Costa, Acácio

E-business certification: new proposal for the QWEB Specification Costa A., Sampaio P., Braga A.C. University of Minho, Systems and Production Department, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal Corresponding author: Acácio Costa ([email protected])

Keywords e-commerce, e-business, electronic business certification, QWEB certification. 1. INTRODUCTION The presence of companies and institutions on the World Wide Web is a widespread fact. The existence of e-business practice is growing, particularly in Portugal. According to a Marktest study that have been carried out between October and December 2008, 1.718 million Portuguese have used electronic commerce sites and auctions. A key factor for the e-business success is the trust that the customer deposits in the service provider, allowing for further visits and purchases in the future. According to Parasuraman et al. (2005), companies must focus not only in commerce but in the entire e-business process, thus giving attention to all phases of the transaction process (before, during and after). One way to tell the customer that the supplier of the service uses a set of best practices is through some kind of certification. A certification is a recognition by an external and independent body of the fulfillment of a set of rules defined in standard or technical specification by the organization that want to be certified. The QWEB specification, owned by the International Certification Network (IQNet), defines a set of rules and guidelines for e-commerce and e-business certification. The last edition available (version 2.0) was published in January 2005. By the end of December 2009 there were 63 certified websites worldwide according to the QWEB specification. Originally from Italy, the QWEB Certification it is used in all over the world. In Portugal there is only one certification body that offers this certification: APCER Portuguese Association of Certification (Associação Portuguesa de Certificação). A complete list with all certification bodies is presented in Figure 1:

Figure 1 – QWEB Certification Entities (from www.qwebmark.org)

2. PURPOSE Our aim is to develop an improved version of the QWEB specification, taking in account the research findings that we were able to identify in the literature review and in the survey carried out. Based on that, we will try to answer to the following issues: - Are there any alternatives on the market for e-business certification? What are their features? - Does the QWEB specification fulfill the most important requirements defined by the customers? - Does the QWEB certification add value to the business? - What’s the opinion of the certified companies, the auditors and the QWEB Coaches (companies that develop websites according the QWEB specification requirements) concerning the current specification? In what ways can it be improved? 3. METHODOLOGY Based upon the literature review carried out, we were able to identify which are the main worldwide certification schemes to certify e-commerce and ebusiness activities. QWEB specification was also analyzed and compared with those schemes. Based on the information gather, we have identified the characteristics of a website that are considered by the costumers as the most important ones. During this phase

we have also interviewed specialists, including auditors and certification bodies. Next, based on the information gathered in the previous phase, we have defined a set of possible improvements to the current QWEB specification and we have developed a survey to be carried out among the certified companies. Based on the qualitative and quantitative analyses that we will perform over the data collected, we will propose a new version of the QWEB specification, incorporating our research findings. In order to validate our specification proposal, we will test it with a QWEB Coach company. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS 4. 1. Literature review According to the literature review carried out three main areas had been identified as relevant to the project: - Evaluation systems of customer satisfaction in ecommerce/e-business; - Logos/Stamps identifying the use of best practices at e-commerce/e-business sites; - QWEB Specification. 4.1.1. Evaluation systems of customer satisfaction in e-commerce/e-business; Following the growth of e-commerce and e-business worldwide, there are a significant number of published works addressing, from various perspectives, the problems related to e-business, including e-customer satisfaction. Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003) developed an instrument (eTailQ) to measure and translate the perception of a customer on the online shopping experience, covering the various stages, from demand to delivery and possible after-sales service. The authors have proposed a methodology in three phases, starting with about 400 questions to finish the survey with 40 questions. The final questionnaire consists of 14 questions, grouped into four areas (website design, fulfilment/reliability, security/privacy, customer service) and 18 additional issues globally and grouped into four areas ("quality, satisfaction, loyalty intentions, attitude towards website"). In this research, the factors' “website design” and “fulfillment/reliability" appear as the most valued by ecommerce users. Immediately afterwards comes the factor “customer service” and finally “security/privacy”. Another important aspect is to analyze the difference between the desired evaluations and therefore reveal unmet expectations. The test group used in this study may not reflect the thinking of a community more diverse and representative of the general population, because they reveal high levels of training and familiarity with

