The Role of Trust in the Transition from Traditional to Electronic B2B Relationships in the Agri-Food Sector

E-business adoption rates in the agri-food sector are rather low, despite the fact that technical barriers have been mostly overcome during the last years and a large number of sophisticated offers are available. However, concerns about trust seem to impede the development of electronic relationships in the agri-food sector as trust is of particular importance in any exchange of agri-food products along the value chain. Drawing on existing research, characteristics and dimensions of trust are initially identified both in traditional and in electronic B2B relationships and a typology of trust is proposed. The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the implementation and use of trust elements at a-commerce offers dedicated to the agri-food sector. This assessment will show the current situation and discuss gaps for further improvement with the objective to facilitate the uptake of e-commerce in the agri-food sector.