C2C E-Commerce Platform Trust from the Seller’s Perspective Based on Institutional Trust Theory and Cultural Dimension Theory

With the development of electronic retailing in C2C e-commerce platforms, the issue of trust loss from sellers has worsened. It is urgent for platform operators to learn how to retain quality sellers and improve their trust. Based on institutional trust theory, we combine formal institutions (structural assurance) and informal institutions (cultural factors), intending to examine the direct effects of masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation on platform trust, the moderating effects of website quality, institutional guarantee and security systems, and the relationships among cultural factors. A total of 2970 valid responses were collected and analyzed from individual sellers on Taobao, which is one of the most representative C2C e-commerce platforms in China. The results reveal that uncertainty avoidance is negatively associated with platform trust, while masculinity and long-term orientation are positively associated with platform trust. Significant associations are also found among cultural factors. Website quality and institutional guarantee weaken the negative correlation between uncertainty avoidance and platform trust, while the security system strengthens it. Details of theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.