information technology. This could partly explain the low value of security issues item. There was also a focus on one type of asset, which may behave differently from others, and could even have a connection characteristic of a particular population. In Barnes and Vidgen (2002) WebQual version 4.0 is shown. The WebQual was developed based on QFD (Quality Function Deployment), with the first version applied to English schools of management (Barnes and Vidgen, 2000). This work first led to a survey with 24 questions to answer by consumers focused primarily on information quality. Version 2.0 (Barnes and Vidgen, 2001a) adds a dimension related more to interaction aspects, which corresponds to the entire period in which the consumer makes an online purchase, replacing the interpersonal relationship of face-to-face acquisitions. It was applied to online bookstores. Version 3.0 (Barnes and Vidgen, 2001b) comes to review the instrument, cataloguing issues in three distinct areas: site, information and interaction, and was applied to online auction sites. This work resulted in 22 questions, grouped into three categories, including 5 factors in total: design, usability, information, trust and empathy. WebQual 4.0 does not address all phases of e-business, and could even be completed without consummating the transaction. Aspects such as billing, delivery and aftersales service are evaluated. The group of users who participated in the investigation belonged to the university community (students, faculty and staff) and may be not representative of the general population. The WebQual, however renamed E-Qual was used in Barnes and Vidgen (2003) as an evaluation tool of a British government site, maintaining the same structure issues. Having been applied on a platform also informative, responses were divided into two groups: those who only consulted information and those who interact more deeply with the system. The study revealed that the ratings of the second group were generally lower than the first. Additionally it was found that application of this instrument in different areas of ecommerce is valid. In Barnes and Vidgen (2005) E-Qual is used again to evaluate a British government site, but this time allowing the inclusion of open comments from users. These comments led to a qualitative analysis of data using appropriate software (NVivo). These elements were divided into the three categories of E-Qual and have been made equivalence between these terms and the correspondent E-Qual question. Calculating average values of comments, "usability" category appears with high importance, "information" with moderate importance and the others with reduced importance. It was also developed an information analysis of comments, accounting positive and negative assessments to the site. So, they could better understand the assessment of users to the site, for each category. The qualitative results showed a pattern identical to that of quantitative results. The method used to collect comments presents itself very useful, adding to the replies of support inquiries. From all the comments

entered, most referring to negative assessments by identifying a subset of users (the most critical are those who make comments), presenting the categories of "trust" and "empathy" with the lowest values. Based on service quality concepts of SERVQUAL from Parasuraman et al. (1994) with its five dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy), Trocchia and Janda (2003) use a semistructured interview to online stores users to identify the main aspects of the quality of online services. Of the 58 taped interviews, five dimensions / areas were identified: performance, access, security, sensation and information. The authors highlight the similarities and differences with regard to SERVQUAL, identifying the range of goods, safety of the procedures used and credibility of information presented as the aspects most valued by customers. On this last point, the authors advise providers to use the services of organizations that monitor and certify the credibility of the business, with the inclusion of corresponding logos. Authors also recognize the need to test and validate using a large scale sample and multi-item measures. Webb and Webb (2004) present SITEQUAL, a tool to obtain feedback from e-commerce users. With him claim that consumer expectations can be translated into clues for a better development of sites by analysts / programmers. Building on earlier work by the same authors (Webb and Webb, 2001), presents the factors affecting consumer perceptions divided into two areas: service quality (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, tangibility from Parasuraman et al., 1994) and information quality (accessibility, navigation, security, accessibility, contextual, representation, intrinsic quality from Wang and Strong, 1996). They develop the analysis tool, joining the 21 service quality items from Parasuraman et al. (1994) adapted for information technology services, with 22 items for quality information from Wang and Strong (1996). From the statistical analysis of responses, authors concluded that the nine initial factors boil down to 4 for the minimum level desired: reliability, empathy assured, perceived trustworthiness and usability. To the desired level perceived usability factor is divided into tangibility, navigability and relevant representation. Trustworthiness factor is divided into accuracy and security. The study ends with a set of guidelines for ecommerce portals development, according to the factors and their priority. Safety factor appears fairly valued. The questionnaire was tested only on online sales, and the most important aspect was the measure of perceived, minimum and expected levels, allowing a more in-depth analysis and understanding of where they should focus improvement efforts. The study shows that users seek reliable portals, according to user needs, easy to navigate and honest. The questionnaire was extensive, as each of the 42 items is answered in triplicate, which can lead to withdrawal of fill or automated response. Parasuraman et al. (2005) propose a multi-item scale to measure service quality of online stores. Recover the work of Zeithaml et al. (2000), through which identified

