《Developing and maintaining clients’ trust through institutional mechanisms in online service markets for digital entrepreneurs: A process model》中英文對比翻譯

引用：Dua W, Mao J Y. Developing and maintaining clients’ trust through institutional mechanisms in online service markets for digital entrepreneurs: A process model[J]. Journal of Strategic Information. Systems 27 (2018) 296–310.

ABSTRACT
Crowdsourcing intermediaries, such as Upwork and ZBJ, are powering a new force of digital entrepreneurs by creating online service markets where service providers seek contracts from clients all over the world. An important reason for this flourishing digital entrepreneurship is that the intermediaries establish institutional mechanisms (IMs) that develop clients’ trust in digital entrepreneurs. However, insights into how intermediaries achieve it remain limited. Although the e-Commerce literature has generated rich findings on intermediary-based trust development, its findings are based on online product markets and thus may not be readily applicable to online service markets. More specifically, these findings are mainly focused on various IMs that facilitate initial trust formation based on variance models. However, a successful service transaction requires not only the initial trust but further development and maintenance of that trust, because it is a cooperative process between clients and vendors. By conducting an in-depth case study of ZBJ, the largest crowdsourcing intermediary in China, this study develops a three-phase process model, whereby the intermediary deploys different sets of IMs that initiate, augment, and maintain clients’ trust in vendors. Our findings make important theoretical contributions to the literature on digital entrepreneurship, crowdsourcing, and e-Commerce trust development.

摘要：

諸如Upwork和ZBJ之類的眾包中介機構正在通過創建在線服務市場來推動數字企業家的新生力量，在這些市場中，服務提供商從世界各地的客戶那里尋求合同。數字企業蓬勃發展的一個重要原因是，中介機構建立了制度機制(IM)，以發展客戶對數字企業家的信任。然而，對于中介機構如何實現這一目標的了解仍然有限。雖然電子商務文獻對基于中介的信任開發產生了豐富的研究結果，但其研究結果是基于在線產品市場的，因此可能不容易適用于在線服務市場。更具體地，這些發現主要集中在各種便于基于方差模型建立初始信任的IM上。然而，成功的服務事務不僅需要最初的信任，還需要進一步的開發和維護這種信任，因為它是客戶和供應商之間的合作過程。本研究通過對中國最大的眾包中介ZBJ的深入案例研究，建立了一個三階段的流程模型，中介通過部署不同的IMs來啟動、增強和維護客戶對供應商的信任。我們的發現對數字企業、眾包和電子商務信任發展的文獻做出了重要的理論貢獻。

Introduction
By creating online service markets where self-employed service providers sell their services to clients all over the world, crowdsourcing intermediaries, such as Upwork and ZBJ, have been touted as a wellspring of entrepreneurial activities; the phenomenon is commonly known as the “gig economy” (Dishman, 2017; Shadpour, 2018; Sundararajan, 2015). Previously, gigs were only for musicians, while most people looked for stable jobs that offered fixed salaries. Today, more and more skilled workers are earning income from self-employment in a side gig, and some have transformed their gig into a new business venture (Kaufman, 2013; Shadpour, 2018). For example, ZBJ, China’s largest crowdsourcing intermediary, hosts over 10 million service providers, such as computer programmers, website developers, animators, artists, and designers and small/medium-sized enterprises.

1.引言

通過創建在線服務市場，個體服務提供商向全球各地的客戶銷售服務，Upwork和ZBJ等眾包中介被吹捧為企業活動的源泉;這種現象通常被稱為“零工經濟”(Dishman, 2017;Shadpour, 2018;Sundararajan, 2015)。以前，只有音樂家才會做零工，而大多數人都在尋找有固定工資的穩定工作。如今，越來越多的熟練工人通過兼職賺取自營職業的收入，一些人已經將他們的兼職轉變成新的商業風險(Kaufman, 2013;Shadpour, 2018)。例如，中國最大的眾包中介ZBJ，擁有超過1000萬的服務提供商，包括電腦程序員、網站開發者、動畫師、藝術家、設計師和中小企業。

These service providers can be seen as digital entrepreneurs, who “pursue the opportunities based on the use of digital media and other information and communication technologies” (Davidson and Vaast, 2010, p.2). First, they pursue opportunities afforded by crowdsourcing intermediaries’ digital platforms (Majchrzak and Malhotra, 2013). Second, they deliver solutions in the form of digital artifacts, such as software packages and websites (Nambisan, 2017). Digital entrepreneurship is an emerging field in information systems (IS) research. Crowdsourcing intermediary-enabled entrepreneurship falls into the subcategory of online market-enabled entrepreneurship. Studies in this subcategory have focused on the actions of individual entrepreneurs (Gregg and Walczak, 2008; Reuber and Fischer, 2010) and entrepreneurial communities (Avgerou and Li, 2013; Leong et al., 2016), but have overlooked the role of intermediaries in enabling entrepreneurship.
這些服務提供商可以被視為數字企業家，他們“基于使用數字媒體和其他信息通信技術來尋求機會”(Davidson和Vaast, 2010, p.2)。首先，他們追求眾包中介的數字平臺提供的機會(Majchrzak和Malhotra, 2013)。其次，他們以數字產品的形式提供解決方案，如軟件包和網站(Nambisan, 2017)。數字企業家精神是信息系統（IS）研究中的一個新興領域。 眾包中介推動的企業家精神屬于在線市場推動的企業家精神的子類別。這一細分領域的研究主要關注個體企業家的行為(Gregg和Walczak, 2008;(Reuber and Fischer, 2010)與創業社區(Avgerou and Li, 2013;Leong et al.， 2016)，但忽略了中介機構在促進創業中的作用。

Our study intends to fill this gap by examining how crowdsourcing intermediaries enable entrepreneurs from a trust development perspective. Trust is defined as the willingness to depend upon and make oneself vulnerable to the trustee (Mayer et al., 1995). Trust is critical to online transactions, because it is an effective mechanism for mitigating uncertainty (Datta and Chatterjee, 2008; Jarvenpaa et al., 2000). Uncertainty can increase clients’ transaction costs and discourage them from engaging in crowdsourcing (Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015). It is difficult for individual entrepreneurs to gain clients’ trust, because they have no prior interaction and lack face-to-face communication with clients. Third-party institutional mechanisms (IMs) should be put in place for trust development. The crowdsourcing literature has also recognized that intermediaries play an important role in developing clients’ trust in vendors (Feller et al., 2012; Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015; Zogaj et al., 2014), but insights into how they achieve it remain limited.
我們的研究試圖從信任發展的角度來研究眾包中介如何幫助企業家，從而填補這一空白。信任被定義為依賴和使自己易受托人的意愿（Mayer等，1995）。信任對在線交易至關重要，因為它是減少不確定性的有效機制(Datta和Chatterjee, 2008;Jarvenpaa等，2000)。不確定性會增加客戶的交易成本，阻礙他們參與眾包(Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015)。個體企業家很難獲得客戶的信任，因為他們沒有事先的互動，也缺乏與客戶面對面的交流。應當建立第三方機構機制來發展信任。眾包文獻也認識到中介機構在發展客戶對供應商的信任方面起著重要作用(Feller et al.， 2012;Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015;(Zogaj et al.， 2014)，但對他們如何實現這一目標的了解仍然有限。

The e-Commerce literature has generated rich findings on how intermediaries develop clients’ trust, in particular through the deployment of IMs that punish opportunistic behaviors and engender cooperation (Gefen et al., 2003). However, these findings are derived from online product markets and may not be readily applicable to online service markets. Moreover, existing findings are mainly focused on IMs that facilitate initial trust formation only (Ba and Pavlou, 2002; McKnight et al., 2002; Pavlou, 2002; Pavlou and Gefen, 2004), based on variance models. Whereas initial trust can lead to a transaction in online product markets, a successful service transaction also requires further development and maintenance of that trust, because services are delivered via a cooperative process between clients and vendors (Cheng et al., 2017; Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1997; Lewicki and Bunker, 1996). In this case, crowdsourcing intermediaries should develop and maintain clients’ trust throughout the transaction, and a process model is needed. Therefore, we derive our research question as follows, “How do crowdsourcing intermediaries develop and maintain clients’ trust in vendors throughout a service transaction?”
電子商務文獻對中介機構如何發展客戶的信任產生了豐富的研究成果，特別是通過部署IMs來懲罰機會主義行為和產生合作(Gefen et al.， 2003)。然而，這些發現來自在線產品市場，可能并不適用于在線服務市場。此外，基于方差模型，現有發現主要集中在僅促進初始信任形成的IM（Ba和Pavlou，2002； McKnight等，2002； Pavlou，2002； Pavlou和Gefen，2004）。雖然最初的信任可以導致在線產品市場上的交易，但成功的服務交易也需要進一步發展和維護這種信任，因為服務是通過客戶和供應商之間的合作過程交付的(Cheng et al.， 2017;Jarvenpaa和Leidner, 1997;《路易斯基與邦克》，1996)。在這種情況下，眾包中介應該在整個交易過程中發展和維護客戶的信任，這需要一個流程模型。因此，我們的研究問題如下:“眾包中介如何在整個服務交易中發展并維持客戶對供應商的信任?”

Based on an in-depth case study of ZBJ, we develop a three-phase process model, whereby the intermediary initiates, augments, and maintains clients’ trust in vendors by deploying three different sets of IMs. This study makes three important theoretical contributions. First, it contributes to the digital entrepreneurship literature, in particular studies on online market-enabled entrepreneurship, by examining the enabling role of intermediaries through a trust development perspective. Second, it contributes to the crowdsourcing literature by developing a process model of how intermediaries develop and maintain clients’ trust in vendors, and by explaining how intermediaries facilitate the crowdsourcing process. Third, it contributes to the e-Commerce trust development literature by extending intermediary-enabled trust development from online product markets to online service markets, and adding a process view.
在對ZBJ進行深入的案例研究的基礎上，我們開發了一個三階段的流程模型，其中，中介機構通過部署三套不同的IM來發起，增強和維護客戶對供應商的信任。本研究有三個重要的理論貢獻。首先，它通過從信任發展的角度審視中介機構的促進作用，為數字企業文獻，特別是對在線市場驅動型企業的研究做出了貢獻。其次，它通過開發中介如何開發和維護客戶對供應商的信任的過程模型，并解釋中介如何促進眾包過程，從而為眾包文獻做出貢獻。第三，它通過將支持中介的信任開發從在線產品市場擴展到在線服務市場，并添加了流程視圖，為電子商務信任發展文獻做出了貢獻。

Literature review
Digital entrepreneurship and crowdsourcing
Today, digital technologies have significantly reduced the cost of starting a company and accelerated the rate of expansion, thus creating a boom in digital entrepreneurship. Digital entrepreneurship has provided IS scholars many research opportunities. According to Del Giudice and Straub (2011), “The fascinating research questions that can be asked are endless” (p. 6). These questions lie at the intersection of entrepreneurship and various digital technologies (Nambisan, 2017), such as online markets (e.g., Avgerou and Li, 2013; Gregg and Walczak, 2008), social media (e.g., Fischer and Reuber, 2011, 2014), and technology ecosystems (e.g., Ceccagnoli et al., 2012; Jarvenpaa and Standaert, 2017; Nambisan and Baron, 2013).

