earticle

영어

Lack of trust has numerously proven to be one of the main reasons for not shopping online. Therefore, it is crucial for online businesses to establish trustworthiness which, in return, can lead to an increased intention to make a purchase by a consumer. In order to build trust with consumers, the design of a website can also play in role. Previous research found that cultural background had a significant influence on customers’ trust, which eventually affected customers’ purchase intention. To assess customers’ cultural backgrounds, individualism and uncertainty avoidance are sought to employ in this study. Two countries that are being compared are South Korea and Germany. Both countries not only show a high level of Internet usage but also have well developed infrastructures for e-commerce including mobile commerce. With that, South Korea and Germany show significant differences in regards to Hofstede‘s culture dimensions, especially for individualism and uncertainty avoidance. Comparing these two countries can help to contrast how different cultural backgrounds are related to the design of an online website that influences on customers’ purchasing intention by mediating customers’ trust on the e-commerce website. We will survey e-commerce users in South Korea and Germany.