paucity of rules and customs in regulating e-commerce and due to the fact that, typically, online services and products are not immediately YH U L ¿ D E O H 0 R U H RYH UR Q O L Q H W U D Q V D F W LR Q V D U H P R U H impersonal, anonymous, and automated and lack the assurance provided in traditional settings through formal proceedings and receipts. B2C online vendors are particularly challenged when trying to build and attain consumer trust. Indeed, in contrast to face-to-face commerce and to other applications of trust, which encompass a wide range of emotions involving various types of so- cial interaction with humans, there are typically no interpersonal interactions in e-commerce, neither direct nor implied. Such interactions, or even cues relating to them, are notably missing from e-commerce Web sites. Online shopping may be viewed as lacking human warmth and sociability. The social aspect of shopping has been shown to be a major contributor towards positive emotions (Jones, 1999) that have been linked to several important outcomes, such as increased unplanned purchasing, increased spending, and increased time spent in the store (Jones, 1999). 2QOLQHYHQGRUVIDFHDVLJQL¿FDQWFKDOOHQJHLQ making their Web sites socially rich (Kumar & Benbasat, 2002). The aspect of trust has been examined over many years, however, most of the research on consumer trust focuses on consumers in Eng- lish-speaking countries and newly industrialized countries. Trust in e-commerce research has been conducted almost exclusively in the US or Western Europe. Considering the cultural, eco- nomic, social, and political differences between the developed and less developed countries, concerns have been raised in terms of whether research based in the US or Western Europe can be generalized to other countries (Bagozzi, Wong, Abe, & Bergami, 2000). The global nature of the Internet raises questions about the effects of trust across cultures as well. Although trust may be formed in a variety of ways, it depends on the cultural factors (e.g., societal norms, values, etc.) that guide people’s behaviors and beliefs. Despite the differences national culture can cause in e- commerce behavior (Kacen & Lee, 2002), and despite e-commerce becoming global, research on trust in e-commerce has to emphasize the possible effects of national culture. For that, this study attempts to carry out a pilot case investiga- tion of our research objectives in Saudi Arabia; a developing country with the highest growth in Internet users in the Middle East and Africa (www.mcit.gov.sa). Research Objectives and Organization of the Article This study researched the effect of adding media cues (video clips, photographs) of a presumed sales person’s face to the home page of an e-com- merce vendor, and considered the effect of social presence cues, also known as interpersonal cues, that are implicit in the media cue on users’ initial trust in the vendor (Research Objective 1). The majority of studies of online customer trust focus on general trust as it develops between customers and online vendors over time and after repeated 1505 The Human Face of E-Business experiences. While we recognize the importance of the evolving nature of trust, our study focuses on initial trust beliefs that develop after a customer ¿UVWLQWHUDFWVZLWKWKHFRPSDQ\¶V:HEVLWH7KH difference between the two concepts may be subtle EXWDVZHGLVFXVVODWHULVVLJQL¿FDQWSDUWLFXODUO\ in the online environment. The study further investigated the effect of culture, as represented by a facial photograph of a Western and Saudi man added to the home page of an e-commerce vendor, on users’ trust in that vendor (Research Objective 2). This experiment was concerned with investigating trust as a dependent variable and other variables as independent variables, as well as how the depth of a user’s exploration of a VLWHH[SORUDWLRQGHSWKLQÀXHQFHVWKHHIIHFWRID media cue on user trust (Research Objective 3). On a methodological level, the experiment aimed to overcome part of the limitations of convention- DOO\XVHGWUXVWTXHVWLRQQDLUHVIUHHIURP¿QDQFLDO risk by introducing trust questionnaires that ZHUHHOLFLWHGXQGHUFRQGLWLRQVRI¿QDQFLDOULVN (Research Objective 4). This article is organized as follows: the second section examines previ- ous work related to e-commerce and trust and reviews the research hypotheses. The third section outlines the methodology of the study, while the data analysis is presented in the fourth section. 