A Comparison of Marketing and Trust-Building Mechanisms on International B2B Platforms

Mohammad Reza Mahdiyan¹ Fateme Almasi²

1) MSc students in Business Administration, University of Qom, Qom, Iran Email:
2) MSc students in Business Administration, University of Qom, Qom, Iran Email:

IOI Code : ACEE-ACABFB
Publication : 5th International Conference on Researches in Accounting, Economics, Management & Humanities(meaconf.com)
Abstract :
    International business-to-business (B2B) platforms help firms find foreign buyers and present value propositions, yet visibility alone does not secure engagement: buyers also need credible information and confidence in suppliers, the platform and the transaction process. This paper compares marketing and trust-building mechanisms on international B2B platforms and clarifies where their functions differ, overlap and complement each other. It is a targeted integrative review, not a systematic review or an empirical test, of eleven peer-reviewed studies published between 2021 and 2025 on B2B online reviews, supplier communication and matching, platform governance, cross-border platform use, buyer attention and transaction affordances, interpreted through signaling theory and trust theory. The synthesis indicates that trust-building mechanisms (credible signals, platform rules, monitoring and relational governance) reduce information asymmetry and perceived risk, whereas the marketing side rests on less direct evidence: platform use is linked to foreign buyer contact, platform recommendation design to matching and supplier capabilities to buyer attention, while the effect of specific marketing instruments remains untested and one seller-side study finds no significant relationship between marketing capability and cross-border e-commerce performance. Online reviews, supplier communication and transaction features serve both functions. Evidence on governance comes mainly from sellers and evidence on signals mainly from buyers, which limits any single buyer-journey model. The paper contributes a comparative matrix, an evidence-qualified framework linking mechanisms to visibility, credibility, perceived risk, engagement and relationship development, and four propositions for empirical testing, with implications for exporters and platform managers.

Keywords : b2b platforms b2b marketing online trust platform governance