Individual effects of product quality signals in the presence versus absence of other signals: differential effects across brick‐and‐mortar and online settings

Abstract

Individual effects of product quality signals in the presence versus absence of other signals: differential effects across brick-and-mortar and online settings Dipayan (Dip) Biswas Sujay Dutta Abhijit (Abe) Biswas Article information:To cite this document: Dipayan (Dip) Biswas Sujay Dutta Abhijit (Abe) Biswas, (2009),"Individual effects of product quality signals in the presence versus absence of other signals: differential effects across brick#and#mortar and online settings"If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to study the effectiveness of multiple signals. Specifically, the paper investigates how the individual strength of a marketplace signal varies as a function of whether consumers are exposed to that signal alone or in combination with another signal. Design/methodology/approach -The research uses experimental designs to empirically address the research questions. Hypotheses are formulated primarily based on signaling theory and these hypotheses are tested with laboratory experiments using real consumers. Findings -The key finding is that a signal's stand-alone credibility largely determines whether its individual strength would be diluted or augmented by the coexistence of another signal. Further, when signals with different stand-alone strengths coexist, the individual strength of the weaker signal is higher than when that signal is present alone. These effects are observed in brick-and-mortar and online shopping media. Originality/value -Past research reports mixed findings about whether the individual strength of a signal is diluted (dilution effect) or augmented (augmentation effect) by the presence of another signal. This research attempts to resolve this issue, for the first time, by demonstrating that whether dilution effect or augmentation effect occurs depends on the stand-alone credibility of the individual signals in a mix.

Signaling Service Quality via Website e-CRM Features

“…The combined effect of multiple signals has been explained in different ways. Biswas, Dutta, and Biswas (2009) argued for an enhancement effect in which the perceived strength of a focal signal becomes stronger in the presence of another signal. However, a different view suggests that multiple signals, especially when intended to signal the same underlying quality attributes, tend to create a dilution effect because of information redundancy (Benedicktus, Brady, Darke, & Voorhees, 2010; Pollock, Chen, Jackson, & Hambrick, 2010).…”

Are all signals equal? Investigating the differential effects of online signals on the sales performance of e-marketplace sellers

“…Table II summarizes the extant literature on e-commerce signaling. Most early signaling studies examine how each of these signals influences consumers' perceptions of product quality (Biswas et al, 2009;Gregg and Walczak, 2008), risks (Alicia and Esther, 2011;Biswas and Biswas, 2004), trust (Alicia and Esther, 2011;Arnold et al, 2007;Bolton et al, 2008;Lee et al, 2005;Wang et al, 2004), and purchase intention (Gregg and Walczak, 2008;Wells et al, 2011). Only a few recent studies have considered the effect of signals on sellers' actual sales performance (Amblee and Bui, 2011;Bockstedt and Goh, 2011;Li et al, 2009;Ou and Chan, 2014).…”

Service Quality Perceptions, Online Visibility, and Business Performance in Rural Lodging Establishments

“…Signaling theory provides a framework for studying conditions of information asymmetry (Akerlof 1970). Customers use cues (i.e., signals) to make more accurate assessments of quality when faced with limited information about a product (Akerlof 1970; Biswas, Dutta, and Biswas 2009; Shen, Chiou, and Kuo 2011). If they have incomplete information (i.e., lack intrinsic cues), they make inferences based on extrinsic cues that are readily available and easy to evaluate (Wells, Valacich, and Hess 2011; Zeithaml, Varadarajan, and Zeithaml 1988).…”