2.文獻綜述

2.1數字創業和眾包

如今，數字技術大大降低了創辦公司的成本，加快了擴張速度，從而創造了數字創業的熱潮。數字創業為學者提供了許多研究機會。Del Giudice和Straub(2011)認為，“可以提出的迷人的研究問題是無止境的”(第6頁)。這些問題位于創業和各種數字技術的交叉點(Nambisan, 2017)，如在線市場(如Avgerou和Li, 2013;Gregg和Walczak, 2008)，社交媒體(如Fischer和Reuber, 2011, 2014)，和技術生態系統(如Ceccagnoli等，2012;Jarvenpaa和Standaert, 2017;Nambisan和Baron, 2013)。

Because crowdsourcing intermediaries create online service markets for service providers to seek contracts from clients all over the world, intermediary-enabled entrepreneurship is subset of of online market-enabled entrepreneurship. Crowdsourcing intermediaries are similar to traditional e-Commercial platforms, such as Amazon and eBay, but intended for service exchange rather than product exchange. Crowdsourcing intermediaries may have a broader impact toward entrepreneurship than traditional online product markets, because they have further lowered the barriers to entrepreneurship. Online product transactions still require transportation and thus exclude entrepreneurs who do not have access to logistic infrastructures (Leong et al., 2016). In contrast, service transactions require no such infrastructures. For example, some marginalized communities in India have successfully started new ventures on Upwork and moved out of poverty by taking orders from western clients (Agrawal et al., 2013). As noted above, existing research on online market-enabled entrepreneurship has mainly focused on the activities of entrepreneurs and their communities, but overlooked the role of intermediaries. Our study intends to fill this gap by examining how crowdsourcing intermediaries enable entrepreneurs from a trust development perspective.
由于眾包中介為服務提供商創建了在線服務市場，以從世界各地的客戶那里尋求合同，因此，中間型創業是在線市場型創業的一個子集。眾包中介類似于傳統的電子商務平臺，如亞馬遜和eBay，但其目的是服務交換而不是產品交換。與傳統的在線產品市場相比，眾包中介可能會對創業產生更廣泛的影響，因為它們進一步降低了創業的障礙。在線產品交易仍然需要運輸，因此將無法使用物流基礎設施的企業家排除在外（Leong等，2016）。相反，服務交易不需要這種基礎設施。例如，印度的一些邊緣社區已經成功地在Upwork上建立了新的企業，并通過接受西方客戶的訂單擺脫了貧困(Agrawal et al.， 2013)。如上所述，現有的關于以市場為導向的網上創業的研究主要集中在企業家及其社區的活動上，而忽視了中間商的作用。我們的研究試圖從信任發展的角度來研究眾包中介如何幫助企業家，從而填補這一空白。

The term “crowdsourcing” was coined by Howe (2006) to refer to the act of assigning tasks that have traditionally been performed by internal employees to a large group of undefined people outside an organization. Crowdsourcing has grown into a broader concept that encompasses four major types of arrangement: Contests, collaborative communities, complementors, and labor markets (Boudreau and Lakhani, 2013). Labor markets can also be referred to as service markets, because they“match buyers and sellers of services and employ conventional contracting for services rendered” (p. 10).
“眾包”一詞是Howe（2006）提出的，是指將傳統上由內部員工執行的任務分配給組織外部的一大堆未定義人員的行為。眾包已經發展成為一個更廣泛的概念，它包含了四種主要類型的安排:競賽、協作社區、互補和勞動力市場(Boudreau和Lakhani, 2013)。勞動力市場也可以被稱為服務市場，因為它們“為服務的買賣雙方牽線搭橋，為提供的服務采用傳統的合同制”(第10頁)。

Service markets can be further divided into two types, labor-intensive versus knowledge-intensive. The former is represented by Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), enabling transactions of simple, mundane tasks such as data processing and image tagging (Deng et al., 2016; Karger et al., 2014). For example, in MTurk, vendors complete a task at the terms proposed by clients, and clients do not communicate much with vendors except for the initial job description (Chen and Horton, 2016). In contrast, the latter is represented by Upwork, Freelancer.com, and ZBJ, transacting tasks that require domain knowledge, innovation, and collaboration between clients and vendors. Examples include website and software development, and logo and animation design (Feller et al., 2012; Qi and Mao, 2016; Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015).
服務市場可以進一步分為兩種類型：勞動密集型和知識密集型。 前者由Amazon Mechanical Turk（MTurk）代表，可實現簡單，日常任務的事務，例如數據處理和圖像標記（Deng等，2016； Karger等，2014）。 例如，在MTurk中，供應商按照客戶提出的條件完成任務，除了最初的工作描述之外，客戶與供應商之間的溝通不多（Chen and Horton，2016）。相比之下，后者由Upwork、Freelancer.com和ZBJ表示，它們處理的任務需要領域知識、創新以及客戶和供應商之間的協作。例如網站和軟件開發，以及logo和動畫設計(Feller et al.， 2012;齊茂，2016;Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015)。

The two types of markets require different approaches to developing and maintaining trust because they deal with different tasks and transaction processes. Furthermore, because digital entrepreneurship is more likely to flourish in knowledge-intensive markets than in labor-intensive ones (Davidson and Vaast, 2010), this study examines the former. Therefore, in the reminder of this paper, the term crowdsourcing specifically refers to service markets, and knowledge-intensive ones in particular.
這兩類市場需要不同的方法來發展和維持信任，因為它們處理不同的任務和交易過程。此外，由于數字創業更有可能在知識密集型市場蓬勃發展，而不是在勞動密集型市場，因此本研究研究了前者。 因此，在本文的提醒中，“眾包”一詞專門指服務市場，尤其是知識密集型市場。

Trust is critical to crowdsourcing, because it is effective in mitigating uncertainty, which increases clients’ transaction costs and discourages them from engaging in crowdsourcing (Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015). Clients in online service markets face more uncertainty than their counterparts in online product markets. For example, unlike products, services are customized based on clients’ specific requirements, and uncertainty can arise in the process of specifying these requirements and communicating them to vendors (Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015). This uncertainty is further exacerbated by the fact that many crowdsourcing clients lack domain knowledge to articulate their requirements and misunderstandings are common between geographically separated clients and vendors (Qi and Mao, 2016).
信任對于眾包是至關重要的，因為它可以有效地減少不確定性，而不確定性增加了客戶的交易成本，并阻礙他們參與眾包(Ye和Kankanhalli, 2015)。在線服務市場的客戶比在線產品市場的客戶面臨更多的不確定性。例如，與產品不同，服務是根據客戶的特定需求定制的，在指定這些需求并與供應商溝通的過程中會產生不確定性(Ye和Kankanhalli, 2015)。許多眾包客戶缺乏領域知識來闡明他們的要求，而且地理位置不同的客戶和供應商之間經常會產生誤解(Qi和Mao, 2016)。，這一不確定性進一步加劇了。

In addition, unlike products, services are produced through client-vendor cooperation, rather than by vendors independently. Uncertainty can arise from the cooperation, especially when the two parties lack face-to-face communication (Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1997). For example, clients face uncertainty about vendors’ commitment because they are unable to monitor vendors effectively. This uncertainty, if not mitigated properly, can damage trust built in earlier phases and lead to the early termination of contracts (Veltri et al., 2008; Whitten and Leidner, 2006).
此外，與產品不同的是，服務是通過客戶-供應商合作而不是由供應商獨立完成的。合作會產生不確定性，特別是當雙方缺乏面對面的交流時(Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1997)。例如，客戶無法確定供應商的承諾，因為他們無法有效地監控供應商。這種不確定性，如果沒有得到適當的緩解，可能會損害在早期階段建立的信任，并導致合同的提前終止(Veltri et al.， 2008;Whitten和Leidner, 2006)。

Because of service-specific uncertainty, gaining clients’ trust becomes more important. However, self-employed service providers face great difficulty in gaining clients’ trust on their own, because they are geographically separated from clients and have no prior interaction with them. The crowdsourcing literature shows that intermediaries play an important role in helping vendors gain clients’ trust (Feller et al., 2012; Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015; Zogaj et al., 2014). However, little is known about how the role is achieved.
由于特定于服務的不確定性，贏得客戶的信任變得更加重要。然而，個體經營的服務提供商在獲得客戶的信任方面面臨著很大的困難，因為他們與客戶在地理上是分開的，之前沒有與客戶的互動。眾包文獻表明，中介機構在幫助供應商獲得客戶信任方面發揮了重要作用(Feller et al.， 2012;Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015;(Zogaj等，2014)。然而，很少有人知道這一角色是如何實現的。

In general, the majority of the crowdsourcing literature has taken either a client or vendor perspective. Few studies have taken the intermediary perspective (Zogaj et al., 2014). For example, Feller et al. (2012) state that “While the commercial success of such brokerages (intermediaries) indicates the potency of arguments concerning the importance of crowds, little is known about the operation of such brokerages” (p. 218). Similarly, Ye and Kankanhalli (2015) state that “Future researchers could investigate the performance of crowdsourcing platforms in facilitating the process of crowdsourcing” (p.106–107). Our study responds to the call for research by examining how crowdsourcing intermediaries develop and maintain clients’ trust in vendors throughout a service transaction. To do so, we first resort to the e-Commerce literature, which has generated findings on intermediary-based trust development. These findings can guide our exploration and provide opportunities for theoretical contributions.
總的來說，大多數眾包文獻都是從客戶或供應商的角度出發的。很少有研究采用中介視角(Zogaj et al.， 2014)。例如，Feller等人(2012)指出“雖然這類經紀公司(中介機構)的商業成功表明了關于群體重要性的論點的力量，但是人們對這類經紀公司的運作知之甚少”(第218頁)。同樣，Ye和Kankanhalli(2015)指出“未來的研究者可以研究眾包平臺在促進眾包過程中的表現”(p.106-107)。我們的研究響應了研究的號召，研究眾包中介如何在整個服務交易中發展和保持客戶對供應商的信任。為此，我們首先求助于電子商務文獻，這些文獻產生了關于基于中介的信任開發的研究結果。這些發現可以指導我們的探索，為理論貢獻提供機會。

Intermediary-enabled trust development in e-Commerce
A major reason that small vendors can flourish in e-Commerce markets despite the inherent uncertainty is the presence of intermediaries such as eBay and Amazon, which develop clients’ trust in them (Datta and Chatterjee, 2008). There are two paths by which an intermediary can develop clients’ trust in vendors. First, because trust can be transferred, an intermediary can acquire clients’ trust in its brand and then transfer that trust to its vendors; second, an intermediary can develop effective IMs, which reduce opportunistic behaviors and ensure successful transactions (McKnight et al., 2002). These two paths complement each other. On the one hand, trust in an intermediary underlies the perceived effectiveness of its IMs; on the other hand, effective IMs increase the trustworthiness of the intermediary (Pavlou and Gefen, 2004). Research has focused on the second path, because IMs for trust development are an area in which innovative solutions can be found (Pavlou and Gefen, 2004). In contrast, trust in an intermediary is similar to trust in any target, which comes from familiarity, reputation, and benevolent behaviors (Jarvenpaa et al., 2000). In the remainder of this paper, the term clients’ trust refers to clients’ trust in vendors, and we focus on examining how intermediaries enable vendors to develop and maintain that trust.

2.2電子商務中基于中介的信任發展

盡管存在內在的不確定性，小供應商仍能在電子商務市場中蓬勃發展的主要原因是諸如eBay和Amazon之類的中介機構的存在，它們建立了客戶對其的信任（Datta和Chatterjee，2008年）。中介可以通過兩種途徑來發展客戶對供應商的信任。首先，因為信任可以被轉移，中介可以獲得客戶對其品牌的信任，然后將這種信任轉移給供應商;其次，中介可以開發有效的IMs，減少機會主義行為，確保交易成功(McKnight et al.， 2002)。這兩條路相輔相成。一方面，中介的信任是中介IM有效性的基礎;另一方面，有效的IMs增加了中介的可信度(Pavlou and Gefen, 2004)。研究集中在第二種途徑上，因為信任發展的IMs是一個可以找到創新解決方案的領域(Pavlou和Gefen, 2004)。相比之下，對中介的信任與對任何目標的信任相似，都來自于熟悉、聲譽和慈善行為(Jarvenpaa et al.， 2000)。在本文的其余部分中，術語“客戶的信任”指的是客戶對供應商的信任，我們將重點研究中介體如何使供應商能夠發展和維護這種信任。

Research has identified several effective IMs, such as escrow services, credit card guarantees, monitoring services, accreditation systems, and feedback mechanisms. Escrow services allow clients to pay vendors only when they receive and approve goods. Similarly, credit card guarantees protect clients by offering recourse in cases of fraud. Many credit card companies offer clients zero liability in online fraud (Pavlou and Gefen, 2004). Monitoring services monitor vendor activities and punish activities that do not adhere to generally accepted rules (Pavlou, 2002). Some research categorizes monitoring services as part of escrow services, because escrow services involve monitoring vendors’ activities and their agreements with clients and settling disputes in face of conflicts (Pavlou and Gefen, 2004). Accreditation systems attest to vendors’ ability and induce cooperative behaviors by encouraging vendors to upgrade their accreditation. Accreditation can be granted by both an independent authority and an intermediary which uses it as a means of rewarding high-quality vendors and weeding out problematic ones (Luo, 2002; McKnight et al., 2002). Finally, a feedback mechanism allows clients to evaluate the trustworthiness of a vendor based on what other clients say about them (Ba and Pavlou, 2002).
研究確定了幾個有效的IMs，如托管服務、信用卡擔保、監控服務、認證系統和反饋機制。第三方托管服務只允許客戶在收到并批準貨物后向供應商付款。同樣，信用卡擔保通過在欺詐情況下提供追索權來保護客戶。許多信用卡公司在網絡詐騙中為客戶提供零責任(Pavlou和Gefen, 2004)。監控服務監控供應商的活動，并懲罰不遵守普遍接受的規則的活動(Pavlou, 2002)。一些研究將監控服務歸類為第三方托管服務的一部分，因為第三方托管服務包括監控供應商的活動及其與客戶的協議，以及解決沖突時的爭端(Pavlou和Gefen, 2004)。認證系統通過鼓勵供應商提高他們的認證來證明供應商的能力和誘導合作行為。認證可以由一個獨立的權威機構和一個中介機構授予，中介機構將其作為獎勵高質量供應商和淘汰問題供應商的一種手段(Luo, 2002;McKnight等人，2002)。最后，反饋機制允許客戶根據其他客戶對供應商的評價來評估供應商的可信度(Ba和Pavlou, 2002)。

