Whereas the traditional notion of trust primarily focuses on trust in a trading partner, trust in e-business also incorporates the notion of trust in the infrastructure and the underlying control mechanisms (technology trust), which deals with transaction integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and non-repudiation. This research examines the new character of trust in e-business, arguing that value creation in B2B e-commerce is heavily dependent on technology trust. Given the absence of adequate metrics to capture the novel character of trust in B2B e-commerce, this research develops and validates measures for technology trust, which is theorized to be a fundamental determinant of business value, captured both as perceived benefits and also as B2B e-commerce performance. This paper contributes to the emerging body of knowledge in the area of value creation and trust in e-commerce by attempting to bridge the gap between technological solutions (technology trust), and business value (perceived benefits and organizational performance). The proposed theoretical model is tested in organizations actively involved in B2B e-commerce through a mail survey questionnaire. The results drawn from a sample of 288 firms strongly support the proposed hypotheses, emphasizing the role of technology trust for the success of B2B e-commerce, even controlling for the effects of trading partner trust and perceived risks. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of this research for the value creation potential of B2B e-commerce.
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