IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/orisre/v30y2019i2p507-522.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of Sponsorship Disclosure on Perceived Integrity of Biased Recommendation Agents: Psychological Contract Violation and Knowledge-Based Trust Perspectives

Author

Listed:
  • Weiquan Wang

    (Department of Information Systems, College of Business, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China;)

  • May Wang

    (United International College, Beijing Normal University–Hong Kong Baptist University, Zhuhai, 519085 Guangdong, China)

Abstract

The perceived integrity of online product recommendation agents (RAs) becomes a critical trust concern when RAs apply sponsorship practices and recommend products biased toward sponsored products. Sponsorship disclosure is enforced by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, but many technologies fail to comply, probably because of their concerns about users’ trust in the biased technologies. By applying the theoretical perspectives of psychological contract violation and knowledge-based trust, we intend to reveal when sponsorship disclosure is most effective in enhancing users’ perceived RA integrity. A laboratory experiment revealed two major findings. First, sponsorship disclosure leads to users’ perceived RA integrity via reduced perceived psychological contract violations of a biased RA, but only for users with high prior knowledge about the prevalence of sponsorships used by RAs in general. For users with limited prior knowledge, the disclosure fails to reduce these perceived violations. Second, regardless of the level of such prior knowledge of users, sponsorship disclosure enhances users’ perceived transparency of a biased RA, which, in turn, leads to perceived RA integrity. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Weiquan Wang & May Wang, 2019. "Effects of Sponsorship Disclosure on Perceived Integrity of Biased Recommendation Agents: Psychological Contract Violation and Knowledge-Based Trust Perspectives," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 30(2), pages 507-522, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:30:y:2019:i:2:p:507-522
    DOI: 10.1287/isre.2018.0811
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2018.0811
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/isre.2018.0811?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bo Xiao & Izak Benbasat, 2014. "Research on the Use, Characteristics, and Impact of e-Commerce Product Recommendation Agents: A Review and Update for 2007–2012," Progress in IS, in: Francisco J. Martínez-López (ed.), Handbook of Strategic e-Business Management, edition 127, pages 403-431, Springer.
    2. Oecd, 2013. "Electronic and Mobile Commerce," OECD Digital Economy Papers 228, OECD Publishing.
    3. Anthony Vance & Christophe M. Elie-Dit-Cosaque & Detmar W. Straub, 2008. "Examining Trust in Information Technology Artifacts: The Effects of System Quality and Culture," Post-Print halshs-00641137, HAL.
    4. Gediminas Adomavicius & Jesse C. Bockstedt & Shawn P. Curley & Jingjing Zhangc, 2018. "Effects of Online Recommendations on Consumers’ Willingness to Pay," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(1), pages 84-102, March.
    5. Nelson Granados & Alok Gupta & Robert J. Kauffman, 2010. "Research Commentary---Information Transparency in Business-to-Consumer Markets: Concepts, Framework, and Research Agenda," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(2), pages 207-226, June.
    6. Weiquan Wang & Jingjun (David) Xu & May Wang, 2018. "Effects of Recommendation Neutrality and Sponsorship Disclosure on Trust vs. Distrust in Online Recommendation Agents: Moderating Role of Explanations for Organic Recommendations," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(11), pages 5198-5219, November.
    7. Pehlivan, Ekin & Berthon, Pierre & Hughes, Mine Üçok & Berthon, Jean-Paul, 2015. "Keeping up with The Joneses: Stealth, secrets, and duplicity in marketing relationships," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 58(6), pages 591-598.
    8. Bo Xiao & Izak Benbasat, 2015. "Designing Warning Messages for Detecting Biased Online Product Recommendations: An Empirical Investigation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 26(4), pages 793-811, December.
    9. Zsolt Katona & Miklos Sarvary, 2010. "The Race for Sponsored Links: Bidding Patterns for Search Advertising," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(2), pages 199-215, 03-04.
    10. Hélène Deval & Susan P. Mantel & Frank R. Kardes & Steven S. Posavac, 2013. "How Naive Theories Drive Opposing Inferences from the Same Information," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(6), pages 1185-1201.
    11. Animesh Animesh & Vandana Ramachandran & Siva Viswanathan, 2010. "Research Note ---Quality Uncertainty and the Performance of Online Sponsored Search Markets: An Empirical Investigation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(1), pages 190-201, March.
    12. repec:dau:papers:123456789/2723 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Krämer, Jan & Wiewiorra, Lukas & Weinhardt, Christof, 2013. "Net neutrality: A progress report," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 794-813.
    14. Vicki McKinney & Kanghyun Yoon & Fatemeh “Mariam” Zahedi, 2002. "The Measurement of Web-Customer Satisfaction: An Expectation and Disconfirmation Approach," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 296-315, September.
    15. D. Harrison McKnight & Vivek Choudhury & Charles Kacmar, 2002. "Developing and Validating Trust Measures for e-Commerce: An Integrative Typology," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 334-359, September.
    16. Paul A. Pavlou & David Gefen, 2005. "Psychological Contract Violation in Online Marketplaces: Antecedents, Consequences, and Moderating Role," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 16(4), pages 372-399, December.