7KHUHVXOWVDUHGLVFXVVHGLQWKH¿IWKVHFWLRQDQG LQWKH¿QDOVHFWLRQFRQFOXVLRQVDUHGUDZQ THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES Trust 7UXVWKDVZLGHO\FRQÀLFWLQJFRQFHSWXDOGH¿QL- tions; the literature on trust in general, and on trust in e-commerce in particular, is in a state of confusion (McKnight & Chervany, 2001). The confusion in trust terminology is expressed in terms of two kinds of problems. First, similar concepts are given different names and second, the same terms are used for different concepts (Krauter, Kaluscha, & Fladnitzer, 2006). There LVQRXQLYHUVDOO\DFFHSWHGVFKRODUO\GH¿QLWLRQ of trust (Rousseau, Sitkin, Butt, & Camerer, 1998). 6XPPDUL]LQJ WKH GLIIHUHQW GH¿QLWLRQV RI trust across various research disciplines, it can EH FRQFOXGHG WKDW DOO WUXVW GH¿QLWLRQV DGGUHVV one or more of the following perspectives: (1) context characteristics, (2) trustor properties, and (3) characteristics of the trusted object (Krauter HWDO0DQ\GH¿QLWLRQVDOVRDGGUHVVWKH interaction or relationships between two or all three of these perspectives. The key concepts of PRVWRIWKHWUXVWGH¿QLWLRQVDUHULVN0D\HU'DYLV & Schoorman, 1995), vulnerability (Mayer et al., H[SHFWDWLRQ%DLHUDQGFRQ¿GHQFH (Lewicki & Bunker, 1995). These factors are JDWKHUHGE\WKHIROORZLQJWUXVWGH¿QLWLRQZKLFK UHSUHVHQWWKHPRVWFRPPRQGH¿QLWLRQRIRQOLQH trust (Mayer et al., 1995): Trust is the willingness to depend upon another party and be vulnerable to the actions of this other party based on the assumption that the trusted party will deliver without taking advantage of the situation. (p. 711) $VLWLVYHU\DEVWUDFWWKLVGH¿QLWLRQFDQEHVHHQ as the most common in the human computer inter- action (HCI) trust research (Corritore, Kracher, & :LHGHQEHFN,WGH¿QHVWUXVWDVDQLQWHUQDO state or attitude which entails cognitive and affec- tive aspects (Corritore et al., 2003). Trust, as an internal state, is different from trusting action (e.g., buying online, entering credit card details, relying on advice) or cooperation (e.g., in a team setting), which are observable behaviors (Corritore et al., 2003). Also trust is not the same as trustworthi- ness; trust is the act of a trustor while perceived trustworthiness is a characteristic of someone or something that is the object of trust (Corritore et al., 2003; Serva, Benamati, & Fuller, 2005). In the HFRPPHUFHFRQWH[WWUXVWKDVEHHQGH¿QHGUDWKHU QDUURZO\HJ%KDWWDFKHUMHHGH¿QHGWUXVW as trusting beliefs) or more broadly (e.g., McK- 1506 The Human Face of E-Business QLJK&KRXGKXU\.DFPDUZKRGH¿QHG trust as trusting beliefs and trusting intentions). Trusting beliefs (i.e., perceptions of Web vendor attributes), and trusting intentions (i.e., intentions to engage in trust-related behaviors with a Web vendor) are based on the theory of reasoned ac- tion (TRA) which was introduced by Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) to analyze the psychological pro- FHVVHVWKDWUHÀHFWREVHUYHGUHODWLRQVKLSVDPRQJ beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. The theory asserts that intention to perform behavior is determined by the individual’s attitude toward the behavior, and a person’s attitude is affected by his/her beliefs. TRA has been widely accepted and applied to a broad range of disciplines and contexts. Existing empirical research has revealed WKDWWUXVWLVVLJQL¿FDQWO\UHODWHGWRDWWLWXGHDQG DWWLWXGH SRVLWLYHO\ VLJQL¿HV SHRSOH¶V SXUFKDVH intentions (Chow & Holden, 1997; Macintosh & Lockshin, 1997). TRA is also applied as the theoretical base in recent studies on trust forma- tion (McKnight & Chervany, 2001; McKnight, Cummings, & Chervany, 1998), especially in the context of e-commerce (Jarvenpaa, Tractinsky, & Vitale, 2000). Since trust can be seen as a belief, F R Q ¿ G H Q F H V H Q W L P H QW R U H [ S H F W D W LR Q D E R X W D Q H[- change partner’s intention and/or likely behavior, we believe that it is posited to be directly related to the attitudes toward purchasing from a vendor and indirectly related to consumers’ willingness to buy through purchasing attitudes. This is how ZHGH¿QHWUXVWLQWKLVDUWLFOHWKLVLVFRQVLVWHQW ZLWKKRZWUXVWKDVEHHQSUHYLRXVO\GH¿QHGLQWKH literature (Gefen, 2002). Trustors and trustees, that is, objects of trust, can be individual people, groups, organizations, or even societies. This article focuses on the nar- row-scale