Despite their different forms, these IMs share similarities in the approaches that they develop trust. Our review synthesizes four approaches, which can be used to guide our exploration in the crowdsourcing context. First, IMs can develop trust by providing clients with guarantees. For example, escrow services guarantee that clients do not have to pay until they receive the products in good shape; credit card guarantees ensure that clients do not lose their money in online frauds. Accreditation is also a form of guarantee, which ensures a vendor’s ability and expected future behavior (Luo, 2002).
盡管這些IM具有不同的形式，但它們在建立信任的方法上具有相似之處。 我們的綜述綜合了四種方法，可用于指導我們在眾包環境中的探索。首先，IMs可以通過為客戶提供擔保來建立信任。例如，第三方托管服務保證客戶在收到完好無損的產品之前不必付款;信用卡擔保確保客戶不會在網絡詐騙中損失錢財。認證也是一種保證形式，保證了供應商的能力和預期的未來行為(Luo, 2002)。

Second, IMs can develop trust by influencing trusting beliefs. Integrity trusting belief refers to the extent to which the trustee adheres to a set of principles which the trustor finds acceptable. For example, escrow services can lead to integrity trusting belief by creating incentives for vendors to refrain from opportunistic behaviors (Fang et al., 2014). Ability trusting belief refers to the extent to which the trustee has the expertise to meet the trustor’s needs. For example, a feedback mechanism can lead to ability belief by providing a reputation system that reflects a vendor’s ability (Dou et al., 2013; Ho et al., 2017). Benevolence trusting belief refers to the extent to which the trustee will act fairly and not take advantage of the trustor when given the chance (Mayer et al., 1995). Benevolence trusting belief is less relevant to the online market, because it requires trustee and trustor to have prior attachment (Ba and Pavlou, 2002).
其次，IM可以通過影響信任信念來發展信任。誠信信任信念是指受托人堅持一套委托人認為可以接受的原則的程度。例如，第三方托管服務可以通過激勵供應商避免機會主義行為，從而導致誠信信任信念的產生（Fang等，2014）。能力信任信念是指受托人具有能夠滿足其需求的專業知識的程度。例如，反饋機制可以通過提供一個反映供應商能力的聲譽系統而導致能力信念(Dou et al.， 2013;Ho等，2017)。仁愛信任信念是指當給受托人機會時，受托人會公平行事而不會利用委托人的程度(Mayer et al.， 1995)。仁愛信任信念與網絡市場的相關性較小，因為它要求受托人和委托人事先有依戀關系(Ba和Pavlou, 2002)。

Third, IMs can develop trust by giving clients more control, which makes vendor opportunism irrational. Legal bonds are an effective formal control in offline markets, but they are less effective in online markets (Pavlou, 2002). An important reason for this is that the legal stance of an online market is ambiguous, and executing legal enforcement is difficult (Gefen et al., 2003). Instead, intermediaries should institute rules and procedures to monitor participants’ activities and punish activities that do not adhere to them. Intermediaries can also leverage market-driven informal control, such as a feedback mechanism. A feedback mechanism adds a level of control, because clients’ negative comments can serve as harsh punishment that reduces vendors’ future sales and price premium (Ba and Pavlou, 2002).
第三，IM可以通過給予客戶更多的控制權來建立信任，這使供應商的機會主義變得不合理。合法的債券在線下市場是一種有效的形式控制，但在網絡市場中卻不那么有效(Pavlou, 2002)。一個重要的原因是，網絡市場的法律立場是模糊的，難以執行法律（Gefen等，2003）。相反，中介機構應該制定規則和程序來監督參與者的活動，并懲罰不遵守規則和程序的活動。中介機構還可以利用市場驅動的非正式控制，如反饋機制。反饋機制增加了一定程度的控制，因為客戶的負面評論可以作為嚴厲的懲罰，降低供應商的未來銷售和價格溢價(Ba和Pavlou, 2002)。

Fourth, IMs can develop trust by providing clients with more information. Information asymmetry is an important reason that vendors engage in opportunistic behaviors. This is a typical principal-agent issue, where vendors (agents) have more information about their characteristics, products, and practices than clients (principals), who lack effective means to monitor vendors (Pavlou et al., 2007). The literature shows that meaningful and timely information sharing between clients and vendors promotes trust (Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1997). Feedback mechanisms and accreditation are important sources of external information that helps clients mitigate information asymmetry. More information also differentiates vendors. Such differentiation increases the sense of trustworthiness of the vendor community; failure to do so causes high-quality vendors to leave the market, leaving the lemon vendors (Akerlof, 1970).
第四，IMs可以通過向客戶提供更多信息來建立信任。信息不對稱是供應商進行機會主義行為的重要原因。這是一個典型的委托代理問題，其中供應商(代理)比客戶(委托人)擁有更多關于其特征、產品和實踐的信息，而客戶(委托人)缺乏有效的手段來監控供應商(Pavlou等人，2007)。文獻表明，客戶和供應商之間有意義且及時的信息共享可以促進信任(Jarvenpaa和Leidner, 1997)。反饋機制和認證是幫助客戶緩解信息不對稱的重要外部信息來源。更多的信息也可以區分供應商。這種區分增加了供應商社區的信任感;不這樣做會導致高質量的供應商離開市場，留下檸檬供應商(Akerlof, 1970)。

Despite the rich findings about various effective IMs, existing findings are derived from online product markets and thus may not be readily applicable to online service markets, for the following two reasons. First, the extant findings are focused on IMs that facilitate initial trust formation based on variance models. However, a successful service transaction requires not only initial trust but further development and maintenance of that trust. Therefore, a process model is needed. This process model should reflect the dynamic view of trust, whereby trust starts small and gradually increases as clients and vendors get to know each other (Cheng et al., 2017; Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1997; Lewicki and Bunker, 1996). Although some extant studies have also taken a dynamic perspective by examining trust development across multiple transactions, for example how trust in an early transaction affects a subsequent transaction (Fang et al., 2014; Kim et al., 2009; Ou et al., 2014; Zahedi and Song, 2008), trust development within a transaction remains obscure.
盡管關于各種有效的IMs有豐富的發現，但現有的發現來自于在線產品市場，因此可能不容易適用于在線服務市場，原因有以下兩個。首先，這些發現主要集中在各種便于基于方差模型建立初始信任的IM上。但是，成功的服務交易不僅需要初始信任，而且需要進一步發展和維護該信任。因此，需要一個流程模型。這個過程模型應該反映信任的動態視圖，即信任從很小開始，隨著客戶和供應商的相互了解而逐漸增加(Cheng et al.， 2017;Jarvenpaa和Leidner, 1997;《路易斯基與邦克》，1996)。雖然現有的一些研究也從動態的角度考察了跨多個事務的信任發展，例如早期事務中的信任如何影響后續事務(Fang et al.， 2014;Kim等人，2009;歐等，2014;(Zahedi和Song, 2008)，交易中的信任發展仍然是模糊的。

Second, the literature has mainly focused on IMs that reduce product-specific uncertainty (Angelika et al., 2012; Pavlou et al., 2007). As noted, clients in crowdsourcing face new types of uncertainty that are specific to service transactions, such as progress uncertainty (Veltri et al., 2008; Whitten and Leidner, 2006). Therefore, prior IMs are inadequate and service-specific IMs should be examined. For example, periodical evaluation is an effective IM that can be used to mitigate progress uncertainty in the cooperation phase (Das and Teng, 1998).
其次，文獻主要集中在降低產品特定不確定性的IM上（Angelika等，2012； Pavlou等，2007）。如前所述，眾包領域的客戶面臨著針對服務交易的新型不確定性，如進度不確定性(Veltri et al.， 2008;Whitten和Leidner, 2006)。因此，以前的IMs是不充分的，應該研究特定于服務的IMs。例如，定期評估是一種有效的即時通訊工具，可以用來緩解合作階段的進展不確定性(Das和Teng, 1998)。

To fill these two gaps, our study intends to build a process model of how crowdsourcing intermediaries develop and maintain clients’ trust in vendors throughout a service transaction. In constructing the process model, we pay particular attention to various types of uncertainty that are specific to service transactions and IMs that reduce them.
為了填補這兩個空白，我們的研究打算建立一個流程模型，研究眾包中介如何在整個服務交易中發展和保持客戶對供應商的信任。在構建流程模型時，我們特別關注特定于服務事務和減少它們的IMs的各種類型的不確定性。

Methods
This research adopts a single case study methodology for three reasons. First, its research question is a “how” type and is thus better answered through an inductive method (Walsham, 2006). Second, since this study aims to break new theoretical ground, a case study method is more appropriate due to its strength in exploring new conceptual arguments (Eisenhardt, 1989). Third, a single case study provides rich narratives that allow researchers to distinguish different phases conceptually and build a process model (e.g., Huang et al., 2017; Montealegre, 2002).

3.方法

本研究采用單一個案研究法，原因有三。首先，它的研究問題是“如何”類型的，因此通過歸納方法更好地回答(Walsham, 2006)。其次，由于本研究的目的是要打破新的理論基礎，因此案例研究方法更適合探索新的概念論證(Eisenhardt, 1989)。第三，單個案例研究提供了豐富的敘述，使研究人員能夠在概念上區分不同的階段，并建立一個過程模型(如Huang等，2017;蒙特,2002)。

The case setting
We selected ZBJ as the case site. ZBJ was founded in 2006 by six former journalists who were inspired by Alibaba’s success in building online product markets, such as Taobao.com and Tmall.com, and aspired to grow ZBJ into the Alibaba of the service industry. ZBJ started by organizing contests and tenders, but a major breakthrough came in 2013, when it introduced the online store model. In the online store model, every vendor was given a virtual store where they could display their skills, prior projects, and customer feedback. Clients screen these stores to select a vendor with whom to work. In 2015, more than 90% of transactions in ZBJ were made via this model. By that year, ZBJ had accumulated over 10 million service providers and over 5 million clients, and the total volume of service transactions was worth RMB￥ 7.5 billion (about US$ 1.13 billion). Popular services include website development, software development, animation development, logo design, and marketing campaign development.

3.1案例設置

我們選擇ZBJ作為案例站點。ZBJ成立于2006年，創始人是六名前記者，他們受到阿里巴巴成功打造淘寶網(Taobao.com)和天貓(Tmall.com)等在線產品市場的啟發，立志將ZBJ打造成服務行業的阿里巴巴。ZBJ最初是組織競賽和投標，但在2013年有了重大突破，推出了在線商店模式。在在線商店模型中，每個供應商都有一個虛擬商店，在那里他們可以展示他們的技能、以前的項目和客戶的反饋。客戶篩選這些商店以選擇與之合作的供應商。2015年，ZBJ 90%以上的交易都是通過這種模式完成的。到那一年，ZBJ已經積累了超過1000萬的服務提供商和超過500萬的客戶，服務交易總額達到75億人民幣(約合11.3億美元)。流行的服務包括網站開發、軟件開發、動畫開發、標志設計和營銷活動開發。

Although some established companies also use ZBJ, the majority of service providers are small-scale entrepreneurs. Many are fresh college graduates who have been taking on projects via ZBJ since they were at school, skilled workers who earned selfemployment income from a side gig, and small offline service providers who intended to grow their customer base beyond their local communities. These service providers are digital entrepreneurs, because both their acquisition of new business opportunities and delivery of solutions rely on digital technologies (Davidson and Vaast, 2010). First, in terms of acquiring new business opportunities, they are enabled by the intermediary’s digital platform, which not only connects them to clients all over the world but also helps them gain clients’ trust through IT-enabled IMs, such as escrow services and a feedback mechanism. Second, in terms of solution delivery, they rely on digital technologies as well, because their solutions take the form of digital artifacts, such as software packages and websites, and they use digital tools such as Java and HTML to produce such solutions.
雖然一些老牌公司也使用ZBJ，但大多數服務提供商都是小規模的企業家。他們中的許多人都是剛畢業的大學生，從上學起就通過ZBJ接受項目;他們中的許多人都是靠兼職賺取自營收入的技術工人;這些服務提供商都是數字企業家，因為他們獲取新的商業機會和提供解決方案都依賴于數字技術(Davidson和Vaast, 2010)。首先，就獲得新的商機而言，中介機構的數字平臺為他們提供了支持，該平臺不僅將它們與世界各地的客戶聯系起來，而且還幫助他們通過支持it的IMs(如托管服務和反饋機制)來獲得客戶的信任。其次，在解決方案交付方面，他們也依賴于數字技術，因為他們的解決方案采用數字產品的形式，如軟件包和網站，并且他們使用數字工具，如Java和HTML來產生這樣的解決方案。

