Strategic signaling through cloud service certifications: Comparing the relative importance of certifications’ assurances to companies and consumers

A multi-perspective lens on web assurance seals: contrasting vendors’ intended and consumers’ perceived effects

“…More importantly, it remains unclear whether these intentions are applicable and relevant in electronic markets because extant research analyzes only seals that are based on ISO standards, like ISO 9001 for quality, ISO 14001 for environmental or ISO 50001 for energy management systems [34,77]. In contrast, web assurance seals in electronic markets are considered as a bundle of signals, comprising diverse assurances, such as security, privacy, availability, consumer-friendliness of contracts, and legal compliance [41,61]. Hence, we are eager to understand vendors' intentions in electronic markets and discuss whether vendors are more internally or externally driven regarding web assurance seal acquisitions.…”

“…Further, it is frequently applied in both web assurance seal research streams: to examine intentions of online vendors to acquire web assurance seals [29,118], and analyze the value and effects of web assurance seals on consumers [3,81]. Because a multi-perspective nature is inherent to signaling theory (i.e., considering the signaler and the receiver as essential building blocks), it provides an appropriate theoretical foundation to explain the mechanisms of web assurance seals and their effectiveness and to compare vendors' intentions and effects on consumers [61,67]. Signaling theory is fundamentally concerned with reducing information asymmetries between two or more parties (i.e., the consumer and vendor) by performing actions to intentionally communicate positive, imperceptible qualities of a signaler [30,114].…”

“…From a signaling theory perspective, web assurance seals have to fulfill several requirements to act as reliable signals [7,61,67]. First, most web assurance seals are costly and difficult to obtain, and thus, signals might not be easily imitated by low-quality vendors as the disproportional investment may not be justified by future profits.…”

“…Similarly, the effect Perceive risk minimization reflects a broader perception of seals. On the other hand, Perceive consumer protection captures the very specific idea of a shop that has to provide a money-back guarantee in case of unsatisfying delivery, which is not part of every seal [41,61]. As one consumer stated: "I see seals as a guarantee of low fraud potential and that I will receive my money back, in case, I do not want the product anymore".…”

“…In addition, research may control for whether consumers understand the assurances the seal under examination provides to ensure that indented effects are perceived, or whether a limited understanding leads to confounding effects, such as only increasing consumers' general perception (e.g., Perceive safety and risk minimization). Online vendors should also carefully elaborate on the content of seals to ensure that they are signaling their unobservable qualities to consumers [61].…”