    17. Kim, Peter H. & Dirks, Kurt T. & Cooper, Cecily D. & Ferrin, Donald L., 2006. "When more blame is better than less: The implications of internal vs. external attributions for the repair of trust after a competence- vs. integrity-based trust violation," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 49-65, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marta Ballatore & Agnès Festré & Lise Arena, 2020. "The Use of Experimental Methods by IS Scholars: An Illustrated Typology," Working Papers halshs-03036837, HAL.
    2. Cao, Zike & Belo, Rodrigo, 2023. "Effects of Explicit Sponsorship Disclosure on User Engagement in Social Media Influencer Marketing," SocArXiv b8tsg, Center for Open Science.
    3. Ziliang Deng & Peter W Liesch & Zeyu Wang, 2021. "Deceptive signaling on globalized digital platforms: Institutional hypnosis and firm internationalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(6), pages 1096-1120, August.
    4. Valentin Kammerlohr & David Paradice, 2023. "Interpersonal and Technology-Based Trust Research: Gaps and Opportunities for Research and Practice," Foundations and Trends(R) in Information Systems, now publishers, vol. 6(4), pages 244-321, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Weiquan Wang & Jingjun (David) Xu & May Wang, 2018. "Effects of Recommendation Neutrality and Sponsorship Disclosure on Trust vs. Distrust in Online Recommendation Agents: Moderating Role of Explanations for Organic Recommendations," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(11), pages 5198-5219, November.
    2. Kevin Bauer & Andrej Gill, 2024. "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Algorithmic Assessments, Transparency, and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 35(1), pages 226-248, March.
    3. Wen-Lung Shiau & Yogesh K. Dwivedi, 2013. "Citation and co-citation analysis to identify core and emerging knowledge in electronic commerce research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 94(3), pages 1317-1337, March.
    4. Sullivan, Yulia W. & Kim, Dan J., 2018. "Assessing the effects of consumers’ product evaluations and trust on repurchase intention in e-commerce environments," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 199-219.
    5. Leong, Lai-Ying & Hew, Teck-Soon & Ooi, Keng-Boon & Chong, Alain Yee-Loong, 2020. "Predicting the antecedents of trust in social commerce – A hybrid structural equation modeling with neural network approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 24-40.
    6. Judy E. Scott & Dawn G. Gregg & Jae Hoon Choi, 2015. "Lemon complaints: When online auctions go sour," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 177-191, February.
    7. Sara Moussawi & Marios Koufaris & Raquel Benbunan-Fich, 2021. "How perceptions of intelligence and anthropomorphism affect adoption of personal intelligent agents," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 31(2), pages 343-364, June.
    8. Fernanda Leão Ramos & Jorge Brantes Ferreira & Angilberto Sabino de Freitas & Juliana Werneck Rodrigues, 2018. "The Effect of Trust in the Intention to Use m-banking," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 15(2), pages 175-191, March.
    9. Jung Lee & Jae-Nam Lee & Bernard C. Y. Tan, 2015. "Antecedents of cognitive trust and affective distrust and their mediating roles in building customer loyalty," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 159-175, February.
    10. Ming Yang & Jinglu Jiang & Melody Kiang & Fangyun Yuan, 2022. "Re-Examining the Impact of Multidimensional Trust on Patients’ Online Medical Consultation Service Continuance Decision," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 983-1007, June.
    11. Michael Arnold & Éric Darmon & Thierry Pénard, 2012. "To Sponsor or Not to Sponsor: Sponsored Search Auctions with Organic Links," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes & University of Caen) 201207, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes, University of Caen and CNRS.
    12. Lin Li & Kyung Young Lee & Emmanuel Emokpae & Sung-Byung Yang, 2021. "What makes you continuously use chatbot services? Evidence from chinese online travel agencies," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 31(3), pages 575-599, September.
    13. Ziliang Deng & Peter W Liesch & Zeyu Wang, 2021. "Deceptive signaling on globalized digital platforms: Institutional hypnosis and firm internationalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(6), pages 1096-1120, August.
    14. Malhotra, Neeru & Sahadev, Sunil & Purani, Keyoor, 2017. "Psychological contract violation and customer intention to reuse online retailers: Exploring mediating and moderating mechanisms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 17-28.
    15. repec:dau:papers:123456789/2723 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Dan J. Kim & Donald L. Ferrin & H. Raghav Rao, 2009. "Trust and Satisfaction, Two Stepping Stones for Successful E-Commerce Relationships: A Longitudinal Exploration," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 237-257, June.
    17. David Gefen & Paul A. Pavlou, 2012. "The Boundaries of Trust and Risk: The Quadratic Moderating Role of Institutional Structures," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 23(3-part-2), pages 940-959, September.
    18. Kinshuk Jerath & Liye Ma & Young-Hoon Park & Kannan Srinivasan, 2011. "A "Position Paradox" in Sponsored Search Auctions," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(4), pages 612-627, July.
    19. Gauzente, Claire & Roy, Yves, 2012. "Message content in keyword campaigns, click behavior, and price-consciousness: A study of millennial consumers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 78-87.
    20. Dongmin Kim & Izak Benbasat, 2006. "The Effects of Trust-Assuring Arguments on Consumer Trust in Internet Stores: Application of Toulmin's Model of Argumentation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 286-300, September.
    21. Detmar W. Straub & Donna L. Hoffman & Bruce W. Weber & Charles Steinfield, 2002. "Toward New Metrics for Net-Enhanced Organizations," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 227-238, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:30:y:2019:i:2:p:507-522. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.