A major challenge faced by these small entrepreneurs is how to gain clients’ trust. Vendors whom we interviewed all acknowledged that they struggled to gain clients’ trust in the open market. Several vendors had their own sales websites, but few orders came from them. According to these vendors, closing a deal on ZBJ was much simpler than doing it on their own websites, because clients were more inclined to trust them and less concerned about payment. Clients whom we interviewed concurred. They added that were it not for ZBJ, they would not have considered working with unknown online vendors, because there was too much uncertainty involved. For ZBJ, trust development is paramount. In fact, the company’s vision is to “Become China’s most trustworthy online service market.”
這些小企業家面臨的一個主要挑戰是如何贏得客戶的信任。我們采訪過的供應商都承認，他們很難在開放市場中獲得客戶的信任。一些供應商擁有自己的銷售網站，但很少收到訂單。 這些供應商認為，在ZBJ上完成交易比在自己的網站上完成交易簡單得多，因為客戶更傾向于信任他們，而不太關心付款。我們采訪的客戶對此表示贊同。他們補充說，如果不是ZBJ，他們不會考慮與未知的在線供應商合作，因為有太多的不確定性。對于ZBJ來說，信任的發展是最重要的。事實上，該公司的愿景是“成為中國最值得信賴的在線服務市場”。

In addition to the traditional IMs such as escrow services and feedback mechanisms, the company has established IMs that are specific to service transactions. One example is the services provided by transaction counselors. Due to their lack of domain expertise, many clients lack confidence in vendors’ proposals during the negotiation phase. To overcome this issue, ZBJ established transaction counseling department, whose purpose is to help clients evaluate proposals and facilitate effective negotiation. This initiative was highly successful, and ZBJ later expanded transaction counselors’ services into requirements analysis and post-contract moderation. In 2016, the transaction counselor department had become one of the largest departments in ZBJ, consisting of over 100 employees. Many of the clients whom we interviewed reported that the availability of transaction counselors was an important reason why they trusted the unknown vendors.
除了傳統的IMs(如托管服務和反饋機制)之外，公司還建立了特定于服務事務的IMs。交易顧問提供的服務就是一個例子。由于缺乏領域的專業知識，許多客戶在協商階段對供應商的建議缺乏信心。為了解決這個問題，ZBJ成立了交易咨詢部，其目的是幫助客戶評估提案，促進有效的談判。這個項目非常成功，ZBJ后來將交易顧問的服務擴展到需求分析和合同后的審核。2016年，交易咨詢部已成為ZBJ最大的部門之一，擁有員工100余人。我們采訪的許多客戶報告說，交易顧問的可用性是他們信任未知供應商的一個重要原因。

Effective IMs for trust development also attract high-quality vendors. With the support of the transaction counselors, clients are able to better assess vendors’ ability and high-quality vendors stand out. Several of the vendors whom we interviewed also had stores in Taobao, but they were shifting more attention to ZBJ. They stated that an important reason for this was that ZBJ’s IMs were more specific to service transactions. High-quality vendors in turn attract more clients. Today, ZBJ is a household name in the service industry. There is a general perception among the public that: “If you buy a product, go to Taobao or Tmall; if you buy a service, go to ZBJ.”
用于信任發展的有效IM也吸引了高質量的供應商。 在交易顧問的支持下，客戶能夠更好地評估供應商的能力，從而使高品質的供應商脫穎而出。我們采訪過的幾個供應商也在淘寶上有商店，但是他們將更多的注意力轉移到ZBJ上。 他們表示，這樣做的重要原因是ZBJ的IM更特定于服務交易。 高品質的供應商又吸引了更多的客戶。 今天，ZBJ在服務行業已是家喻戶曉的名字。 公眾普遍認為：“如果您購買產品，請去淘寶或天貓購物； 如果您購買服務，請前往ZBJ。”

Data collection
Data collection started in March 2015 and ended in September 2017. We paid four visits to ZBJ’s headquarters. The senior managers were supportive of our research, granting us access to key employees and helping us schedule interviews with clients and vendors. We interviewed 34 informants from ZBJ, seven from clients, and eight from vendors (for the informant list, please see Appendix A). This sampling structure reflects the intermediary perspective of our research. Some informants participated in multiple interviews. Each interview lasted between 45 min and one hour (for sample interview questions, see Appendix B). Interviews were conducted till we reached the point of theoretical saturation, where information started to repeat existing findings (Eisenhardt, 1989). All interviews were recorded and transcribed. The transcripts filled 655 pages.

3.2數據收集

數據收集開始于2015年3月，結束于2017年9月。我們四次參觀了ZBJ的總部。高級經理們支持我們的研究，允許我們接觸關鍵員工，并幫助我們安排與客戶和供應商的面談。我們采訪了34位來自ZBJ的線人，7位來自客戶，8位來自供應商(線人名單見附錄A)。這種抽樣結構反映了我們研究的中介視角。一些線人參加了多次采訪。每次訪談持續45分鐘至1小時(樣本訪談問題見附錄B)。進行訪談直到我們達到理論上的飽和點，那里的信息開始重復現有的發現（Eisenhardt，1989）。所有訪談均被記錄和轉錄。這份記錄長達655頁。

Informants at ZBJ included senior managers, middle managers, and line employees. This distribution eliminated elite bias (Pan and Tan, 2011). The senior managers included the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and two Vice Presidents (VP), who were also the cofounders. The middle managers and line employees came from three major departments: transaction counseling, vendor management, and recourse. These departments are directly related to vendor-client relationships and involved in ZBJ’s efforts to develop clients’ trust. At the end of each interview, we asked the informant to recommend other individuals who could offer important information for understanding ZBJ’s role in trust development.
ZBJ的線人包括高級經理、中層經理和一線員工。這種分布消除了精英偏見(Pan和Tan, 2011)。高級經理包括首席運營官(COO)和兩位副總裁(VP)，他們也是聯合創始人。中層管理人員和一線員工來自三個主要部門:交易咨詢、供應商管理和資源管理。這些部門與供應商-客戶關系直接相關，并參與了ZBJ發展客戶信任的努力。在每次訪談結束時，我們都會要求被調查者推薦其他能夠提供重要信息的人，以幫助我們理解ZBJ在信任發展中的作用。

Interviews with clients and vendors were used to triangulate information collected from ZBJ (Eisenhardt, 1989; Klein and Myers, 1999). For example, some ZBJ informants highlighted that their ability to recommend capable vendors was an important reason why clients trusted vendors, but clients responded indifferently to this statement. We thus dropped it. We also paid particular attention to informants who were both clients and vendors. In an online product market, a buyer can easily become a seller by selling their personal possessions (Sun, 2010), but in an online service market, certain skills are necessary to become a service provider. Among our informants, two vendors had outsourced tasks to other vendors and thus assumed the role of both vendor and client. We analyzed their interview transcripts and found no apparent differences between their opinions and those of other interviewees regarding ZBJ’s role in trust development.
對客戶和供應商的訪談被用來對從ZBJ收集的信息進行三角測量(Eisenhardt, 1989;克萊因和邁爾斯，1999)。例如，一些ZBJ的線人強調，他們推薦有能力的供應商的能力是客戶信任供應商的一個重要原因，但是客戶對這種說法反應冷淡。因此，我們放棄了它。 我們還特別注意既是客戶又是供應商的線人。在網絡產品市場中，買家可以通過出售個人物品輕松地成為賣家(Sun, 2010)，但在網絡服務市場中，成為服務提供商需要具備一定的技能。在我們的線人中，有兩個供應商已經將任務外包給其他供應商，因此承擔了供應商和客戶的角色。我們分析了他們的訪談記錄，發現他們對ZBJ在信任發展中的作用的看法與其他受訪者沒有明顯的差異。

Data also came from archival data and observations. Archival data included ZBJ’s internal documents and public information. Examples of internal documents included progress reports, training presentation slides, and arbitration records; examples of public information included news articles and analyst reports. The public information was rich, given that ZBJ was a high-profile company that had received a great deal of media attention. The archival data amounted to 712 pages. In December 2016, one of the authors was invited to give a keynote speech at a large trade conference organized by ZBJ. At the conference, the research team attended presentations and panel discussions given by ZBJ’s senior managers, clients, vendors, government officials, and industry analysts. This experience allowed us to collect more information and to develop a more in-depth understanding of the research context (Klein and Myers, 1999).
數據也來自檔案數據和觀察。 檔案數據包括ZBJ的內部文件和公共信息。 內部文件的示例包括進度報告，培訓演示幻燈片和仲裁記錄； 公共信息的示例包括新聞文章和分析師報告。由于ZBJ是一家備受矚目的公司，受到了媒體的廣泛關注，所以它的公開信息非常豐富。檔案資料共712頁。2016年12月，作者之一受邀在ZBJ舉辦的大型貿易會議上發表主題演講。在會議上，研究團隊參加了ZBJ的高級經理、客戶、供應商、政府官員和行業分析師的演講和小組討論。這一經歷使我們能夠收集更多的信息，并對研究背景有更深入的理解(Klein和Myers, 1999)。

Data analysis
We used open, axial, and selective coding in the data analysis (Corbin and Strauss, 1990). For an example of data structure derived from data analysis, please refer to Fig. 1. First, we started the open coding by conceptually labeling the data to capture ZBJ’s efforts to develop and maintain clients’ trust in vendors. The research team met regularly to review emerging concepts and ensure coding consistency (Klein and Myers, 1999). For example, when we asked ZBJ employees how they maintained clients’ trust in vendors during the cooperation phase, we derived concepts such as Perspective Taking, Communication Bridge, and Alerts for Potential Conflicts.

3.3數據分析

我們在數據分析中使用了開放、軸向和選擇性編碼(Corbin和Strauss, 1990)。由數據分析得到的數據結構示例如圖1所示。首先，我們通過概念上標記數據來開始開放編碼，以捕獲ZBJ開發和維護客戶對供應商的信任的努力。研究小組定期開會審查新出現的概念并確保編碼的一致性(Klein和Myers, 1999)。例如，當我們詢問ZBJ的員工在合作階段如何維護客戶對供應商的信任時，我們得到了一些概念，例如“觀點接受”，“溝通橋梁”和“潛在沖突警報”。

Second, we started the axial coding by grouping similar concepts from the open coding into major themes (Corbin and Strauss, 1990). The grouping process was also informed by the literature. Continuing with the example above, the three concepts were grouped into a theme named Harmonious Conflict Resolution. This construct was proposed by Goo et al. (2009) in a study on IT outsourcing relationship government. It refers to “The extent to which parties achieve mutually satisfying resolutions of their conflicts and, thus, disagreements are replaced by agreement and consensus” (p. 125). Our data suggest that in the crowdsourcing context, harmonious conflict resolution is an important IM deployed by the intermediary to maintain trust. This mechanism has not been discussed in the literature on e-Commerce trust development and is thus an extension of the literature.
其次，我們開始軸向編碼，將類似的概念從開放編碼組織成主要的主題(Corbin和Strauss, 1990)。分組過程也從文獻中獲悉。繼續上面的示例，這三個概念被分組為一個名為“和諧沖突解決”的主題。Goo等人(2009)在IT外包關系政府研究中提出了這一概念。它指“各方在何種程度上實現沖突的相互滿意的解決，從而以協議和協商一致意見取代分歧”(p. 125)。我們的數據表明，在眾包環境中，和諧的沖突解決方案是中介機構為維護信任而部署的重要IM。這一機制在電子商務信任發展的文獻中尚未被討論，因此是文獻的延伸。

Third, we started the selective coding by integrating themes from the axial coding into a coherent model. The objective was to create a model that ascertains the phenomenon theoretically. This phase was conducted by constantly comparing data, emerging themes, and the literature (Corbin and Strauss, 1990). Ultimately, we derived a three-phase process model. This emergent model was presented to key informants from ZBJ, clients and vendors, who confirmed that it was an accurate reflection of the reality and provided feedback that helped us to refine it (Pan and Tan, 2011).
第三，我們通過將軸向編碼的主題整合到一個連貫的模型中來開始選擇性編碼。目的是創建一個從理論上確定現象的模型。這個階段通過不斷比較數據、新興主題和文獻來進行(Corbin和Strauss, 1990)。最后，我們導出了一個三相流程模型。這個緊急模型被提交給了來自ZBJ、客戶和供應商的關鍵線人，他們確認這是對現實的準確反映，并提供反饋幫助我們完善它(Pan and Tan, 2011)。

Findings
Our data analysis reveals a three-phase process model whereby a crowdsourcing intermediary initiates, augments, and maintains clients’ trust in vendors and, as a result, facilitates a successful transaction (see Fig. 2). As shown by the literature, an intermediary develops clients’ trust by developing IMs that mitigate uncertainty. Therefore, in each phase, our analysis focuses on uncertainty and the IMs that mitigate it.

