How do assurance mechanisms interact in online marketplaces? A signaling perspective
从信号传递视角研究在线市场中两类保证机制（独立信号与条件信号）如何相互作用影响卖家销售业绩，并发现产品类型（搜索品与体验品）会调节这种关系。
Although multiple assurance mechanisms (e.g., third-party certification, web assurance seals, and reputation systems) are commonly used in online marketplaces to ameliorate transaction risks, there is little understanding about how different assurance mechanisms may be combined, and under what conditions these serve as substitutes or complements. From a signaling perspective, this study examines how two broad categories of assurance mechanisms, those that function as default-independent signals (signals that reveal seller quality in general and offer no direct protection to buyers should anything go wrong with transactions) and those that function as default-contingent signals (signals that reveal seller quality specific to transactions and offer direct protection to buyers should anything go wrong with transactions), interact to impact sales performance of sellers, and how this interaction may be moderated by product type (search versus experience products). Empirical results show that for transactions involving search products, a default-independent signal and a default-contingent signal substitute each other, but for transactions involving experience products, the two types of signals complement each other. The results can account for the effects of combinations of assurance mechanisms as well as how these may be moderated by contextual factors.