Abstract
ABSTRACTWhile the importance of information system (IS) certifications to demonstrate compliance with security and personal data protection requirements is constantly increasing, competing (theoretical) viewpoints exist that outline the rationales for organizations to adopt certifications. The results of these competing perspectives are inconclusive research findings in the certification adoption literature. While organizations may use certifications to signal quality to consumers, others mainly adopt certifications to improve internal processes or create institutional legitimacy. To enhance our understanding of the motivation for online vendors to adopt IS certifications, we conduct a literature review and a ranking‐type Delphi study with two unique panels comprising certified online vendors (N = 15) and certification authorities (N = 24). As a result, we provide a rank‐order list of 24 motivators and 17 demotivators impacting online vendors’ intentions to adopt IS certifications. We reveal that certain motives are context‐independent, whereas other motives are specific for electronic markets (e.g., “signal data protection”). We also provide rich descriptions of potential demotivators, thereby increasing our understanding of the boundary conditions for IS certification adoption. Comparing our findings to three competing theoretical perspectives enabled us to derive a typology of distinctive certification adopters: functionalists, institutionalists, and signalers. In developing this typology, our findings constitute a first step toward alleviating the inconclusive findings in the academic literature as well as highlighting differences in motivating and inhibiting factors that impact vendors’ adoption intentions.
Highlights
Over the past few years, online vendors have developed multiple strategies to reduce consumers’ uncertainty surrounding system usage and to mitigate related risks in electronic markets
The recent EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has claimed that novel data protection certifications will serve as the primary means of signaling compliance with the requirements of GDPR
We reveal that certain motives are context-independent (e.g., “increase in sales and profit”), whereas other motives are specific for electronic markets (e.g., “signal data protection”)
Summary
Over the past few years, online vendors have developed multiple strategies to reduce consumers’ uncertainty surrounding system usage and to mitigate related risks in electronic markets. Prior certification research taking a signaling perspective proposes that certifications may act as a market signal of superior quality and thereby, for instance, increase sales (e.g., Terlaak & King, 2006; Gopal & Gao, 2009) Given these competing theoretical perspectives, prior research has debated whether the motives of certification adoption are more internally or externally driven (Djofack & Camacho, 2017). The institutional theory approach has been criticized on the basis that organizations are dynamic and evolving, and they can respond in different ways, according to their internal resources and capacities (Heras-Saizarbitoria & Boiral, 2013) It remains unclear whether these motives are applicable in electronic markets because extant research analyzes only certifications that are based on ISO standards, such as ISO 9001 for quality and ISO 14001 for environmental management systems (HerasSaizarbitoria & Boiral, 2013). We perform a Delphi study to empirically validate whether the findings of the literature review are applicable and relevant in electronic markets
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