Abstract

This study aims to identify factors that are relevant to Mäori trust in terms of improving and encouraging the online shopping for B2C e-commerce by Mäori in New Zealand. The concepts of trust, risk and reputation are used to frame an exploratory study of the uptake of Internet shopping in a B2C context by Mäori, a minority - but significant - racial group, in New Zealand. The research presents a set of tentative conclusions, which will be used to generate hypotheses for a much larger statistical study. The Mäori concept of community is based on collective strength, which includes the sharing, nurturing, supporting and empowering of interdependent groups. Mäori are willing to help and trust people in their in-group. It was found that with positive word of mouth about a website from someone that a Mäori person knows and trusts, typically someone from their in-group or society, the better the reputation of that website will be. Reputation in Mäori culture emanates from family and tribe and by word of mouth and the adoption of e-Commerce is enhanced when that reputation is drawn down from that source. This study suggests that specific cultures like the Mäori have different elements in their trust of e-Commerce for shopping and this needs to be addressed in the local environment to encourage broader use.

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