Trust, Privacy, and Safety Factors Associated with Decision Making in P2P Markets Based on Social Networks: A Case Study of Facebook Marketplace in USA and Canada

Title of the Paper

Decision-Related Trust, Privacy, and Security Factors in Social Network-Based P2P Markets: A Case Study of Facebook Marketplace in the US and Canada

Paper Information

• Research Domain: E-commerce, Social Commerce (S-commerce), User Trust and Privacy, Security Studies
• Keywords: P2P Market, Social Commerce, E-commerce, Trust, Privacy, Security, Decision-making, Qualitative Research

Research Background and Issues

• Identified Problems or Challenges:

  1. Facebook Marketplace (FM), as a P2P trading platform operating within a social network, poses significant challenges for users in terms of trust, privacy, and security, including fraud, privacy breaches, and transaction safety issues.
  2. FM is deeply embedded within Facebook's social network environment, making it difficult for users to strike a balance between sharing personal information and protecting their privacy, while lacking effective dispute resolution mechanisms.
  3. Existing research primarily focuses on trust and privacy issues in e-commerce or P2P markets, but studies on security factors in social network-based markets remain insufficient.

• Significance:

  1. As one of the largest P2P markets globally, FM has a massive user base, and its TPS (Trust, Privacy, Security) issues impact hundreds of millions of users.
  2. The complexity of FM and its close integration with social networks provide a unique context to explore how TPS factors influence user decision-making, offering insights for design improvements and enhancing user experience.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:

  1. This study addresses the research gap regarding the interaction of trust, privacy, and security in social network-based P2P markets.
  2. A refined framework is developed to explore 78 TPS-related factors in the decision-making process, providing directions for design improvements and future research.

Solution

• Proposed Methods or Solutions:
  The authors conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to collect insights from 42 FM users regarding TPS considerations in their trading decisions, including their experiences, key issues, and coping strategies.

• Innovations:

  1. The study is the first to comprehensively examine the interaction of trust, privacy, and security within Facebook Marketplace and their impact on user decision-making processes.
  2. It identifies and categorizes 78 specific TPS-related factors, constructing a practical analytical framework based on four categories (pre-existing concerns, signals, interactions, and perceived benefits).
  3. It elucidates the trade-offs between trust and privacy, potential misuse of platform features, and the dual role of warning and reassuring signals in user decision-making.

• Implementation Steps and Key Techniques:

  1. Conducted 42 semi-structured interviews via Zoom with FM users in the US and Canada, covering their specific TPS considerations, interaction behaviors, and perceived risks.
  2. Applied thematic analysis to develop a detailed TPS analytical framework based on interview transcripts, ensuring coding consistency and research reliability through cross-validation by multiple researchers.

Research Findings

• Specific Results:

  1. Identified 78 TPS-related factors, categorized into:
     • Pre-existing Concerns: Such as potential risks of trading with strangers and concerns about FM's privacy protection capabilities.
     • Signals: Including reassuring signals (e.g., authenticity of personal profiles) and warning signals (e.g., unusual language, inappropriate privacy requests).
     • Interactions: Covering social norms in transactions and trust management related to platform functionalities.
     • Perceived Benefits: Users' willingness to trade off certain trust, privacy, or security for convenience, interest, or financial gain.
  2. Revealed three major tensions:
     • The conflict between trust and privacy.
     • The balance between the use and misuse of platform features.
     • The dual role of warning and reassuring signals in different scenarios.
  3. Proposed a series of design improvement suggestions for social network-driven P2P markets, including enhancing TPS balance, assisting users in profile verification, and offering more personalized privacy settings.

• Advantages:

  1. Developed a systematic methodology for analyzing complex TPS factors in user decision-making during transactions.
  2. Provided practical design recommendations for future SNS–P2P platform development.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  The qualitative study achieved theoretical saturation through interview data, with coding consistency exceeding 85%, indicating the reliability and reproducibility of the results.

• Limitations:

  1. The scope is limited to users in the US and Canada and the state of Facebook Marketplace at the time (2022).
  2. As an interview-based study, sampling bias may exist, such as participants being more concerned about privacy or security issues.
  3. Did not delve into the specific prioritization distribution among participants, such as the trade-off process of TPS factors. Future research is recommended to investigate dynamic changes.

Future Research Directions

1. Conduct cross-cultural studies to examine global users' focus and priorities regarding TPS factors.
2. Explore ways to optimize user experience in SNS-integrated P2P platforms, such as developing smarter privacy and trust management tools.
3. Analyze the design optimization and usability evaluation of dispute resolution systems for large-scale user groups.