study of trust, where the target is an individual e-business. At this level, the focus is on the process of identifying a trustee’s charac- teristics or his trustworthiness. The Varying Dimensionality of Trust Although there is no complete agreement on the meaning of trust, it should be noted that the GLPHQVLRQVWKDWFRQVWLWXWHLWDUHFRQWH[WVSHFL¿F (Lewis & Weigert, 1985). As mentioned previ- ously, the literature does reveal that the concept of trust tends to coalesce around a few key recur- ring concepts. There must exist, for the trusting party, uncertainty about a potential or existing relationship that leads to a certain perception of risk or vulnerability. This perception of risk is generally based upon the beliefs regarding spe- FL¿FIDFWRUVRIWKHWUXVWHH<HWUHFHQWUHVHDUFK KDVSULPDULO\IRFXVHGRQWKUHHVSHFL¿FIDFWRUV which may parsimoniously capture the concept or the dimensions of trustworthiness—that is, ability, benevolence, and integrity (Jarvenpaa et al., 2000). Ability is the perceived skills, compe- tencies, and characteristics that enable a party to K DYH L Q ÀX H Q F H Z L W K L Q D V S H F L ¿ F G R P D L Q 0 D \H U H W al., 1995). Benevolence is the trustor’s belief that the trustee wants to do good toward the trustor. Integrity is the belief that the trustee adheres to a VHWRISULQFLSOHVWKDWWKHWUXVWRU¿QGVDFFHSWDEOH (Mayer et al., 1995). Perceptions of these three characteristics can lead to a willingness of the trusting party to depend or rely upon the trustee LQ H[SHFWDWLRQ RI D FHUWDLQ EHQH¿FLDO RXWFRPH or that the trustee will not act opportunistically. 7KHVH WKUHH VSHFL¿F IDFWRUV FDQ RIWHQ QRW EH observed directly, but need to be inferred from signals in the Web site interface. In HCI trust research, signals given in the interface of a system that can form the basis of perceived trustworthi- ness are referred to as surface cues (Fogg, 2002). Certain literatures construct trust from different viewpoints and propose two main components or factors of trust: cognitive and affective or emo- t i o n a l (e.g., Sh n e i d e r m a n , 2 0 0 0). Fe n g, L a z a r, a n d Preece (2004) argue that the affective component 1507 The Human Face of E-Business of trust has been to some extent ignored in HCI trust research, in particular in the domain of e- commerce, where research is largely focused on factors that contribute to cognitive trust, such as security, error absence, and trust seals. For retail transactions, cognitive factors can increase the FRQ ¿GHQFHWKDWDWUDQVDFW LRQZLOOEHVXFFHVVIXOO\ completed. Affective factors can increase the feelings of attraction and trust. The distinction between cognitive and emo- tional trust has received some support in an empirical study on long-term work relationships (McAllister, 1995), and strong support in a face- to-face study that manipulated emotional trust (Johnson-George & Swap, 1982). However, only a few studies have examined affective-oriented factors in an e-commerce (B2C) environment. This oversight of the affective element of trust GRHVQRWUHÀHFWWKHLQFUHDVLQJFRQVLGHUDWLRQWKDW is given to affective processes in multiple disci- plines (e.g., marketing, psychology, sociology) (Riegelsberger, Sasse, & McCarthy, 2005). For example, marketing and advertising research are WKH¿HOGVWKDWKDYHWKHJUHDWHVWSRZHULQLQYHV- tigating affective elements in decision-making processes. In these disciplines it is well-known that a consumer’s purchase decision depends on rational process and on positive affective reactions (Kotler, 2002). However, as mentioned in the research ob- jectives, this study concentrates on initial trust. 7KHGH¿QLWLRQRIWUXVWSUHYLRXVO\GLVFXVVHGDOVR applies to initial trust. The difference lies in the temporal context of the development of trust. In this case, initial trust is the willingness to rely RQDWKLUGSDUW\DIWHUWKH¿UVWLQWHUDFWLRQZLWK that party. It is recognized that the development of trust is an ongoing, dynamic process that is LQÀXHQFHGE\LQWHUDFWLRQVEHWZHHQWZRSDUWLHV However, we believe that initial trust beliefs can also be formed without any prior experience or interaction between the two parties. The initial trust beliefs may change with time and with re- peated interactions but they may also determine the extent to which such future interactions will take place (McKnight, Choudhury, & Kacmar, 2002). In the context of e-commerce, initial trust is