Reputation and Certification in Online Shops

Franz Hackl (), Agnes Kügler and Rudolf Winter-Ebmer

No 279, Economics Series from Institute for Advanced Studies

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: Online markets; search engines; signaling; certification; reputation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 D21 D81 L15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21 pages
Date: 2011-12
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https://irihs.ihs.ac.at/id/eprint/2104 First version, 2011 (application/pdf)

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Working Paper: Reputation and Certification in Online Shops (2011)
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