The effects of Web assurance seals on consumers' initial trust in an online vendor: A functional perspective

This research examines the effects of third-party Web assurance seals on consumers' initial trust in online vendors from a functional perspective. The main effects and interaction effects of different seal functions (i.e., privacy assurance, security assurance, or transaction-integrity assurance) on consumers' initial trust are explored. We constructed a 2 × 2 × 2 between-participants full factorial design to conduct this lab-controlled experiment. The results demonstrate that there is an interaction between the privacy and security assurance functions such that the effect of either function on enhancing consumers' initial online trust is weakened by the presence of the other. Privacy and transaction-integrity assurance functions interact in a similar way. Consequently, Web assurance seals with multiple functions are not necessarily more effective than single-function seals in enhancing consumers' initial online trust. As the combined-function seals are currently offered in the e-markets, this finding provides insight to both Web assurance seal providers and online vendors who adopt or intend to adopt a Web assurance seal.