very important since Web-based companies must rely on their Web sites to represent them and to show their new customers that they are reliable and trustworthy. Customers visiting a Web site IRUWKH¿UVWWLPHPD\UHO\KHDYLO\RQ:HEVLWH cues to form their initial trust beliefs, but they still lack the important information that develops through interaction over time (McKnight et al., 2002). Another important reason for establishing FXVWRPHUWUXVWWKURXJKWKH¿UVW:HEVLWHYLVLWLV the possibility of low switching costs for new cus- tomers compared with switching costs for expert customers (Reichheld & Schefter, 2000). Since the Web contains vast numbers of alternatives, either in vendors or in products, it has become very easy for customers to switch to a different RQOLQHVWRUH DI WHUWKHLU¿UVWYLVLW6RLWKDVEHFRPH an essential process for online vendors to try to establish and retain a trusting relationship with ¿UVWWLPHFXVWRPHUV7KHUHIRUHZHEHOLHYHWKDWD thorough examination of the factors that promote initial trust in new customers of online vendors is critical. Social Presence and Online Trust Applying trust-inducing features to the Web sites of online merchants is the most effective technique for enhancing online trust. Many researchers in HCI have begun to study trust in an online con- text. Some researchers are focusing on the cues that may affect trust or convey trustworthiness to users of Web sites. In a sense, a Web site with trust-inducing features functions as a skillful salesperson for the company (e.g., Katsikas, Lo- pez, & Pernul, 2005). 1508 The Human Face of E-Business The trust phenomenon represents an ongo- ing interpersonal interaction with another party, whether a person or organization, over an extended period of time. Indeed, trust is typically built gradually through extensive ongoing interactions that enable individuals to create reliable expecta- tions of what the other party may do (Luhmann, 1979). This social context is a key characteristic of trust and trust-building behaviors, since trust, in general, is built through constructive interac- tions with other people (Luhmann, 1979). So, the perception of a high degree of social presence, implying direct or indirect human contact in the relationship should, arguably, contribute to the building of trust. Extending this logic implies that another way in which trust in an e-commerce Web site may be built is through embedding the Web site interface with a high social presence, such as the perception that there is a medium of communication that represents personal, sociable, and sensitive human contact (Gefen & Straub, 2004). 6RFLDOSUHVHQFHKDVEHHQGH¿QHGDVWKHH[WHQW to which a medium allows users to experience others as being psychologically present (Fulk, Schmitz, & Power, 1987). Social presence theory by Short, Williams, and Christie (1976) describes how the social context affects medium use; they see social presence as a quality inherent in a commu- nication medium. Some researchers characterize the social presence of a medium as its capacity to transmit information about facial expressions, posture, dress, and non-verbal cues (Short et al., 1976). Others focus on the psychological con- nection, where social presence is concerned with warmth and whether it conveys a feeling of hu- man contact or sociability (Yoo & Alavi, 2001). While others still, focus on its close relationship to information richness theory (Straub, 1994), which concentrates on the interactivity of the media. Related to media information richness theory (Straub, 1994), social presence theory considers the extent to which a medium enables a communicator to experience communication partners as being psychologically present (Short et al., 1976). High social presence is typically found in face-to-face communication. However, medium richness can vary depending on circumstances (Zmud, Lind, & Young, 1990). $VLJQL¿FDQWGLIIHUHQFHEHWZHHQRQOLQHDQG off-line shopping environments is that the latter involve a wide range of social interactions with humans through multiple sensory channels. On- line shopping, on the other hand, primarily tends towards reducing the users’ affective or emotional factors through functional and performance based Web site design. As such, online shopping may be viewed as lacking human sociability, since it is more impersonal and automated than traditional RIÀLQHFRPPHUFH6RFLDOUHVSRQVHVWRFRPSXWHU