4.發現

我們的數據分析揭示了一個三階段的過程模型，在此過程中，眾包中介啟動、增強和維護客戶對供應商的信任，從而促進成功的交易(見圖2)。因此，在每個階段，我們的分析集中在不確定性和減輕不確定性的IMs上。

Initiating trust in the vendor selection phase
A service transaction starts with the vendor selection phase, where a client screens the vendor community and selects one to work with. In this phase, clients face uncertainty about vendors’ integrity and ability. Nearly all of the clients whom we interviewed raised their concern about vendors’ opportunistic behaviors, for example a vendor taking their money without properly delivering the service purchased. Another major concern was whether vendors had the ability to fulfill their requirements.

4.1在供應商選擇階段啟動信任

服務交易從供應商選擇階段開始，在此階段，客戶篩選供應商社區并選擇要使用的社區。在這個階段，客戶面臨供應商的誠實性和能力的不確定性。我們采訪的幾乎所有客戶都對供應商的機會主義行為表示了擔憂，例如供應商在沒有正確交付所購買的服務的情況下就拿走了他們的錢。另一個主要問題是供應商是否有能力滿足他們的需求。

To mitigate vendor uncertainty, ZBJ has deployed several IMs. The key ones include escrow services, a feedback mechanism, and an accreditation system. Clients feel more secure and comfortable about transferring money through the escrow services offered by ZBJ. In the early days, some vendors tried to persuade clients to settle payment offline so that they could avoid the commission charged by ZBJ, which was about 20% of the payment. Vendors also promised clients a share of the commission. Many of the clients whom we interviewed received such offers and most rejected them, because it was too risky to transfer money to vendors directly. Moreover, after transferring the money, clients lose control over vendors. Today, such solicitation from vendors is less common. Vendors have realized that the escrow services can help them quickly establish trust with clients. A website development vendor stated:
“You can show clients your business licenses and various certificates to demonstrate that you are legitimate, but clients still do not trust you. They trust ZBJ with their money and so it is much easier to close a deal on ZBJ.”
為了減輕供應商的不確定性，ZBJ部署了多個IM。關鍵包括托管服務，反饋機制和認證系統。通過ZBJ提供的托管服務轉賬，客戶會感到更安全、更放心。在早期，一些供應商試圖說服客戶離線付款，這樣他們就可以避免ZBJ收取的傭金，大約是付款的20%。供應商還向客戶承諾將分享傭金。我們采訪的許多客戶都收到了這樣的報價，但大多數都拒絕了，因為直接把錢轉給供應商風險太大。并且在轉移資金之后，客戶就對供應商失去了控制。如今，來自供應商的這種要求已經不那么普遍了。供應商已經意識到托管服務可以幫助他們快速建立與客戶的信任。一個網站開發供應商聲明:

“你可以向客戶展示你的營業執照和各種證書，以證明你是合法的，但客戶仍然不信任你。他們把錢交給了ZBJ，所以更容易達成交易。”

The escrow services allow clients to pay vendors periodically based on vendors’ performance. For a regular project, payment is broken into three installments: the initial, interim, and final payment. Initial payment is automatically paid at the beginning of the contract, but clients authorize the interim and final payments only when they are satisfied with the deliverables.
第三方托管服務允許客戶根據供應商的表現定期向供應商付款。對于一個常規項目，付款分為三個部分:初始付款、中期付款和最終付款。初始付款在合同開始時自動支付，但客戶只有在對交付物滿意時才授權中期和最終付款。

The escrow services also include a recourse service. Clients can request recourse when they are not satisfied with the final output. Simple requests are handled by the transaction counselors. Some requests are more complex, because they involve conflicts and require arbitration. For example, a client may deem that a vendor has failed to provide a service in line with prior agreements, while the vendor claims that they have. Arbitrations are handled by designated committees. The committees include members from ZBJ, the client community, and the vendor community to ensure fair verdicts. ZBJ has built a reputation for fair recourse and arbitration procedures, and this reputation has attracted both clients and vendors. Although the procedures are fair, once a client lodges a recourse request or is involved in an arbitration, they have already lost trust in the vendor. To prevent clients from reaching this stage, ZBJ attempts to resolve conflicts harmoniously before they escalate. We will describe this mechanism in the cooperation phase.
托管服務還包括追索服務。當客戶對最終的輸出結果不滿意時，可以請求追索權。簡單的請求由交易顧問處理。有些請求比較復雜，因為它們涉及沖突，需要仲裁。例如，客戶可能認為供應商沒有按照之前的協議提供服務，而供應商則聲稱他們有。仲裁由指定的委員會處理。委員會包括來自ZBJ、客戶社區和供應商社區的成員，以確保公平的裁決。ZBJ在公平申訴和仲裁程序方面建立了聲譽，這種聲譽吸引了客戶和供應商。雖然程序是公平的，一旦客戶提出追索權要求或參與仲裁，他們已經失去了對供應商的信任。為了防止客戶達到這個階段，ZBJ試圖在沖突升級之前和諧地解決沖突。我們將在合作階段介紹這一機制。

The second effective IM in the vendor selection phase is a feedback mechanism, which allows potential clients to assess a vendor’s integrity. All the clients we interviewed stated that they relied heavily on previous clients’ feedback in making purchase decisions. They believed that other clients had no incentive to provide inaccurate information. Many stated that they would not consider a vendor who had no feedback comments or only a few. Feedback also allows clients to assess a vendor’s ability. To make assessment more effective, ZBJ links feedback comments to specific projects. According to the head of the transaction counseling department:
“A website development vendor may be known for her PHP development skills, but may not be good at H5 development. It’s important to link comments to specific projects.”
供應商選擇階段的第二個有效IM是反饋機制，它允許潛在客戶評估供應商的誠實性。我們采訪的所有客戶都表示，他們在做出購買決定時非常依賴以前客戶的反饋。他們認為其他客戶沒有提供不準確信息的動機。許多人表示，他們不會考慮沒有反饋意見或只有少數反饋意見的供應商。反饋還允許客戶評估供應商的能力。為了使評估更有效，ZBJ將反饋意見鏈接到特定的項目。據交易咨詢部門負責人表示:

“一個網站開發供應商可能因為她的PHP開發技能而出名，但可能不擅長H5開發。將評論與具體項目聯系起來很重要。”

Given the importance of the feedback, there were cases where vendors created a fake client account to transact with themselves and leave positive reviews. In response, ZBJ imposed severe penalties on such fraud. A vendor’s store can be shut down for several months.
考慮到反饋的重要性，有些情況下，供應商會創建一個虛假的客戶帳戶來與自己進行交易，并留下正面的評論。作為回應，ZBJ對此類欺詐行為實施了嚴厲的懲罰。一個供應商的商店可以關閉幾個月。

Another IM deployed in this phase is the accreditation system, which ranks vendors on 81 levels. The accreditation is based on a sophisticated methodology that considers nearly all factors related to a vendor’s credibility, such as the number of transactions, revenue, customer satisfaction, and number of recourses. However, despite its sophistication, clients still prefer the feedback comments. Many of the clients we interviewed stated that they were less interested in vendors’ accreditation than what other clients had said about them. However, when two vendors have received similar feedback comments, clients will choose the one with the higher accreditation level.
The escrow services, feedback mechanism, and accreditation system build clients’ initial trust in unknown vendors and lead clients to the negotiation phase.
此階段中部署的另一個IM是認證系統，該系統將供應商排名在81個級別上。 該認證基于一種復雜的方法，該方法幾乎考慮了與供應商信譽相關的所有因素，例如交易數量，收入，客戶滿意度和資源追索數量。然而，盡管它很復雜，客戶仍然喜歡反饋意見。我們采訪的許多客戶表示，他們對供應商認證的興趣不如其他客戶對他們的評價。然而，當兩個供應商收到類似的反饋意見時，客戶將選擇更高認證級別的供應商。

第三方托管服務、反饋機制和認證體系建立了客戶對未知供應商的最初信任，并將客戶引入談判階段。

Augmenting trust in the negotiation phase
In this phase, clients negotiate with the chosen vendor concerning deliverables and contract prices. Unlike products, services are customized based on clients’ specific requirements and those requirements are often vague and evolving. Uncertainty thus arises. We label the uncertainty arising from vague and evolving requirements requirement uncertainty.

4.2在談判階段增加信任

在此階段，客戶與選定的供應商就交付物和合同價格進行協商。與產品不同的是，服務是根據客戶的特定需求定制的，而這些需求通常是模糊和不斷發展的。因此產生的不確定性。我們將由模糊的和不斷發展的需求引起的不確定性標記為需求不確定性。

Several clients stated that the results of more standard services, such as translation and copy editing, were in general predictable and satisfactory. However, the results of services that required more customized requirements were less predictable. One client illustrated this by comparing two projects that he had recently completed. The first was a Quick Response (QR) code development project in which he knew exactly what he wanted and the project specifications were clear. The project was successful, and the final output even exceeded his expectations. The second project was in website development, and he was less certain about the requirements. The vendor he worked with did not help him much in clarifying the requirements, and the final output did not meet his expectations.
一些客戶說，比較標準的服務，例如翻譯和編輯，其結果一般是可以預測和令人滿意的。然而，需要更多定制需求的服務的結果是不那么可預測的。一位客戶通過比較他最近完成的兩個項目來說明這一點。第一個是一個快速響應(QR)代碼開發項目，在這個項目中，他確切地知道他想要什么，并且項目規范是清晰的。項目很成功，最終的產出甚至超出了他的預期。第二個項目是網站開發，他對需求不是很確定。與他一起工作的供應商并沒有幫助他明確需求，最終的輸出也沒有達到他的期望。

Most clients are not domain experts in the services they purchase. They lack the domain knowledge to clearly articulate their requirements. Many clients start negotiations with a vague requirement, such as “building an excellent website that reflects our company’s vision.” Because of the vague requirements, clients also find it difficult to assess vendors’ proposals. Many clients suspect that the proposals they receive do not address their requirements, but are most profitable for vendors. Moreover, the inability to translate requirements into clear specifications leaves clients concerned about whether vendors have understood them and can think about the project from their perspective. In line with this, some clients prefer to work with vendors in the same city so that they can discuss the requirements in face-to-face meetings.
大多數客戶并不是他們所購買服務的領域專家。他們缺乏領域知識來清楚地表達他們的需求。許多客戶開始談判時都有一個模糊的要求，比如“建立一個反映公司愿景的優秀網站”。“由于模糊的要求，客戶也發現很難評估供應商的建議。許多客戶懷疑他們收到的提案沒有滿足他們的需求，但對供應商來說是最有利可圖的。此外，由于無法將需求轉換為清晰的規范，客戶會擔心供應商是否理解了它們，是否能夠從他們的角度考慮項目。與此相一致，一些客戶更喜歡與同一城市的供應商一起工作，這樣他們可以在面對面的會議中討論需求。

Some uncertainty comes from the fact that requirements evolve. For example, many software development clients only have a basic idea at the beginning and lack a clear blueprint. These clients are concerned about whether vendors will be too restrictive in their scope and charge them for every additional change beyond the initial scope. A client looking for a website development service stated:
“Vendors want us to give them everything clearly so that they can just spend 1 or 2 days to make 1 or 2 thousand RMB. But it’s difficult to give all the specifications up front. If I can do so, I probably don’t need their help.”
需求不斷演變這一事實帶來了一些不確定性。例如，許多軟件開發客戶在一開始只有一個基本的想法，缺乏一個清晰的藍圖。這些客戶關心的是供應商是否在他們的范圍內有太多的限制，并對超出初始范圍的每一個額外的變更收取費用。一個尋求網站開發服務的客戶說:

“供應商希望我們把所有的東西都給他們，這樣他們就可以用一兩天的時間賺到1到2千元。但是很難預先給出所有的規格。如果我能做到這一點，我可能就不需要他們的幫助了。”

ZBJ has deployed IMs to reduce requirements uncertainty and to facilitate transaction success. The key IMs include requirements analysis services and contract formation services. ZBJ deploys transaction counselors to help clients produce concrete requirements. Sometimes, adjustments are needed, because the requirements are unrealistic. A transaction counselor for website and software development stated that:
“Last week, I was approached by a client who wanted to build an App, but only had a budget of 5 k. A vendor asked for 100 thousand, which was not unreasonable, but the client felt it was outrageous. After analyzing his requirements, I recommended a Wechat corporate account, which was sufficient for his needs and much cheaper”
ZBJ已經部署了IMs來減少需求的不確定性并促進事務的成功。關鍵的IMs包括需求分析服務和合同形成服務。ZBJ配備交易顧問，幫助客戶提出具體要求。有時，需要進行調整，因為需求是不現實的。一個網站和軟件開發的交易顧問說:

“上周，一個客戶找到我，他想開發一款應用，但預算只有5000美元。一個供應商要價10萬美元，這不是不合理的，但客戶覺得這太離譜了。”在分析了他的需求后，我推薦了一個微信公司賬戶，這足以滿足他的需求，而且更便宜。”

Moreover, most clients do not have the skills necessary to draft a complete service contract, in the form of a service level agreement (SLA). They do not trust SLAs drafted by vendors either. In this case, ZBJ provides SLA templates which can translate client requirements into SLAs. SLAs are critical to successful transactions. According to a vendor manager:
“Some vendors don’t spend much time on scoping projects. They just rush into an agreement. But later there are all kinds of issues and they may say, ‘I cannot do this or that, because you did not mention this before’.”
此外，大多數客戶都不具備以服務水平協議(SLA)的形式起草完整服務合同所需的技能。他們也不相信供應商起草的sla。在這種情況下，ZBJ提供了SLA模板，可以將客戶需求轉換為SLA。sla對于成功的事務至關重要。一位供應商經理說:

“有些供應商不會在確定項目范圍上花太多時間。他們只是匆匆達成了協議。但后來出現了各種各樣的問題，他們可能會說，‘我不能做這個或那個，因為你之前沒有提到這個’。”

Each service type has its own SLA template. The design of the templates benefits from ZBJ’s experience in conflict resolution. In areas that are likely to lead to conflicts, the templates request specifications. Take website development as an example. The template requests specific information about the number of pages, the maximum number of concurrent users, the upgrade schedule, and the ownership of source codes. Many first-time clients are not aware of the issue of source code ownership, and most assume that they own the source codes. When clients claim source codes, some vendors request additional payment. This has caused many conflicts. Now, the ownership terms are included in the SLA templates. In this case, clients are better informed and there are fewer conflicts concerning this matter.
每種服務類型都有自己的SLA模板。模板的設計得益于ZBJ在沖突解決方面的經驗。在可能導致沖突的區域中，模板要求規范。以網站開發為例。模板請求關于頁面數量、并發用戶的最大數量、升級計劃和源代碼所有權的特定信息。許多初次使用的客戶不知道源代碼所有權的問題，并且大多數客戶認為他們擁有源代碼。當客戶要求獲得源代碼時，一些供應商要求額外的付款。這引起了許多沖突。現在，所有權條款已包含在SLA模板中。 在這種情況下，可以更好地通知客戶，與此相關的沖突也更少了。

Transaction counselors are also part of the contract formation services. They play an important role in moderating prices. Because services are not standardized, two vendors can propose very different prices. For example, the price for a website development project can range from a few hundred to a few thousand RMB. This makes clients anxious about whether some vendors are taking advantage of them. Transaction counselors monitor contract prices and intervene if a vendor proposes an unreasonable price. These counselors also ensure that contracts have the flexibility to handle future changes. These flexible arrangements are often based on implicit terms, and transaction counselors act as witnesses to those terms.
The requirements analysis services and contract formation services facilitate vendors in further developing clients’ initial trust in them and this augmented trust leads clients to the cooperation phase.
交易顧問也是合同形成服務的一部分。他們在調節價格方面起著重要作用。由于服務沒有標準化，兩個供應商可以提出非常不同的價格。例如，一個網站開發項目的價格從幾百元到幾千元不等。這讓客戶擔心一些供應商是否在利用他們。交易顧問監控合同價格，并在供應商提出不合理的價格時進行干預。這些顧問還確保合同具有處理未來變化的靈活性。這些靈活的安排通常是基于隱性條款，交易顧問是這些條款的見證人。

需求分析服務和合同形成服務有助于供應商進一步發展客戶對他們的最初信任，這種增強的信任將客戶帶入合作階段。

Maintaining trust in the cooperation phase
Unlike products, services are not readily available for shipment after the contract is signed. They require cooperation between clients and vendors. In this phase, clients face uncertainty about progress. We label this uncertainty about project status and vendor commitment progress uncertainty. Clients feel insecure when they are not aware of a project’s status. Many client interviewees stated the importance of being on the same page as vendors. While established service providers have standard updating procedures, small vendors often fall short in this aspect, in particular those founded by college students or fresh college graduates. In our interviews, clients often praised these young service providers for their creativity and enthusiasm, but expressed concern about their lack of professionalism. One client stated that:
“I once worked with a college student who halted the development for two weeks, because he had an exam to prepare for … But that boy was a very good programmer. He now works for Microsoft.”

4.3在合作階段保持信任

與產品不同的是，合同簽訂后并不容易提供服務。他們需要客戶和供應商之間的合作。在此階段，客戶面臨進度的不確定性。我們將這種不確定性標記為項目狀態和供應商承諾進度的不確定性。當客戶不知道項目的狀態時，他們會感到不安全。許多客戶受訪者表示了與供應商保持一致的重要性。雖然現有的服務供應商有標準的更新程序，但小供應商在這方面往往做得不夠，特別是那些由大學生或應屆大學畢業生創建的供應商。在我們的采訪中，客戶經常稱贊這些年輕的服務提供商的創造力和熱情，但對他們缺乏專業精神表示擔憂。一個客戶說:

“我曾經和一個大學生一起工作，他停止了開發兩個星期，因為他要準備一場考試……但那個男孩是一個非常好的程序員。”他現在在微軟工作。”

Second, clients also have concerns regarding vendors’ commitment during project implementation. Several clients reported post contract shirking. According to ZBJ employees who manage vendors, an important reason for such shirking is that vendors tend to underestimate the workload and take on projects that exceed their capacity. A client who purchased a photo editing service stated that:
“I once had over 20 pictures that needed to be edited. The first few were edited well, but then the quality started to decline. Later, I learned that the first batch were edited by the director, who then passed the project to a new employee.”
其次，客戶還擔心供應商在項目實施期間的承諾。一些客戶報告稱，他們在合同到期后逃避責任。ZBJ負責管理供應商的員工表示，這種逃避的一個重要原因是，供應商往往會低估工作量，承擔超出其能力的項目。一位購買了照片編輯服務的客戶說:

“我曾經有20多張照片需要編輯。最初的幾部編輯得很好，但后來質量開始下降。后來我了解到，第一批是由主任編輯的，然后他把項目交給了一名新員工。”

Several IMs have been deployed to reduce progress uncertainty. The key ones include periodical evaluation and harmonious conflict resolution. ZBJ provides clients with an online management tool to monitor project progress. The tool allows clients to establish check-up points and link check-up results to payment. Vendors who fail a check-up will not receive subsequent payments. If a client deems that a project is not going in the intended direction or that the vendor is unable to complete the task, they can cancel the project and stop further payment. When a vendor has failed several check-ups in its portfolio, ZBJ does not allow it to take on new projects and requests it to focus on projects already underway.
已部署了多個IM，以減少進度不確定性。 關鍵包括定期評估和解決沖突。 ZBJ為客戶提供了一個在線管理工具來監視項目進度。該工具允許客戶建立檢查點，并將檢查結果與付款鏈接起來。沒有通過檢查的供應商將不會收到后續付款。如果客戶認為項目沒有按照預期的方向進行，或者供應商無法完成任務，他們可以取消項目并停止進一步付款。當一個供應商在其產品組合中幾次檢查失敗時，ZBJ不允許它接受新的項目，并要求它專注于已經在進行的項目。

Some clients lack the domain expertise to evaluate progress. Such clients can seek help from transaction counselors. One transaction counselor stated that:
“We usually step in at the middle of a project to check whether the vendor has the ability to deliver and whether the deliverables are satisfactory. Before the deadline, we may step in again to prevent issues that may cause conflicts.”
一些客戶缺乏評估進度的領域專業知識。 這些客戶可以尋求交易顧問的幫助。 一位交易顧問說：

“我們通常會在項目進行到一半時介入，檢查供應商是否有能力交付，以及交付結果是否令人滿意。”在最后期限之前，我們可能會再次介入，防止可能導致沖突的問題。”

Moreover, conflicts are inherent in interorganizational relationships like outsourcing, given the factors of goal divergence and vendors’ tendency toward opportunism. If conflicts are not resolved properly, they can damage trust and cause early termination of contracts. There are two types of conflict resolution. One is through arbitration. As mentioned above, once a client reaches this stage, they have already lost trust in the vendor. The other is through harmonious conflict resolution, which aims to form a consensus and achieve mutually a satisfactory resolution (Goo et al., 2009). The key to harmonious conflict resolution is mitigating misunderstandings and creating a shared understanding. For example, in software development projects, it is common for a client to request a seemingly trivial change which in fact requires major technical reconfigurations. It is reasonable for a vendor to refuse such a change, but the client may see it as shirking and start to doubt the vendor’s commitment. In this case, transaction counselors can act as mediators to resolve the misunderstanding.
此外，考慮到目標分歧和供應商的機會主義傾向等因素，沖突在外包等組織間關系中是固有的。如果沖突沒有得到妥善解決，它們會損害信任并導致合同提前終止。有兩種解決沖突的方法。一是通過仲裁。如上所述，一旦客戶到了這個階段，他們就已經對供應商失去了信任。另一種是通過和諧的沖突解決，其目的是形成共識，實現雙方滿意的解決(Goo et al.， 2009)。和諧解決沖突的關鍵是減少誤解和建立共識。例如，在軟件開發項目中，客戶通常要求進行看似微不足道的更改，而實際上這需要進行重大的技術重新配置。供應商拒絕此類更改是合理的，但客戶可能會認為此行為是在逃避，并開始懷疑供應商的承諾。在這種情況下，交易顧問可以充當調解人來解決誤解。

Several transaction counselors used marriage as a metaphor in referring to the cooperation phase and described their role as a marriage counselor. As a marriage counselor, a transaction counselor also encourages clients and vendors to communicate as much as possible to reach a mutual understanding and to avoid misunderstandings. For example, when a client and its vendor have not communicated for a while, a trigger is sent to the responsible transaction counselor, who will then look into it and prevent conflicts from emerging or escalating. According to one senior transaction counselor:
“Based on our experience, if a client and a vendor have not talked for a while, it is not a good sign. They are usually not happy with each other, and a conflict will follow if we don’t take action. ”
The periodical evaluation and harmonious conflict resolution enable vendors to maintain clients’ trust during the cooperation phase. A trusted interorganizational relationship leads to fruitful results and a successful transaction.
一些交易顧問在提到合作階段時使用婚姻作為隱喻，并描述了他們作為婚姻顧問的角色。作為婚姻顧問，交易顧問也鼓勵客戶和賣方盡可能多地溝通，以達成相互理解，避免誤解。例如，當客戶與其供應商一段時間未進行通信時，將向負責的交易顧問發送觸發器，然后由后者進行調查并防止沖突發生或升級。一位資深交易顧問說：

“根據我們的經驗，如果客戶和供應商有一段時間沒有談過，那不是一個好兆頭。他們通常彼此不滿意，如果我們不采取行動，就會發生沖突。 ”

定期評估和和諧的沖突解決方案使供應商在合作階段可以保持客戶的信任。值得信賴的組織間關系可以帶來豐碩的成果和成功的交易。

Discussion
In this section, we discuss our findings in light of earlier related work. The discussion serves two purposes. First, it explains how the process model is corroborated by the literature, to show that the model can be generalized beyond this single case. Second, it explains how the process model extends the literature. This section consists of two parts. The first describes the process model of intermediary-based trust development, which consists of IMs that are specific to service transactions. Next, it describes these IMs in detail.

5.討論

在本節中，我們將根據之前的相關工作來討論我們的發現。討論有兩個目的。首先，它解釋了流程模型是如何被文獻證實的，以表明該模型可以推廣到這個單一案例之外。其次，它解釋了流程模型如何擴展文獻。本節包括兩個部分。 第一部分描述了基于中介的信任開發的過程模型，該模型包含特定于服務交易的IM。 接下來，將詳細描述這些IM。

A process model of intermediary-based trust development
The process model of intermediary-based trust development and maintenance involves three phases which correspond to the three phases of a service transaction: Vendor selection, negotiation, and cooperation. This model confirms our postulation that a crowdsourcing intermediary should be involved in trust development throughout the entire transaction, rather than solely in the vendor selection phase. This is a major difference between online product markets and online service markets. In online product markets, trust built in the vendor selection phase can lead to the purchasing decision (Gefen et al., 2003; McKnight et al., 2002), but in service markets, this initial trust needs to be further augmented before a purchasing decision can be made.

