Third-party Seals Research Articles

Exploring trust determinants influencing the intention to use fintech via SEM approach: Evidence from Pakistan

Many fintech consumers are hesitant to perform online transactions given the lack of trust in online companies. In response to this reality, we construct and evaluate a trust-theoretic user acceptability model for financial technologies. The research seeks to look at the influence of trust on the intention to use fintech. A sampling of potential users in Pakistan is used to validate the model experimentally. Smart PLS 3 has been used to robust the theorized configuration of constructs (structural equation modeling) based on 275 survey responses. Contrary to other scenarios, the findings indicate that "customer trust in fintech" is more important than other aspects in determining technology adoption. Pakistani consumers' intention is positively affected by trust. Trust facilitators influence consumers' trust; among them, trust propensity is the factor having high values, followed by perceived size, interaction with online customers, perceived benefit, third-party seal, perceived ease of use, and perceived reputation.

The roles of user interface design and uncertainty avoidance in B2C ecommerce success: Using evidence from three national cultures

Most related previous studies have focused on measuring B2C ecommerce success instead of exploring its predictors, and even fewer studies have tested their models across diverse cultures, even though most ecommerce markets involve multiple cultures. Our study extends this line of research by newly identifying and incorporating three predictors of B2C ecommerce success’s system-quality dimension: the formatting quality (FQ), picture quality (PQ), and third-party seal (TPS) user-interface-design factors (UIDFs). Given the uncertainty associated with online shopping, we also incorporated uncertainty avoidance’s moderating influence on B2C ecommerce success as one of Hoftstede’s national culture dimensions. Motivated by cross-cultural research suggesting that behavioral models often do not hold across different cultures, we tested our model using a sample of 768 B2C consumers from Kuwait, Poland, and Latvia. These countries represent three distinct and understudied national cultures: the Arab world, Central Europe, and Eastern Europe. Our results support our newly hypothesized model, suggesting that both picture quality and formatting positively affect system quality, while—surprisingly—TPSs do not. We also found that uncertainty avoidance moderates the relationship between user satisfaction and reuse intentions but not the relationship between perceived value and reuse intentions. Finally, we found that our newly expanded model is robust across the three national cultures we explored; therefore, it can explain reuse intentions in distinct cultures and a B2C ecommerce context. This study’s findings present important implications for practitioners and researchers who seek to understand and improve B2C ecommerce success across distinct national cultures.

Public Interest in Islamic Equity Crowdfunding

Equity Crowdfunding is an alternative investment instrument. Indonesia, with the largest Muslim population, is a potential market for Islamic Equity Crowdfunding. The purpose of this study is to identify the motivation of investors to invest in this instrument. There are three subject sizes, namely, related to project funding (network externality and perceived informativeness), related to a platform (perceived accreditation, structural assurance, and third-party seal) related to fundraising (Islamic value congruence, social interaction ties). Belief perspective is divided into cognitive and affective. The sample used is 101 investors spread across Indonesia in a national equity crowdfunding company with Islamic-based management. The data was processed using the structural equation modeling technique using the WarpPLS 7.0 tool. The results of this study prove that cognitive and affective beliefs and network externalities directly influence investor interest. Trust is proven to be able to mediate perceived informativeness on interest. The form of investor cognitive trust is perceived accreditation and third-party seal. The shapers of an investor's affective trust are perceived informativeness, structural assurance, and Islamic value congruence. This finding can be used as the basis for how startup companies in Sharia-based equity crowdfunding instruments build trust and interest.

The role of trust and e-WOM in the crowdfunding participation: the case of equity crowdfunding platforms in financial services in Iran

PurposeThe aim of this research is to examine the roles of trust and electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) in crowdfunding (CF) participation for equity CF by taking into account the following antecedents of trust and e-WOM: intrinsic motivation (IM), extrinsic motivation (EM), deterrents, venture quality (VQ), third-party seal (TPS), value congruence (VC) and perceived accreditation (PA).Design/methodology/approachIn this research, a survey among 408 active and potential funders in Iran was conducted. The statistical analysis used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe results of this research revealed a significant influence of trust and e-WOM on participation in CF for equity CF. Extrinsic motivation had the greatest impact on trust and VC had the greatest impact on e-WOM.Originality/valueThis research extends the equity CF research area to CF success and considers the effects of some parameters on CF participation. This research provides many theoretical and practical implications.