technology (SRCT) research paradigm proposes that individual interactions with computers and other communication technologies are fundamen- tally social and natural, and people interact with computers and mediated stimuli using the same social attitudes and behaviors that they apply to other people. The computers are social actors (CASA) paradigm (Nass, , Moon, & Carney, LQLWLDWHG WKLV ¿HOG RI UHVHDUFK DQG XVHV theories and experiments derived from psychol- ogy, sociology, and communication to develop and validate theories. Granted, online shopping Web sites typically involve no actual interaction with other people, however, Web site interface features have been suggested to help impact the perception of social presence cues, also known as interpersonal cues (discussed in more detail in the next section), that can be embedded in different ways. Higher perceived social presence cues in a Web site may increase online trust through their effect on increased electronic communication since communication is a necessary element of constructive interaction (Gefen & Straub, 2004). Trust may increase when the trusted party shows behavior or other indicators in accordance with one’s expectations; the perception that the vendor is embodying a high degree of social presence cues in the Web site should increase consumer trust 1509 The Human Face of E-Business to the degree that such indications are expected (Luhmann, 1979). Social presence cues can convey a sense of personal, sociable, and sensitive human contact, so too should multimedia Web sites. Indeed, recently many online shopping Web sites have used interface features and embedded social pres- ence cues. Advertising research has long relied on imagery of friendly faces to build a positive attitude towards products. Social Presence Cues (Interpersonal Cues) Social presence cues, also known as interpersonal cues, are the signals that make a person aware of the presence of other people (Short et al., 1976). They are non-verbal and para-verbal communica- tion methods and suggest participant appearance each time a person interacts with another. It may be intentional or unintentional and it is part of the rapid stream of communication that passes between two interacting individuals. Although WKHUHDUHDQXPEHURIGH¿QLWLRQVRIVRFLDOSUHV- ence cues (interpersonal cues), in the broadest sense it is communication that transcends the bare elements of the written or spoken word. The interpretation of this communication has been shown to have a central effect on participants’ perceptions of the event and can give information about individuals’ backgrounds, motivations, and emotional attitudes. They augment spoken mes- sages by helping people express their feelings or thoughts through the use of their bodies, their facial expressions, and their tone of voice and so on (Mehrabian & Epstein, 1972). Psychological studies have concluded that more than 65% of the information exchanged during a face-to- face interaction is expressed through non-verbal means. Fromkin & Rodman (1983) suggest that up to 90% of the communicative process takes place non-verbally. The characteristics of the individuals involved and their response to coding and decoding signals govern the role of social SUHVHQFHFXHVLQDQ\H[FKDQJH7KUHHVSHFL¿F YDULDEOHVFDQEHLGHQWL¿HGDVLPSDFWLQJRQWKH nature of non-verbal communication during the exchange; gender, culture, and personal traits. Social presence cues (interpersonal cues) are of relevance in the debate on trust as they can be interpreted as signals for trustworthiness. A trustor can form an impression of perceived trustworthiness of a trustee from the interpersonal cues he/she perceives in a face-to-face situation; it works as inferences (Steinbruck, Schaumburg, Kruger, & Duda, 2002). Interpersonal cues lead to an instant impression formation and thus have an immediate impact on affective trust. The dif- ferent types of cues differ in their reliability for trust assessments, and in how they are affected by transmission over media (Riegelsberger et al., 2005). 