| This study investigates the effect of third-party seals of approval on individuals' trust. Third-party seals of approval are symbols (a) placed on an e-commerce website, (b) provided by an independent business entity, (c) that provide security and validation services and (d) that are designed to reassure consumers that the security policies or practices of the business represented by that website meet set criteria. Sixty-four undergraduate participants were asked to evaluate eight homepages using two measures assessing trust. Homepages varied along four levels of third-party seals. Participants suggested third-party seals influenced their decisions, however, no significant effect of third-party seals on trust scores was found. Results also revealed that the two measures used to gauge participants' trust were commensurable and correlated. |