Public Interest in Islamic Equity Crowdfunding

Equity Crowdfunding is an alternative investment instrument, Indonesia with the largest Muslim population is a potential market for Islamic Equity Crowdfunding. The purpose of this study is to identify the motivation of investors to invest in this instrument. There are three subject sizes, namely; related to project funding (network externality and perceived informativeness), related to a platform (perceived accreditation, structural assurance, and third-party seal) related to fundraising (Islamic value congruence, social interaction ties). Belief perspective is divided into cognitive and affective. The sample used is 101 investors spread across Indonesia in a national equity crowdfunding company with Islamic-based management. The data was processed using the structural equation modeling technique using the WarpPLS 7.0 tool. The results of this study prove that investor interest is directly influenced by cognitive and affective beliefs and network externalities. Trust is proven to be able to mediate perceived informativeness on interest. The form of investor cognitive trust is perceived accreditation and third-party seal. The shapers of investor's affective trust are perceived informativeness, structural assurance, and Islamic value congruence. This finding can be used as the basis for how startup companies in sharia-based equity crowdfunding instruments build trust and interest. Keywords : Equity Crowdfunding, Trust, willingness to invest, project, platform, fundraiser.

Fintech Attaining Sustainable Development: An Investor Perspective of Crowdfunding Platforms in a Developing Country

Crowdfunding is a successful disruptive innovation of fintech that substitutes financial intermediaries and contributes toward financial inclusion and sustainable development. The present research aimed at exploring the underlying determinant factors that shape the investors’ intentions to fund in a crowdfunding platform, a phenomenon still under-researched in the developing world. To bridge this void in the literature, we investigated how calculus and relational trust mediate the effects of perceived accreditation, blockchain technology, structural assurance, and third-party seal on the investors’ intention using the SEM technique to analyze the data collected from 110 platform investors in Pakistan. Findings suggest that third-party seal and blockchain technology strongly influence the calculus trust. While the investors’ intention to invest is mediated by calculus trust, the relational trust fails to show any mediation effect, suggesting that investors make investment decisions based on what makes sense to them cognitively instead of affectively. The research was concluded with implications for both theory and practice.

Readability and quality levels of websites that contain written information about anterior cruciate ligament injury: A survey of Turkish websites.

This study aimed to evaluate the contents and readability levels of informative texts about anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on Turkish websites. In this cross-sectional study, online searches were performed using the Google, Yandex, and Yahoo search engines on 16, 17, and 18 November 2020, respectively. In these three search engines, 'anterior cruciate ligament', 'anterior cruciate ligament surgery', 'ACL', and 'ACL surgery' were entered in Turkish. The first 10 pages from each search on the websites were collected. The websites were divided into 3 groups according to their sources. Group 1 was classified as websites prepared by private hospitals or medical centers; group 2, as individual websites of orthopedics and traumatology physicians; and group 3, as non-profit websites providing general health information that does not fall into these two groups. The websites were analyzed based on both the website interface and a specific content scoring guide by two reviewers. The Flesch Kincaid (FK) grade level and the Flesch reading ease (FRE) score were used to determine the readability of information on the websites. Eighty-five unique websites were evaluated. The mean quality score of all the websites was 10.4 ± 4.5 with a maximum score of 25 (range=3-21). No significant difference in quality score was found between the groups. The mean FK grade score of all the websites was 11.2 ± 1.7 (range=7.9-15.3). The mean FRE score of all the websites was 46.8 ± 7.7 (range=24.1-63.7). No statistically significant differences in FK grade and FRE score were found between the groups. Although 59 websites (69%) had a third-party seal indicating the certification of one of the organizations established to provide a standard of health information on the Internet, only 21 websites (25%) were updated in the year before the search. The readability level of the informative texts about the ACL on the Turkish websites was above the educational level in Turkey. In addition, the quality score of the Turkish websites related to ACL was low. The content of the informative texts should be organized while taking into account the patients' literacy level.

Cognition-based and experience-based trust and risk in social commerce in Egypt

This paper examines the impact of cognition (rational factor) and experience on consumers' trust and risk in a social electronic commerce context in Egypt. It also examines the impact of these factors on consumers' intention to purchase online. Data was collected through an online survey distributed to a sample of 599 online shoppers in Egypt. Three electronic vendors supported the research by promoting the survey to their customers. The study argues that electronic vendors' perceived reputation and integrity play a significant role in shaping consumers' trust, while security protection and third-party seals help to reduce perceived risk. The study also has significant theoretical implications for the legacy theories of trust and social impact.