7KHUH DUH PDQ\ FODVVL¿FDWLRQV RI LQWHUSHU- sonal cues (Hinton, 1993); the most common types are: 1. Paralanguage: The vocal cues that accom- pany spoken language 2. Kinesics: Body movements 3. O cculesics: Eye behavior 4. Appearance/artifacts 5. Proxemics: The non-verbal study of space and distance 6. Haptics: The non-verbal communication study of touch 7. Olfactics: The non-verbal communication study of smell 8. Chronomics: The non-verbal communica- tion study of time 9. Facial expressions Online Trust and Media Cue Existing technologies allow for various represen- tations of interpersonal cues that are embodied in different kinds of media cues (e.g., photo, audio, video, embodied agent) to be integrated into one platform. There are many theoretical concepts 1510 The Human Face of E-Business that classify and explain such media effects. The most common are social presence (Short et al., 1976), media richness (Straub, 1994), and SRCT (Nass, Moon, Fogg, Reeves, & Dryer, 1996) as discussed in the previous section. The reduction in the number of interpersonal cues when interacting online is seen as one of the reasons for the lack of trust online (Shneiderman, 2000). This assumption is well supported by many studies (e.g., Hassanein & Head, 2004). These studies found that richer representations result in higher awareness, preference, and interper- sonal focus. The most commonly used example of visual interpersonal cues is the smile—this KDV EHHQ LGHQWL¿HG DV SRZHUIXO LQ VWLPXODWLQJ immediate affective responses, and can form a basis for affective trust. Thus, Web site interface elements such as photographs, video clips, or synthetic voices can create some level of social presence that may enhance the affective trust compared to Web site interfaces lacking such elements, and can therefore be taken as an indication of the trustworthiness of the trustee. There is much research on trust in e-commerce vendors, while in contrast there are very few that KDYHVSHFL¿FDOO\WHVWHGWKHHIIHFWRILQWHUSHUVRQDO cues on trust (Al-Diri, Hobbs, & Qahwaji, 2006). Some of the existing studies focused on the ef- fect of synthetic interpersonal cues in avatars (embodied agents); others investigated the effect of displaying facial photos of humans on e-com- merce sites. All of these studies tested users’ trust either in the form of quantitative questionnaires or with qualitative interviews, using two mock- ups of an e-commerce Web site, one with and one without a photo or avatar (e.g., Bickmore & Picard, 2005). Video In general, video is considered to be a rich media cue and thus is considered to afford high social presence cues as it transmits many visual and audio cues. In a study by Swerts, Krahmer, Barkhuysen, and Van de Laar (2003), on the effect of social presence cues on the detection of speaker uncer- tainty, they found the best discriminative ability for video with audio, compared to video only and audio only. Brosig, Ockenfels, and Weimann (2002) found that video with audio reached levels of cooperation that were close to those reached in face-to-face communication, even though they were reached after a longer time than in face-to-face com- munication. Horn, Olson, and Karasik (2002) in a study on lie detection in job interviews found a better performance in discriminating lies from truthful statements in high quality video than in audio only. The study also compared low resolution video and low frame rate video. They found that low resolution video, which suppresses detailed facial cues gives a performance as high-quality video and good performance in lie detection. Horn et al. (2002) attribute this result to the reduction in truth bias in the absence of recognizable facial cues and the fact that the presence of facial cues may lead to a trusting reaction. A study by Van Mulken, Andre, and Müller (1999) investigated trust in advice. This study varied the representation of an advisor (video, embodied agent, audio, and text only) and the quality of the advice. Hence, the effect of media representation could be compared to the effect of advice quality. The study found a preference for high quality advice in all representations, but RQO\LQVLJQL¿FDQWLQGLFDWLRQRIDSRVLWLYHHIIHFW for video on the behavioral measures. Photos Research on the use of personal photos in Web sites are very few and contradictory, with some 1511 The Human Face of E-Business VWXGLHV¿QGLQJVXFKLPDJHVWREHDSRVLWLYHFXH (Fogg, 2002; Nielsen, 1996; Steinbruck et al., 2002), while others found them to be neutral (Riegelsberger, Sasse, & McCarthy, 2002). Urban, Fareena, and Qualls (1999) found that screen- sized facial photographs of shopping assistants embedded into a shopping