TORONTO, ON – New research from York University’s Schulich School of Business reveals how online platforms can foster trust among strangers during periods of heightened uncertainty, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The research, titled “Building Bridges in the Digital Age: How Online Platforms Foster Trust During a Crisis”, is slated to be published in a forthcoming issue of Organization Studies and is co-authored by Maxim Voronov, Professor of Sustainability and Organization at Schulich, together with Milo Shaoqing Wang, Arizona State University, and Runjia Zhang, Peking University.
The research paper examines Tencent’s mutual aid platform, which was launched in China to help users share surplus medicine when the country faced severe shortages following the sudden end of its strict COVID-19 policies in December 2022.
The study identifies three key digital features – verifiability, targetability, and protectability – that enabled platform users to develop institution-based trust, which later evolved into emotional trust through positive interactions. These findings challenge conventional views that online trust is primarily built through rating systems and reputation scores.
“Our research shows that digital platforms do more than facilitate transactions – they can actually build and deepen trust between strangers, even in the face of uncertainty,” says Professor Voronov. “When designed thoughtfully, platforms can have a lasting societal impact, extending trust beyond the digital space.”
The study also highlights the role of platform reputation in the trust-building process. Since Tencent was already a well-established company, users were more willing to try the platform. Additionally, platform improvements based on user feedback helped reinforce trust and encourage greater participation.
These insights have broad implications for digital trust-building in crisis response, online communities, and platform design, notes Voronov. “By fostering both institutional and emotional trust, platforms can strengthen social connections and enhance cooperation beyond the digital realm.”
Maxim Voronov is available for interviews.
Known as Canada’s Global Business School™, the Schulich School of Business in Toronto is ranked #1 in Canada and among the world’s leading business schools by a number of global MBA surveys, including the Financial Times, LinkedIn and QS.
Global, innovative, and diverse, Schulich offers business programs year-round at its state-of-the-art complex at York University and its Miles S. Nadal Management Centre located in the heart of the Toronto’s financial district. The School also has strategic and academic partnerships with a number of the world’s leading business schools in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Schulich offers undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate business degrees that lead to rewarding careers in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, and has more than 36,000 alumni working in over 90 countries. The School pioneered North America’s first ever cross-border Executive MBA degree, the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA. The School has one of the largest portfolios of one-year, specialized Masters programs of any business school in North America. Schulich’s Executive Education Centre provides executive development programs annually to more than 5,000 executives in Canada and abroad.
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