Cognition-based and experience-based trust and risk in social commerce in Egypt

This paper examines the impact of cognition (rational factor) and experience on consumers' trust and risk in a social electronic commerce context in Egypt. It also examines the impact of these factors on consumers' intention to purchase online. Data was collected through an online survey distributed to a sample of 599 online shoppers in Egypt. Three electronic vendors supported the research by promoting the survey to their customers. The study argues that electronic vendors' perceived reputation and integrity play a significant role in shaping consumers' trust, while security protection and third-party seals help to reduce perceived risk. The study also has significant theoretical implications for the legacy theories of trust and social impact.

The effects of perceived enjoyment and perceived risks on trust formation and intentions to use online payment systems: New perspectives from an Arab country

Although there is a large body of research on trust in e-commerce, a crucial gap is that extant studies have not examined the role of perceived enjoyment on trust in the presence of risk perception in Arab countries. In this paper, an online trust model is presented that exhibits the impact of four external factors (personal innovativeness, propensity to trust, familiarity, and presence of third-party seals) on the intention to use an online payment via the mediation of three endogenous variables (enjoyment, risk, and customer trust). The data was collected from Kuwait, an Arab country, with a mixed of data collection survey methods of 150 online questionnaires and 200 paper-based questionnaires. The data was then analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) regression. The findings revealed that customer trust and enjoyment are two important drivers of the online payment adoption, which neutralized risk perceptions. This study discusses these results as well as research and a managerial perspectives that could assist in enhancing online payment acceptance in Kuwait.

The Effects of Perceived Enjoyment and Perceived Risks on Trust Formation and Intentions to Use Online Payment Systems: New Perspectives from an Arab Country

Although there is a large body of research on trust in e-commerce, a crucial gap is that extant studies have not examined the role of perceived enjoyment on trust in the presence of risk perception in Arab countries. In this paper, an online trust model is presented that exhibits the impact of four external factors (personal innovativeness, propensity to trust, familiarity, and presence of third-party seals) on the intention to use an online payment via the mediation of three endogenous variables (enjoyment, risk, and customer trust). The data was collected from Kuwait, an Arab country, with a mixed of data collection survey methods of 150 online questionnaires and 200 paper-based questionnaires. The data was then analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) regression. The findings revealed that customer trust and enjoyment are two important drivers of the online payment adoption, which neutralized risk perceptions. This study discusses these results as well as research and a managerial perspectives that could assist in enhancing online payment acceptance in Kuwait.

A mixed method analysis of the Better Business Bureau’s third-party seal and the extent to which it inculcates trust among consumers

Purpose – The paper aims to answer the central question: to what extent does the Better Business Bureau (BBB)’s policy of providing a third-party seal inculcate consumer trust from consumers to BBB-accredited business members? Design/methodology/approach – For this mixed-methods study, the qualitative section used a phenomenological approach with three focus groups of consumers and business owners. The quantitative section utilized binary logistic regression from consumer survey data conducted in Colorado. Additionally, document analysis was conducted to understand BBB history and policy details. Findings – Consumers who notice the BBB logo are 4.7 times more likely to trust a real estate sales business than if they do not notice the BBB logo. Furthermore, consumers who notice the BBB logo are 17 times more likely to trust an auto and boat sales business when they notice the BBB logo. Research limitations/implications – A main limitation of the study was the inconclusive data that appeared between the qualitative and quantitative data regarding the impact of the BBB seal and trusting home service industries. Researchers are encouraged to further explore how the BBB logo affects trust with home service businesses. Practical implications – The BBB logo retains potency as a proof source of trust in the marketplace. However, the BBB is less relevant to the millennial generation. The BBB should explore ways to incorporate technology through social media and Internet applications. Originality/value – This work has value as the only mixed-method study on this topic, and these findings add to the body of marketing literature by Kimery and McCord, Cook and Luo and Garrett.

Not all seals are equal: An experimental investigation of the effect of third-party seals on purchase probability in electronic commerce

Many online retailers display third-party seals on their website in order to signal their trustworthiness to potential customers. However, it is unclear whether and under what conditions such seals are effective in raising purchase probability. This article adds to the literature by testing and comparing the efficacy of two third-party seals. Both seals are common in the European electronic commerce market, but their dissemination differs vastly. Results from an online laboratory experiment with 300 subjects show that the two seals are not effective on average. However, this result is driven by the low-dissemination seal; its insignificant effect masks the high-dissemination seal's positive effect on purchase probability. Hence, evaluating third-party seals based on their average effect can be misleading. These results have important implications for electronic commerce research, consumer policy, online retailers, seal providers, and market analysts.