Web site interface led to a wide range of reactions as some users liked it, while others considered it unnecessary. In the Fogg et al. (2001) study on the credibility of online news articles, they found that photos of authors increased credibility. Riegelsberger, Sasse, and McCarthy (2003) found that virtual re-embedding had a positive effect on user trust for medium ex- perienced shoppers. Highly experienced Internet users, as well as consumers with a high level of GLVWUXVWWRZDUGVRQOLQHYHQGRUVEHQH¿WHGOLWWOH from the provision of social cues in the interface (Riegelsberger & Sasse, 2002). Steinbruck et al. (2002), in an experimental study, investigated whether adding a photo of an employee to the home page of an online-banking site increased user trust in the bank—they found a positive ef- fect on trust. As a result of the foregoing it was hypothesized that: H-16XEMHFWVGLIIHUVLJQL¿FDQWO\RQWKHLUUDWLQJ of trust belief and trust intention across vendor’s Web sites. H-2: H-2-a7KH ¿UVW UDWLQJ RI D YHQGRU¶V :HE VLWHV trustworthiness will result for those presenting video clips. H-2-b-The second rating of a vendor’s Web sites trustworthiness will result for those presenting photos H-2-c-The third rating of a vendor’s Web sites trustworthiness will result for those without photos. Web Site Design and Culture Understanding how to build trust for diverse consumers in electronic markets is imperative (Grewal, Munger, Iyer, & Levy, 2003). Culture has implications in Internet settings as well and is FRQVLGHUHGWRLQÀXHQFHFRQVXPHUWUXVW-DUYHQSDD & Tractinsky, 1999), Internet diffusion (Ferle, Ed- wards, & Mizuno, 2002), Internet marketing (Tian & Emery, 2002), Web site development (Kang & Corbitt, 2001), and Web interface acceptance and preferences. Despite an anticipated large number of consumers from multiple cultures, few studies have examined the Web preferences of users in terms of design characteristics across cultures (Chen & Dhillon, 2003). Cyr and Trevor-Smith IRXQGVWDWLVWLFDOO\VLJQL¿FDQWFKDUDFWHU- istics in Web design for municipal Web sites across cultures. Further, Simon (2001) examined cultural differences related to Web site satisfac- tion among the residents of Asia, Europe, Latin and South America, and North America based on Hofstede’s model and found different prefer- ences for colors and navigation. Sun’s (2001) exploratory study examining cultural markers focused on language, pictures and graphics, colors, and page layout and found culture to be an important design consideration that increases usability of multilingual Web pages. All of these studies point to one general conclusion—Web sites need to be adapted to the different cultures of the targeted consumers. Singh, Xhao, and Hu, FRQFOXGHG³7KHZHELVQRWDFXOWXUDOO\ neutral medium.” Studies like that of Hillier HPSKDVL]HG WKDW ³EXLOGLQJ WUXVW RQ WKH web requires user interface characteristics ap- propriate for culturally diverse audiences.” An effective Web site design can engage and attract online consumers’ trustworthiness (Fogg et al., 2001), which is also considered central to trust development (Egger, 2001). 1512 The Human Face of E-Business Cultural Photo as a Symbol Symbols are important elements denoting culture (Marcus & Gould, 2000). One important form of symbolism is multimedia relating to culture, which few researchers have so far examined. Such multimedia elements might include streaming video, sound, and animation. So, the aim was to identify whether the strategy of adding a facial SKRWRUHSUHVHQWLQJWKHXVHUV¶FXOWXUHLVEHQH¿FLDO when tested and can bias the trustworthiness of vendor Web sites. Hence the following additional research hypotheses were proposed: H-3: Across Web sites including human portraits WKHUH ZLOO EH VLJQL¿FDQW VWDWLVWLFDO GLIIHUHQFHV in trustworthiness between Web sites with local social presence and Web sites with foreign social presence. H-4: Saudi subjects will trust a Web site with Saudi social presence (photo) more than a Web site with Western social presence (photo). EXPERIMENTAL METHODOLOGY This study was designed as a one-factor experi- ment manipulating three levels of Web site social presence cues (or interpersonal cues). Each of the four specially designed Web sites displayed the same products but each represented different vendors. Only the media cues were manipulated on the sites. Thus, the study attempted to