Melanie Fritz 5
costs by reducing, e.g., the efforts for contracting or the costs for control and monitoring
(Dyer, Chu, 2000; Wilson, Kennedy, 1999). This is why trust in transactions is often consid-
ered as an economic asset creating value. Literature provides many definitions of trust in busi-
ness relationships, but their essence is that trust is one party’s belief that the other party will
not exploit its vulnerabilities (see Barney, Hansen, 1995) and builds on obligations and expec-
tations (Koenig, Van Wijk, 1991). In general, trust is an expectation into the future behavior of
others and a mechanism to reduce complexity in a social decision situation (Luhmann, 2000).
Electronically supported transactions, also referred to as electronic commerce, offer support
potentials for both the efficient organization and coordination of transactions within existing
buyer-seller relationships (Hausen, 2005; Hausen et al., 2006) as well as the identification of
new transaction partners. Next to transaction process efficiency, e-commerce increases market
transparency and market coverage and therefore opens access to new suppliers and markets
including international marketing opportunities. At present, potentials from electronic com-
merce for the efficient organization of transactions are increasingly utilized within existing
relationships in food networks (Fritz et al., 2004). However, controversial to its potentials elec-
tronic commerce is only reluctantly exploited for the setup of new relationships in food net-
works. Reasons for this are that electronic commerce transaction environments are often
perceived as anonymous as trustworthiness and control mechanisms are not appropriately and
sufficiently communicated. A so far unsolved question concerns the appropriate selection and
communication of trust and control elements in electronic transaction environments to support
the set up of new buyer-supplier relationships in food networks.
3 Conceptual framework for e-commerce due diligence
The development of a due diligence for e-commerce transactions in food networks to create
trust and confidence is a complex problem without clear cause and effect relations as it intends
to influence human decision making and behavior and involves the dynamics of a marketplace
as well as unforeseeable changes in supply and demand situations. In general, the identification
of a solution for complex problems requires the knowledge of different scientific areas to
include different perspectives on the problem (Kirsch, Trux, 1981).
Transactions are realized in an interaction, communication and decision process between two
partners, seller and buyer. On a more disaggregated level, a transaction process consists of dif-
ferent phases, the information, negotiation, settlement, and after sales phase (Hausen, 2005). In
these phases, both seller and buyer decide upon the continuation of the process.
The conceptual framework for e-commerce due diligence presented in this paper puts the prin-
ciples of decision making in transactions in the center of all further considerations. It links the
requirements from decision making to the transaction phases and considers the four transaction
phases as structuring element for the identification of information and communication ele-
ments suitable to influence the decisions (see Figure 1. Starting point for conceptual frame-
work1).