Third-party Privacy Certification as an Online Advertising Strategy: An Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Relationship between Third-party Certification and Initial Trust

The purpose of this study is to assess the possibility of implementing an online advertising strategy using a well-known third-party privacy seal located on the order page of an unfamiliar online retailer. An online experiment was conducted with 223 participants using a 2 (third-party seal: present vs. absent) × 2 (purchase-decision involvement: low vs. high) × 2 (disposition to trust: low vs. high) × 2 (privacy-protection self-efficacy: low vs. high) between-subjects design. The results provide evidence of trust transference from a well-known third-party seal to an unfamiliar retailer website, indicating that seal presence raised initial trust in the website and that the effects of seal presence were mediated by perceived privacy empowerment. Results also indicate that the seal effects were moderated by the level of purchase-decision involvement, disposition to trust, and self-efficacy. Theoretical explanations and managerial implications are discussed.