5.1基于中介的信任開發過程模型

基于中介的信任開發和維護的流程模型包括三個階段，分別對應于服務事務的三個階段:供應商選擇、談判和合作。這個模型證實了我們的假設，即一個眾包中介應該參與整個交易的信任開發，而不僅僅是在供應商選擇階段。這是在線產品市場和在線服務市場的主要區別。在在線產品市場中，在供應商選擇階段建立的信任會導致購買決策(Gefen et al.， 2003;但是在服務市場，在做出購買決定之前，這種最初的信任需要進一步增強。

Although product transactions may also involve negotiation, the negotiation is usually about price haggling, which involves limited uncertainty (Ou et al., 2014). In contrast, negotiation in service transactions involves high requirements uncertainty. Research has shown that difficulties in requirements specification are an important source of uncertainty faced by clients (Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015). This uncertainty is further accentuated by miscommunication between clients and vendors (Qi and Mao, 2016). Also, clients face uncertainty about whether vendors will be too restrictive in the service scope and charge them excessively for changes beyond the initial requirements (Koh et al., 2004). Unlike product transactions, many requirements in service transactions are constantly evolving (Conboy, 2009) and hard to specify accurately and completely upfront. Effectively mitigation of the requirements uncertainty further augments initial trust, and this augmented trust leads to the purchasing decision. Otherwise, requirements uncertainty could disrupt trust development and prevent clients from signing contracts.
雖然產品交易也可能涉及談判，但談判通常是關于價格的討價還價，這涉及有限的不確定性(Ou et al.， 2014)。而服務交易中的談判則包含了較高的需求不確定性。需求規范中的困難是客戶面臨的不確定性的重要來源（Ye and Kankanhalli，2015）。客戶和供應商之間的溝通不暢進一步加劇了這種不確定性（Qi和Mao，2016）。此外，客戶還面臨不確定性，即供應商是否會在服務范圍內限制過多，并對超出初始需求的變更收取過高的費用(Koh et al.， 2004)。與產品交易不同，服務交易中的許多需求是不斷發展變化的(Conboy, 2009)，并且很難準確和完全地預先指定。有效地降低需求的不確定性進一步增強了初始信任，而這種增強的信任會導致購買決策。否則，需求的不確定性可能會破壞信任開發，并阻止客戶簽署合同。

After a contract is signed, clients and vendors start to cooperate. This cooperation phase does not exist in online product purchase, because products are manufactured without clients’ involvement. The cooperation phase is also filled with uncertainty, especially when there is no face-to-face communications (Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1997). Our study identifies progress uncertainty, which concerns project status and vendor commitment. This uncertainty has been discussed in the IT outsourcing literature. For example, Liu et al. (2011) find that many vendors fail to keep their clients informed of progress and lose clients’ trust as a result. Similarly, Whitten and Leidner (2006) find that many clients feel that vendors engage in post-contract shirking and thus lose confidence in vendors’ commitment. The mitigation of progress uncertainty maintains the trust built in earlier phases and ensures the final success of the transaction.
簽訂合同后，客戶和供應商開始合作。 在線產品購買中不存在此合作階段，因為產品的制造沒有客戶的參與。 合作階段也充滿不確定性，尤其是當沒有面對面的交流時（Jarvenpaa和Leidner，1997）。我們的研究確定了進度不確定性，該不確定性與項目狀態和供應商承諾有關。例如，Liu et al.(2011)發現，許多供應商未能及時告知客戶進展情況，從而失去了客戶的信任。類似地，Whitten和Leidner(2006)發現，許多客戶認為供應商從事合同后推諉，因此對供應商的承諾失去信心。減輕進度不確定性可維持早期階段建立的信任，并確保交易最終成功。

IMs specific to service transactions
To initiate trust, ZBJ deploys escrow services, a feedback mechanism, and an accreditation system. These IMs have been the subject of prior studies on online product markets (Ba and Pavlou, 2002; Pavlou, 2002; Pavlou and Gefen, 2004). The consistency can be explained by the fact that these IMs are deployed to mitigate vendor uncertainty, which is an issue common to both online product and service markets. One nuanced difference is that escrow services are not based on lump-sum payment, as in online product markets (Pavlou and Gefen, 2004), but based on installment payment, whereby clients authorize periodical payment when they are satisfied with the periodical deliverables.

5.2特定于服務交易的IM

為了啟動信任，ZBJ部署了托管服務，反饋機制和認證系統。這些IMs是先前關于在線產品市場的研究的主題(Ba和Pavlou, 2002;Pavlou, 2002;Pavlou和Gefen, 2004)。可以通過以下事實來解釋一致性：部署這些IM可以減輕供應商的不確定性，這是在線產品和服務市場共同面臨的問題。 一個細微的差別是，代管服務不是像在線產品市場那樣基于一次性付款（Pavlou和Gefen，2004），而是基于分期付款，即客戶對定期交付物感到滿意時可以授權定期付款。

In contrast, IMs deployed in the negotiation and cooperation phases have not previously been addressed in the literature. These IMs are deployed to mitigate requirements and progress uncertainty, which are specific to service transactions. Although these IMs have not been examined in the literature, the ways in which they develop or maintain trust can be corroborated by the literature. As a result, they have the potential to be generalized beyond this single case.
相比之下，在談判和合作階段部署的IMs在以前的文獻中沒有被提及。部署這些IMs是為了減少特定于服務事務的需求和進度不確定性。雖然這些IMs還沒有在文獻中進行研究，但它們發展或維持信任的方式可以得到文獻的證實。因此，它們有可能被超越此單一案例而被推廣。

To mitigate requirements uncertainty, ZBJ deploys requirements analysis services and contract formation services. Although vendors offer requirements analysis, clients may not trust the results. Research has shown that analysis by a neutral third party is considered more trustworthy (Lim et al., 2011). These ZBJ services also enable clients to articulate their requirements clearly and reduce misunderstandings between clients and vendors (Qi and Mao, 2016). Misunderstandings are a common factor that disrupts trust development (Goo et al., 2009). These requirements analysis services also reduce the information asymmetry between clients and vendors, and thus alleviate the principal-agent issue (Pavlou et al., 2007). They enable clients to uncover vendors’ hidden intentions and to better assess vendors’ ability. The former leads to integrity trusting belief and the latter to ability trusting belief (Mayer et al., 1995).
為了減少需求的不確定性，ZBJ部署了需求分析服務和合同形成服務。盡管供應商提供需求分析，但是客戶可能不相信結果。研究表明，中立第三方的分析被認為更可信(Lim et al.， 2011)。這些ZBJ服務還使客戶能夠清楚地表達他們的需求，減少客戶和供應商之間的誤解(Qi和Mao, 2016)。誤解是破壞信任發展的一個常見因素(Goo et al.， 2009)。這些需求分析服務還減少了客戶和供應商之間的信息不對稱，從而緩解了委托代理問題(Pavlou et al.， 2007)。它們使客戶能夠發現供應商隱藏的意圖，并更好地評估供應商的能力。前者導致誠信信任信念，后者導致能力信任信念(Mayer et al.， 1995)。

Contract formation services reduce requirements uncertainty by specifying requirements and vendors’ responsibilities in SLAs (Mayer et al., 1995). Unlike SLAs in offline markets, these SLAs are not enforced by governmental agencies, but by the intermediary itself, which monitors vendors’ activities and penalizes activities that deviate from agreements (Pavlou, 2002). This is consistent with a prior finding that traditional legal protection is not effective in online markets (Pavlou and Gefen, 2004). To ensure that contracts have flexibility and clients are not charged excessively for every change beyond the initial requirements, transaction counselors act as witnesses to the formation of flexible arrangements, which are often based on unwritten, implicit terms, known as “psychological contracts” (Koh et al., 2004). By endorsing these psychological contracts, ZBJ provides guarantees to their fulfillment (McKnight et al., 2002).
合同形成服務通過在sla中指定需求和供應商的職責來減少需求的不確定性(Mayer等人，1995年)。與線下市場的sla不同，這些sla不是由政府機構執行的，而是由中介機構本身執行的，中介機構監控供應商的活動并懲罰偏離協議的活動(Pavlou, 2002)。這與之前的發現一致，即傳統的法律保護在網絡市場上是無效的(Pavlou和Gefen, 2004)。為了確保合同具有靈活性，并且客戶不會因為超出最初要求的每一次變更而被收取過高的費用，交易顧問充當了靈活安排形成的見證人，這種靈活安排通常基于不成文的、隱含的條款，被稱為“心理契約”(Koh et al.， 2004)。通過認可這些心理契約，ZBJ為其實現提供了保證(McKnight et al.， 2002)。

To mitigate progress uncertainty, ZBJ develops periodical evaluation and harmonious conflict resolution. ZBJ encourages clients to establish multiple check-up points and to pay vendors periodically based on the check-up results. This periodical evaluation is similar to the monitoring services used in online product markets (Pavlou, 2002), but differ in that it tracks periodical rather than final deliverables; as a result, it affords clients more control over the process (Kirsch, 2004). Transaction counselors also help clients who lack domain expertise to evaluate progress. This is similar to the mediated model of outsourcing, where clients engage thirdparty intermediaries to moderate post-contract execution (Mahnke et al., 2008). Periodical evaluation is also a means of sharing timely and meaningful information between vendors and clients. According to Jarvenpaa and Leidner (1997), such information sharing promotes trust in the interorganizational relationship.
為了減少進展的不確定性，ZBJ開發了定期評估和和諧沖突解決。ZBJ鼓勵客戶建立多個檢查點，并根據檢查結果定期向供應商付款。這種定期評估類似于在線產品市場中使用的監控服務(Pavlou, 2002)，但不同之處在于它跟蹤定期的而不是最終的交付品;因此，它為客戶提供了對過程的更多控制(Kirsch, 2004)。這類似于外包的中介模式，在這種模式下，客戶雇傭第三方中介來緩和合同簽訂后的執行(Mahnke et al.， 2008)。定期評估也是供應商和客戶之間及時共享有意義信息的一種方式。根據Jarvenpaa和Leidner(1997)，這種信息共享促進了組織間關系中的信任。

In harmonious conflict resolution, transaction counselors serve as mediators who help clients and vendors take each other’s perspective and reach a mutual understanding. Research has shown that harmonious conflict resolution promotes trust (Goo et al., 2009). This resolution is provided neither by vendors nor clients, as in the literature, but by an intermediary. ZBJ’s transaction counselors are able to provide harmonious conflict resolution for two reasons. First, they are third-party referees who are trusted by both clients and vendors. Given that trust can be transferred, clients’ trust in the referee can be transferred to vendors (Mayer et al., 1995). Second, transaction counselors are ambidextrous employees who have both business domain knowledge and technical knowledge. The literature has shown that these boundary spanners are effective in resolving conflicts and maintaining trust (Du and Pan, 2013; Levina and Vaast, 2008). Harmonious conflict resolution enables clients to gain a deeper understanding of vendors which enables them to better control vendors (Carson et al., 2003).
在和諧的沖突解決中，交易顧問充當調解人的角色，幫助客戶和供應商從對方的角度出發，達成相互理解。研究表明，和諧的沖突解決促進信任(Goo et al.， 2009)。與文獻中一樣，這個解決方案不是由供應商或客戶提供的，而是由中介提供的。ZBJ的交易顧問能夠提供和諧的沖突解決有兩個原因。首先，他們是客戶和供應商都信任的第三方審查員。考慮到信任可以轉移，客戶對裁判的信任可以轉移到供應商(Mayer等人，1995)。其次，交易顧問是既具有業務領域知識又具有技術知識的能手。文獻表明，這些邊界管理人員在解決沖突和維持信任方面是有效的(Du和Pan, 2013;Levina和Vaast, 2008)。和諧的沖突解決能使客戶對供應商有更深的了解，從而更好地控制供應商(Carson et al.， 2003)。

Conclusions
We conclude this study by highlighting the theoretical contributions and practical implications of the findings, and by discussing limitations and future research directions.

6.結論

我們通過強調研究結果的理論貢獻和實際意義，并通過討論局限性和未來的研究方向來總結這項研究。

Theoretical and practical contributions
The process model of crowdsourcing intermediary-enabled trust development and maintenance is the key contribution of this study. In terms of theoretical contributions, it contributes to the digital entrepreneurship, crowdsourcing, and e-Commerce trust development literature.