investigate and examine the effects of the interpersonal cues that can be manipulated by facial photographs, video clips, and culture as control variables, which used photos of Saudi and Western people when forming the initial trust toward online vendors. In addition the study set out to measure some auxiliary parameters. Experiment Participants The experiment was conducted in an IT training institute in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The number of participants totaled 72 students. Since online consumers are generally younger and more highly educated than conven- tional customers, student samples are close to the online consumer population (McKnigh et al., 2002) and therefore are representative of online shoppers (Gefen & Straub, 2004). Experiment Material An initial survey on the most popular online prod- ucts was carried out and found that laptops came ¿ U V W L Q S R S X O D U L W \ 7 K H V W L P X OX V H [ S H U L P H QW P D W H - rial used in this research was carefully selected, having noted that previous studies in online trust used mock-ups of shopping sites to test the effect of interpersonal cues (e.g., Riegelsberger et al., 2002; Steinbruck et al., 2002). This experiment used semi-functional copies of existing vendors’ sites, chosen in consultation with the four most famous reviewer business sites; BizRate.com, ResellerRating.com, Price Grabber.com, and Epinion.com to facilitate the task of rating online shopping sites. These services aggregate feedback from customers of e-commerce vendors based on post service and handling of privacy and security, which represents an aspect of vendor trustworthi- ness. Western shopping sites were selected as they constitute a realistic scenario with relatively high risk, due to the vendor and the users being in two different countries. The selection was based on the rating of high trustworthiness of the vendors and the number of reviewers of the selected site. Also we made a usability test for the four vendors’ Web sites to check the usability index for each Web site and to make sure that all selected Web sites had almost the same usability criteria. To do W K D W ZH D V N H G ¿ Y H S D U W L F L S D QW V W R X V H W K H F K H F N O L V W developed by Keevil (1998) to measure the us- 1513 The Human Face of E-Business ability index of the four Web sites. The checklist KDV RYHU TXHVWLRQV LQ ¿YH FDWHJRULHV DQG even though it is not very recent, it is still valid and robust. The results showed that the four Web sites had almost the same usability index. Semi-functional copies of the Web site includ- ing the home page and some subsequent layers depending on the available links in each layer were designed so that participants were able to browse and search general information about the VLWH$OVRDQ\FHUWL¿FDWLRQRUUHSXWDWLRQVHDOVWKDW were present on some pages were removed. Photos and the video clip were selected by ¿YHSURIHVVLRQDOVLQFRPSXWLQJDQGEXVLQHVV who were asked to rate the photos and select the most appropriate based on a realistic image of a customer service representative. The media cues (photo or video clip) were placed in attrac- WLYHSODFHVLQWKH¿UVWSDJHRIWKHVLWHVKRZLQJ the selected product (without deleting or hiding anything from the page itself). This page was connected to the entire Web site so the subject could browse and search the site. In addition, each media cue was presented into each vendor :HEVLWHEDVHGRQDSUHGH¿QHG:HEVLWHVGLVSOD\ scenario (see Figure 1). Data Collection The research methodology of studies on trust in e-commerce can be categorized into qualita- tive approaches, using either semi-structured interviews (e.g., Egger, 2001), or qualitative interviews in conjunction with user evaluation Figure 1 Snap shot of the experimental Web sites . transaction, and is particularly es- sential in the e-commerce environment because of the paucity of rules and customs in regulating e-commerce and due to the fact that, typically, online services and. anonymous, and automated and lack the assurance provided in traditional settings through formal proceedings and receipts. B2C online vendors are particularly challenged when trying to build and. communication technologies are fundamen- tally social and natural, and people interact with computers and mediated stimuli using the same social attitudes and behaviors that they apply to other people.