Influence of trust and perceived value on the intention to purchase travel online: Integrating the effects of assurance on trust antecedents

This paper proposes a model for the formation of online purchase intention based on perceived value, trust and the antecedents of perceived security and privacy, using the model proposed by Ray, Ow, and Kim (2011) extended to cover third-party assurance seals and related constructs, and examines the influence on trust of consumers' perceived information quality, privacy, and security. A total of 451 individuals participated in an experiment. The partial least squares technique was applied to data collected via a questionnaire to test the proposed model. The results indicate that online purchase intention depends on perceived value and trust. The main predictors of perceived trust are perceived information quality and perceived security. Consumers' perceived security depends on vendor reputation, website investment, third-party assurance seals, understanding of third-party seals, privacy and security policies, familiarity with the website, Internet privacy concerns, and disposition towards third-party certification.

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.

The Value of Online Trust Seals: Evidence from Online Retailing

Although third-party trust seals have been in use for long by online retailers, systematic studies of the effectiveness of these trust signaling mechanisms are scarce. Using a unique dataset of over a quarter million online transactions across 493 online retailers, this study seeks to empirically measure the value and effectiveness of trust seals on the likelihood of purchase by shoppers. The dataset is collected from a randomized field experiment by a large trust seal provider, which enables us to infer the causal impacts of the presence of an online trust seal. We find that the presence of the online trust seal increases the odds of completion of purchase. We further find that online trust seals serve as partial substitutes for both shopper experience and seller size. Interestingly, the effect of the number of trust seals is not linear – we find that the presence of too many seals lower completion rates. We discuss the implication of our findings for online retailers, third-party certifiers, as well as for policy makers.

A trust-based consumer decision-making model in electronic commerce: The role of trust, perceived risk, and their antecedents

Are trust and risk important in consumers' electronic commerce purchasing decisions? What are the antecedents of trust and risk in this context? How do trust and risk affect an Internet consumer's purchasing decision? To answer these questions, we i) develop a theoretical framework describing the trust-based decision-making process a consumer uses when making a purchase from a given site, ii) test the proposed model using a Structural Equation Modeling technique on Internet consumer purchasing behavior data collected via a Web survey, and iii) consider the implications of the model. The results of the study show that Internet consumers' trust and perceived risk have strong impacts on their purchasing decisions. Consumer disposition to trust, reputation, privacy concerns, security concerns, the information quality of the Website, and the company's reputation, have strong effects on Internet consumers' trust in the Website. Interestingly, the presence of a third-party seal did not strongly influence consumers' trust.

The Impact of a Third-Party Assurance Seal in Customer Purchasing Intention

ABSTRACT Although e-commerce is evolving at an incredible speed, asymmetric information and opportunism have increased online purchasing risks and market inefficiencies. The lack of face-to-face contact and the inability of the customer to touch and feel tangible products necessitate that online business must provide customers with reliable information and convince customers of their trustworthiness. While the research on Third-Party Assurance Seals (TPAS) is not new, the effectiveness of TPAS has not been persuasively addressed by empirical studies. Our study is different from previous efforts in that it is comprehensive because it combines consumer trust, perceived risk, and influences of TPAS in the B2C e-commerce context. The results of the study show that (1) the effects of TPAS on perceived risk are channeled through perceived trustworthiness, thus demonstrating the mediating role of perceived trustworthiness in B2C e-commerce, (2) perceived risk, perceived usefulness of website, and subjective norm appear to be significant predictors of intention to purchase from the website, (3) a third-party assurance seal strongly affects online shoppers' perceived trustworthiness toward online retailers, while the seal appears to have little effect on perceived risk directly; perceived risk is strongly associated with intention to purchase from the website.

Becoming a magnet hospital: the role of the perianesthesia nurse

In today’s health care environment, nurses often feel that the care they are giving is below the level of quality that they would like to see. The Magnet Recognition Award is a nonbiased, positive acknowledgment of quality care and excellent patient outcomes. Nursing needs that third-party seal of approval. The purpose of this article is to educate the reader, to explore what becoming a Magnet hospital means to nursing, and to also encourage perianesthesia nurses to expand their involvement in such house-wide projects.

The Role of Third-Party Seals in Building Trust Online

Third-party seal programs, such as BBBOnLine, have emerged as a thriving e-service for building consumer trust on the Internet. Given the impersonal nature of electronic commerce, third-party seals are well positioned to act as the intermediary between competitive online vendors and nervous online consumers. This article surveys the current landscape of existing third- party seal programs, examines their role in building trust between vendors and consumers, and discusses the challenges that lie ahead.