An exploratory study of buyers’ participation intentions in reputation systems: The relationship quality perspective

Drawing upon a relationship quality framework, this study identifies how satisfaction, trust and different styles of handling conflict influence online buyers’ participation intentions in reputation systems associated with a C2C online shopping platform. Furthermore, we investigate how these effects are moderated by social conformity and the perceived value of knowledge. The results of a survey of 269 online buyers indicate that satisfaction, trust and an accommodating conflict handling style positively impact the intention to submit positive ratings, whereas an avoiding conflict handling style negatively affects the intention to submit positive ratings. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.