Antecedents, Processes and Consequences of Web Assurance Seals: A Meta-Analysis Approach

Web assurance seals (WASS) not only address consumer concerns about security and privacy but also promote trustworthiness in electronic-commerce websites. Although literature shows that scholars in the areas of information systems and accounting have studied the effect of diverse factors on WASS performance mostly in the context of business-to-customer e-commerce, the results of these factors are sometimes contradictory. Therefore, this study aims to develop a comprehensive framework of WASS. By conducting a meta-analytic review on the related literature, this study identifies and categorizes different factors that affect WASS performance and then proposes an integrated framework that contains key antecedents, mediators, moderators, and consequences of web assurance seals. This study also provides statistical results about the effectiveness of WASS to provide a thorough understanding of the behaviour of online shoppers. Furthermore, this study offers an opportunity to identify some missing links in the WASS area and discuss valuable implications for both academics and practitioners.