Branding and Building Trust: Social and Ethical Issues - Via IT Conversations: Panel Discussion :

Studies show that consumers care about the perceived honesty and values of brands and companies. They want to trust that companies will do the right thing with any and all data collected on line. This raises a number of interesting and difficult problems. The panelists first examine what exactly we mean by trust, privacy, transparency, security and fraud. One thorny issue is the inherent asymmetry of information. Consumers can't always tell when they are revealing information to companies, and they can't always know how the companies may use that data. They often assume security laws protect them when they don't.

While consumers vary in the level of trust they will give on line, certain companies do seem to develop a good reputation. What are the secrets? And, what is this trust worth? The panelists review studies of on line behavior and note that there can be a gap between consumers' stated attitudes and their actual behavior. Still, security breaches, identity theft and privacy abuses can harm a brand's reputation.

(Read Original Article - Via IT Conversations: Panel Discussion .)