Economics and Social Sciences

Cloud service certifications (CSCs) gain increasing attention in practice as a measure against the prevailing uncertainties of cloud computing, but demand efforts for passing audit requirements. However, research findings on certifications ’ effectiveness are inconclusive. This research-in-progress paper develops a research model to evaluate CSCs ’ effects on two certification outcomes suggested by trust theory and signaling theory- trust and price premiums- while also accounting for trust in certification authority, reputation, personal relevance of using cloud services and self-provided assurance statements. Compared to extant research on certifications, which primarily focuses on privacy and security in e-commerce, CSCs address a novel product category and provide assurances beyond privacy and security, such as availability and interoperability. Furthermore, by investigating price premiums, we focus on a widely neglected certification outcome. Thus, we expect our model to contribute to a deeper understanding of the contextual conditions under which certifications are effective signals and trust-assurances