Abstract
Research provides increasing evidence that women and men
differ in their decisions to trust. However, information systems research does not satisfactorily explain why these
gender differences exist. One possible reason is that, surprisingly, theoretical concepts often do not address the most obvious factor that influences human behavior: biology.
Given the essential role of biological factors—and specifically those of the brain—in decisions to trust, the biological influences should naturally include those related to gender. As trust considerations in economic decision making have become increasingly complex with the expansion of Internet use, understanding the related biological/brain functions and the involvement of gender provides a range of valuable insights.
To show empirically that online trust is associated with
activity changes in certain brain areas, we used functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In a laboratory experiment, we captured the brain activity of 10 female and 10 male participants simultaneous to decisions on trustworthiness of eBay offers. We found that most of the brain areas that encode trustworthiness differ between women and men. Moreover, we found that women activated more brain areas than did men. These results confirm the empathizing– systemizing theory, which predicts gender differences in neural information processing modes.
In demonstrating that perceived trustworthiness of Internet
offers is affected by neurobiology, our study has major
implications for both IS research and management. We confirm
the value of a category of research heretofore neglected
in IS research and practice, and argue that future IS research investigating human behavior should consider the role of biological factors. In practice, biological factors are a significant consideration for management, marketing, and engineering attempts to influence behavior.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 397-428 |
Number of pages | 32 |
Journal | MIS Quarterly |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2010 |
Fields of science
- 102 Computer Sciences
- 102006 Computer supported cooperative work (CSCW)
- 102015 Information systems
- 502030 Project management
- 502032 Quality management
- 502 Economics
- 211903 Science of management
- 506 Political Science
- 502044 Business management
- 502043 Business consultancy
- 502052 Business administration