6.1理論與實踐貢獻

眾包中介信任開發與維護的過程模型是本研究的關鍵貢獻。就理論貢獻而言，它為數字創業，眾包和電子商務信任發展研究做出了貢獻。

First, our model contributes to the digital entrepreneurship literature by examining the enabling role of intermediaries from a trust development perspective. The literature has recognized that online markets are an important digital infrastructure that enables entrepreneurs. However, extant studies have mainly focused on the entrepreneur perspective and examined how entrepreneurs exploit opportunities afforded by online markets (Avgerou and Li, 2013; Gregg and Walczak, 2008; Leong et al., 2016; Reuber and Fischer, 2010), whereas the means by which intermediaries enable entrepreneurship remains obscure. Our model reveals that an intermediary can enable digital entrepreneurship by deploying IMs that initiate, augment, and maintain clients’ trust in digital entrepreneurs.
首先，我們的模型通過從信任發展的角度考察中介機構的促進作用，為數字創業文獻做出了貢獻。文獻已經認識到在線市場是使企業家得以發展的重要數字基礎設施。然而，現有的研究主要集中在企業家視角，考察企業家如何利用網絡市場提供的機會(Avgerou和Li, 2013;Gregg和Walczak, 2008;Leong et al.， 2016;(Reuber and Fischer, 2010)，而中介機構促進創業的方式仍不清楚。我們的模型顯示，中介可以通過部署IMs來啟動、增強和維護客戶對數字企業家的信任，從而實現數字創業。

Second, our model contributes to the crowdsourcing literature by examining how an intermediary develops clients’ trust. The extant literature has shown that trust is a major antecedent to clients’ intention to engage in crowdsourcing and that intermediaries play an important role in trust development (Feller et al., 2012; Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015; Zogaj et al., 2014). However, it is not clear how intermediaries achieve it. Our process model shows that an intermediary can develop and maintain clients’ trust in vendors through a three-phase process. Each phase involves a set of IMs that address a specific type of uncertainty. Moreover, the prior literature has treated uncertainty as a unitary construct (Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015), but our model divides uncertainty into three types and examines IMs for each. Research has shown that a fine-grained understanding of uncertainty can guide better development of a digital platform (Pavlou et al., 2007). In addition, the majority of the crowdsourcing literature has taken either a client or vendor perspective, but overlooked the intermediary perspective (Zogaj et al., 2014). Our process model fills this gap. In particular, through the perspective of trust development and maintenance, our process model answers questions about how intermediaries operate (Feller et al., 2012) and facilitate the crowdsourcing process (Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015).
其次，我們的模型通過研究中介機構如何發展客戶的信任來為眾包文獻做出貢獻。現有文獻表明，信任是客戶參與眾包的主要前提，中介機構在信任發展中扮演重要角色(Feller et al.， 2012;Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015;(Zogaj等，2014)。然而，目前還不清楚中介機構是如何實現這一目標的。我們的流程模型表明，中介可以通過一個三階段的流程來開發和維護客戶對供應商的信任。每個階段都涉及一組針對特定不確定性類型的IM。此外，之前的文獻將不確定性視為一個單一的結構(Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015)，但我們的模型將不確定性分為三種類型，并分別考察了IMs。研究表明，對不確定性的細致理解可以更好地指導數字平臺的開發(Pavlou等人，2007)。此外，大多數眾包文獻都是從客戶或供應商的角度出發，而忽視了中介的視角(Zogaj等，2014)。我們的流程模型填補了這一空白。特別是，通過信任開發和維護的視角，我們的過程模型回答了關于中介如何運作(Feller et al.， 2012)和促進眾包過程(Ye and Kankanhalli, 2015)的問題。

Third, our model contributes to the e-Commerce trust development literature by extending intermediary-enabled trust development from online product markets to online service markets. Findings regarding the online product markets are mainly based on variance models and focus on IMs that facilitate initial trust formation (Ba and Pavlou, 2002; Gefen et al., 2003; McKnight et al., 2002; Pavlou, 2002; Pavlou and Gefen, 2005). They have overlooked trust development and maintenance, which are critical to service transactions. Our process model shows that to ensure successful service transactions, intermediaries initiate, augment, and maintain clients’ trust throughout the transaction process. Moreover, the prior literature has mainly focused on IMs that are specific to product transactions (Angelika et al., 2012; Pavlou et al., 2007). Our model identifies new IMs that are specific to service transactions and that mitigate two types of uncertainty specific to service transactions. We do not claim that our process model covers all IMs for trust development and maintenance in online service markets. We suggest that an important contribution of our process model is that it offers a new process perspective to explore IMs for trust development.
第三，我們的模型通過將中介支持的信任開發從在線產品市場擴展到在線服務市場，對電子商務信任開發文獻做出了貢獻。關于在線產品市場的發現主要基于方差模型，并關注于IMs，這有助于初始信任的形成(Ba和Pavlou, 2002;Gefen等，2003;McKnight等人，2002;Pavlou, 2002;Pavlou和Gefen, 2005)。他們忽略了對服務事務至關重要的信任開發和維護。我們的流程模型顯示，為了確保成功的服務事務，中介體在整個事務流程中發起、增強和維護客戶的信任。此外，之前的文獻主要關注針對產品交易的IMs (Angelika et al.， 2012;Pavlou等人，2007)。我們的模型確定了特定于服務交易的新IM，這些IM減輕了特定于服務交易的兩種不確定性。我們并不聲稱我們的流程模型涵蓋了在線服務市場中用于信任開發和維護的所有IMs。我們認為，我們的流程模型的一個重要貢獻是，它提供了一個新的流程視角來探索用于信任開發的IMs。

In terms of practical implications, our model can benefit three categories of stakeholders in crowdsourcing: Intermediaries, clients, and vendors. First, crowdsourcing intermediaries can use our model to deploy IMs that develop and maintain clients’ trust in vendors, and thus create a flourishing online service market. In light of the expanding gig economy, we expect to see more crowdsourcing intermediaries emerge. For example, in Europe, emerging crowdsourcing intermediaries such as Jovoto and Twago are gaining popularity. Also, we expect to see more intermediaries emerging in specialized service areas. One example is Catalent, a crowdsourcing intermediary for high-end management consulting services. These emerging intermediaries still lack established IMs for trust development and maintenance, and will find our model useful. Our model differs from prior trust development models in providing stepwise prescriptions and in covering not only initial trust formation but also the further development and maintenance of that trust in a transaction.
在實際意義上，我們的模型可以使眾包中的三類利益相關者受益：中介，客戶和供應商。首先，眾包中介可以使用我們的模型來部署IM，以開發和維護客戶對供應商的信任，從而創建繁榮的在線服務市場。隨著零工經濟的發展，我們預計會出現更多的眾包中介。例如，在歐洲，Jovoto和Twago等新興眾包中介正變得越來越受歡迎。此外，我們希望看到更多的中介機構出現在專門的服務領域。一個例子是Catalent，這是一家提供高端管理咨詢服務的眾包中介公司。這些新興的中介仍然缺乏用于信任開發和維護的已建立的IMs，并且會發現我們的模型非常有用。我們的模型與以前的信任開發模型不同，它提供了逐步的處方，不僅涵蓋了初始信任的形成，而且還涵蓋了交易中該信任的進一步開發和維護。

Second, clients who intend to engage in crowdsourcing can also benefit from our study. They can use our process model to evaluate online service markets and avoid those that do not have effective IMs. Such markets are likely to be filled with lemon sellers and opportunistic behaviors (Akerlof, 1970). In contrast to previous e-Commerce trust development studies, our model sensitizes clients to IMs beyond the initial trust formation phase.
其次，有意參與眾包的客戶也可以從我們的研究中受益。他們可以使用我們的流程模型來評估在線服務市場，并避免那些沒有有效IMs的市場。這樣的市場很可能充斥著檸檬賣家和機會主義行為(Akerlof, 1970)。以前的電子商務信任發展研究相比，我們的模型使客戶對超出初始信任形成階段的IM保持敏感。

Third and lastly, digital entrepreneurs pursuing opportunities afforded by crowdsourcing intermediaries can also benefit from our findings. Similar to clients, they can use the process model to evaluate online service markets. Joining an online market and building a professional identity within it require a significant amount of time and effort. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to choose a market carefully. Markets with effective IMs for trust development are likely to be sustainable in the long term. In addition, digital entrepreneurs can use our process model as a toolkit to analyze the dynamics of an online service market, and to devise strategies that better leverage the resources of the market (Thomas and Autio, 2012). For example, knowing that an intermediary provides contract formation services for trust development, vendors can work closely with those contract formation assistants to gain clients’ trust.
第三，也是最后，尋求眾包中介提供的機會的數字企業家也可以從我們的研究中受益。與客戶類似，他們可以使用流程模型來評估在線服務市場。加入一個在線市場并在其中建立一個專業身份需要大量的時間和精力。因此，創業者需要謹慎選擇市場。對于信托發展而言，具有有效IMs的市場很可能是長期可持續的。此外，數字企業家可以使用我們的流程模型作為工具包來分析在線服務市場的動態，并設計更好地利用市場資源的策略(Thomas和Autio, 2012)。例如，了解到中介機構為信任發展提供合同形成服務，供應商可以與那些合同形成助手緊密合作以獲取客戶的信任。

Limitations and future research
Findings of this research must be considered in light of their limitations, which point to important directions for future research. First, the process model is derived from a single case study, which makes statistical generalizability impossible. A fruitful direction for future research is to verify our model across different crowdsourcing intermediaries. Nevertheless, we posit that the model is generalizable at the analytical level (Lee and Baskerville, 2003), because its constructs and arguments are corroborated by the literature. Moreover, the focus of such single case study is to generate new theoretical insights, rather than statistical generalizable conclusions.

6.2局限性和未來研究

必須根據它們的局限性來考慮這項研究的結果，這些局限性為將來的研究指明了重要的方向。 首先，過程模型是從單個案例研究中得出的，這使得統計通用性變得不可能。 未來研究的一個富有成果的方向是在不同的眾包中介機構之間驗證我們的模型。 盡管如此，我們認為該模型在分析水平上是可推廣的（Lee和Baskerville，2003年），因為其構造和論點得到了文獻的證實。 而且，這種單案例研究的重點是產生新的理論見解，而不是統計上可概括的結論。

Second, the model may not be readily applicable to labor-intensive service markets, such as MTurk. An important reason is that uncertainty in these markets is arguably smaller and different from in the knowledge-intensive markets. For example, on the one hand, clients in MTurk face little requirements uncertainty, because tasks such as data processing and image tagging have clear specifications. Therefore, IMs such as requirements analysis services are not critical, if needed at all. On the other hand, clients in MTurk face uncertainty that does not exist in the knowledge-intensive markets. For example, in image tagging, low-paid service providers often submit arbitrary answers just for the sake of collecting their fee (Karger et al., 2014). A future research could investigate how labor-intensive markets, such as MTurk, develop and maintain trust and compare the results with the findings of this study.
其次，該模型可能不適用于勞動密集型服務市場，如MTurk。一個重要的原因是，這些市場的不確定性可以說比知識密集型市場要小，而且也有所不同。例如，一方面，MTurk中的客戶面臨的需求不確定性很少，因為數據處理和圖像標記等任務都有明確的規范。因此，如果需要的話，需求分析服務等IMs并不重要。另一方面，MTurk的客戶面臨著知識密集型市場中不存在的不確定性。例如，在圖像標記中，低報酬的服務提供者常常為了收取費用而提交任意的答案(Karger et al.， 2014)。未來的研究可以調查勞動密集型市場，如MTurk，如何發展和維持信任，并將結果與本研究的結果進行比較。

Third and lastly, our study has taken a client perspective on trust development. Although the client perspective dominates the eCommerce trust development literature, the vendor perspective is also important (Sun, 2010). In fact, the vendor perspective is especially important for service transactions, because service vendors are as vulnerable as clients, if not more so. For example, creative outputs such as design and writing can be easily stolen by opportunistic clients (Deng et al., 2016); service vendors cannot resell rejected solutions like product vendors reselling returned products, because services are custom-made and not fungible. Moreover, unlike product vendors, service vendors have limited capacity and should only dedicate it to serving trustworthy clients (Horton, 2017). Therefore, future research could examine how crowdsourcing intermediaries develop vendors’ trust in clients.
第三，也是最后，我們的研究以客戶的視角來看待信任發展。雖然客戶視角主導了電子商務信任開發文獻，但供應商視角也很重要(Sun, 2010)。實際上，供應商的視角對于服務事務尤其重要，因為服務供應商和客戶一樣脆弱，甚至更脆弱。例如，設計和寫作等創造性輸出很容易被機會主義客戶竊取(Deng et al.， 2016);服務供應商不能像產品供應商那樣轉售退回的產品，因為服務是定制的，不可替代。此外，與產品供應商不同，服務供應商的能力有限，只能將其用于服務值得信賴的客戶(Horton, 2017)。因此，未來的研究可以檢驗眾包中介如何發展供應商對客戶的信任。

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