Reputation and Certification in Online Shops

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

No 2011-16, Economics working papers from Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria

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: 23 pages
Date: 2011-11
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Working Paper: Reputation and Certification in Online Shops (2011)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:jku:econwp:2011_16

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