InterNeg Seminars

Wednesday 2:00 PM, April 19, 2006 Room GM 725
J. Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montreal

The Influence of Fairness and Trust on User Intention to Employ Online Dispute Resolution Services

Ofir Turel

This study aims to investigate the impact of trust and fairness related factors on end-user adoption of online dispute resolution (ODR) services. Interviews with ODR service providers as well as a systematic review of the literature reveal that trust and justice (i.e., a set of fairness beliefs) perceptions are likely to be salient predictors of individual intentions to employ ODR, and thus are the foci of this study. To examine these effects a theoretical model explicating the relationships between trust, justice and behavioral intentions is presented and tested using structural equation modeling techniques. Data for this study will be collected through an online-questionnaire administered in the context of an online dispute resolution experiment. Qualitative analysis is then applied to gain further insight on user interaction with ODR services and to reaffirm quantitative conclusions. Based on these empirical findings, recommendations will be suggested for ODR service providers, online merchants, trade commissions and individual users. Overall, this research project will contribute to practice by providing guidance and recommendations to various stakeholders, and will contribute to research by extending and integrating the information systems adoption, online negotiation, justice and trust research streams.

Ofir Turel is a Ph.D. candidate at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University. Ofir holds a B.Sc. in industrial engineering and an MBA in technology management. Before joining the DeGroote School of Business, he has held senior positions in the Information Technology and Telecommunications industries. His research interests include Social, and technological aspects in IT management, online negotiations, and mobile services. His award winning work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, and presented at various international conferences.

For more information contact: Ms. Norma Paradis (nparadis-AT-jmsb.concordia.ca; replacing -AT- with @)