شما به چه کسی اعتماد می کنید؟ فراتر از رمزگذاری، کسب و کار الکترونیکی امن

Electronic commerce has added a new complex issue to international trade. It is based upon the assumption that buyers and sellers conduct business with very little information about each other. This paper is on the importance and development of trust in electronic commerce. The importance of these assets in commercial relations is discussed. The paper describes how reputation is protected as a legal asset and how laws or legal principles support trust relationships in trade. Finally, the importance of developing legal guidelines for trust and reputation as a counterbalance to the lack of morality on the Internet is discussed.

In every business transaction, there is an element of chance. No matter how carefully the documents are drawn up, how thorough the background checks of the parties have been or how effective the legal systems in which the transaction are embedded the transaction is always a risk. The decision to transact despite the risk depends upon the potential profit of the transaction. At some point in the negotiating process, the businessman must decide whether or not to trust his counterpart and commit to the deal. The law is an instrument used by government to secure and promote the economic base of a society. In the market economy one of the main areas of interest for government has been to promote the incentives for businessmen to enter into transactions with each other. This ideology is based upon the traditional economic view stemming from Smith [15], who pointed out that if everyone acted in there own best interests the end result would be most beneficial to society as a whole. “Give me that which I want, and you shall have this which you want, is the meaning of every such offer; and it is in this manner that we obtain from one another the far greater part of those good offices which we stand in need of. It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” The idea is that the individual goals of each businessman will collectively promote the wealth of the nation as a whole. The regulation of transactions is not through law but through the market mechanisms of trust and reputation. The trading parties whose actions do not support their original promises will develop an untrustworthy reputation and they will no longer be able to continue. With the advent of Internet-based electronic commerce the basic market rules named above still apply but the size and anonymity of the Internet make it more difficult for the businessman entering into a transaction to judge the trustworthiness of his counterpart. The purpose of law, in this area, is therefore to strive to protect the ability of the parties to safely transact. Ensuring that the parties feel safe enough to take the business risks does this. To achieve this the law has struggled to create a level playing field. This paper is concerned with the development of secure electronic commerce. This is a goal that researchers and practitioners in the fields of law and technology have set as goals and yet neither is able to achieve a comprehensive and workable solution. Since there is no current international legal standard of Internet commerce, this paper does not argue the law of any particular nation yet draws examples from specific jurisdictions to clarify the author's point of view. This paper proposes a more individual approach to online security that is designed and managed by those who need it the most—the traders.

The advantages of electronic commerce to business are readily apparent and the concept of the prime mover advantage is well known. This means that companies must move their business onto open networks at an early stage to secure competitive advantage. This action does not come without risk and many businesses are looking at methods for reducing the necessary risks. Businessmen cannot wait until online commerce becomes a trusted method of shopping prior to entering online trade. This means that they must be prepared to accept greater risks than necessary. Governments have realized the importance of supporting online trade and are actively developing regulations to reduce risks and promote secure trade. Unfortunately, both businessmen and legislators have been caught up in a fruitless discussion on the need for more secure online trade through technical standards and harmonization of law. This paper attempts to show that alternatives must be discussed and supported if trade online is to become secure. An alternative, which must be investigated, is the increasing of trust and reputation by involving the customers through participatory virtual communities. The building of an environment in which the traders feel a personal relationship to each other or sharing some common values can become an essential component in reducing the consumer fears. The importance of common beliefs for trust can be seen in the development of the open source movement described above. The important factor is that it is possible to create trust though design and technology. Using common languages, personal touches and actual design to create a more trustworthy environment is an important success factor in electronic commerce today. The development of virtual communities around products, companies or trading parties works in the same way as medieval trade guilds. The Internet has taught us that enforcing obligations through law can be inefficient since enforcement costs may far exceed the profits. Also, any government, or organization, serious about electronic commerce would do well to see beyond the simplistic image of technology as encryption or security and attempt to develop technology usage as a support for interpersonal relations since it is in interpersonal relations where efficient contract enforcement can be achieved since those participating will feel that it is in their best interest to participate and to fulfill their obligations voluntarily.