Reputation and certification in online shops

Franz Hackl; Agnes Kügler; Rudolf Winter-Ebmer

We investigate the impact of self-organized reputation versus certification by an independent institution on demand for online shops. Using data from a large Austrian price comparison site, we show that quality seals issued by a credible and independent institution increase demand more than feedback-based reputation. This result is important for markets where the market-maker must deal with issues of asymmetric information concerning the quality of goods and services in the market. -- online markets ; search engines ; signaling ; certification ; reputation

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Year of publication:	2011
Authors:	Hackl, Franz ; Kügler, Agnes ; Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf
Publisher:	Linz : Univ., Dep. of Economics
Subject:	Online-Handel \| Online retailing \| Markenimage \| Brand image \| Konsumentenverhalten \| Consumer behaviour \| Asymmetrische Information \| Asymmetric information \| Entscheidung unter Unsicherheit \| Decision under uncertainty \| Social Web \| Social web \| Österreich \| Austria