Trust in Cloud Computing: Maintaining Long-Term Relationships
Journal of Information Technology Management, XXVIII (3), pp 25-38, September 2017
Thomas L. Ngo-Ye, Derek L. Nazareth, and Jae J. Choi
This paper examines the maintenance of trust relationships in a cloud computing environment. It specifically examines the impact of trust violations and subsequent attempts to repair the relationship in an environment characterized by multiple cloud service providers, and switching between providers is permitted. The paper develops an agent-based simulation model to probe the dynamic interaction among multiple cloud service providers and cloud service customers. The model assumes that customers select service providers on the basis of the price and trustworthiness of the services they provide. In the event of a trust violation, which typically involves a breach of contract, customers have the option to switch providers or withdraw from the cloud environment altogether. The nature and extent of the reconciliation effort will also shape the customers’ decision. The model is assembled in a manner that permits varying the number of providers, the number of customers, the severity of the trust violation, the extent of the remedial action, and the prevailing economic conditions. This paper examines the effect of trust violation severity and remedial action appropriateness, under a variety of economic conditions. A model is executed for a variety of scenarios. The results indicate that there is a clear interaction effect between trust violation severity and economic conditions. Implications for cloud providers are discussed.