Digital transparency: Dimensions,antecedents and consequences on the quality of customer relationships

Abstract

This research focuses on transparency in a digital environment, examines how it is perceived by customers through different evaluations (perceived clarity, objectivity, and openness), and examines how each of these dimensions affects customer trust and engagement to the brand. It pointed out that judgments of transparency differ according to the relationship that consumers have personally developed with their digital environment (literacy, consumer acumen, and concern for privacy). Based on an empirical study conducted in e-commerce (N = 445), the results show that perceived clarity – unlike perceived objectivity – is accompanied by a decline in trust and has a direct impact on engagement. On the contrary, perceived openness encourages engagement but not trust. This research highlights how consumer literacy and consumer acumen promote the perception of transparency, while concern for privacy degrades it. Theoretical and practical implications are then drawn from this research.