dozens of features spread over 11 separate areas. This list identifies 121 major aspects as representative of the 11 areas and builds two versions of a questionnaire. The first version was submitted to a test group (university students). The second version with 113 items was distributed to e-commerce users. By the analysis of responses, particularly of the correlations identified, the final version of the questionnaire was defined: the E-S-Qual with 22 items grouped into 4 areas: efficiency, fulfilment, system availability and privacy. The authors define a second questionnaire, the E-RecS-Qual for complaint, return and refund, with 11 items grouped into three areas: responsiveness, compensation and contact. To the 22 questions of E-S-Qual and 11 questions of E-RecS-Qual were added questions about the perceived value passed by the site and suggested the possibility of loyalty by the online store and user profile data. The statistical analysis of responses led to the conclusion about the reliability and validity of both questionnaires, however was appropriate to make an analysis with more information for E-Recs-Qual. The study end with an evaluation of the weight of each area in the overall result, concluding that the most important aspects are efficiency and fulfilment, the first being related to design features of site and the second with the business support system. Then comes system availability, often conditioned by external factors (communications, client machine), and finally privacy, that can be associated to the respectability of marks used in the study. The study was applied only in two world-class shopping and delivery of products stores, with physical existence. Mohanty et al. (2007) present the different factors / dimensions of quality in e-commerce and propose a set of variables to measure. As quality is multidimensional, authors suggest that organizations need to identify the most important to the business strategy. Two important questions: a) What factors/dimensions influence customers to return? b) What are the steps to be taken to distinguish the business from the competition? Since the aim is to attract and retain customers (loyalty), they mention the work of Kano et al. (1984) on customer satisfaction (Kano Model) which features three levels of customer expectations in terms of products or services provided: - Basic - mandatory requirements; - Performance - expected requirements; - Delight - extraordinary requirements/overrun. In this sense, customer satisfaction can be measured in 24 dimensions, organized as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 – Dimensions of customer satisfaction in e-commerce (from Mohanty et al., 2007)

The authors make a presentation of each of the 24 dimensions based on extensive literature review, including subdivisions and technical and technological implementation aspects. They identify as key point to the achievement of good business performance the need for quantitative measures to each function, enabling continuous improvement and identification of potential problems. The authors present, for each of the 24 dimensions mentioned the attributes and associated quantitative measures identified as critical to customer satisfaction, thereby creating a panel to assist business management that includes dozens of variables. But as the financial, technical and human organizations are limited, they should select the issues to monitor, matching the most valued by customers, and knowing the existing capacities, identifying the dimensions to improve, thus defining a strategy for the business. In this work stands out clearly the extensive literature review undertaken to support the characterization of the 24 dimensions of quality identified as well as the large number of indicators and measures defined. The difficulty may arise when selecting the most important and directly related aspects to improve, as well as in collecting the necessary data. Being a work-oriented essentially based on the literature, it can be improved with a case study of implementation.

security stamps improves business performance. The results indicate a limited effect, conditioned by the user's knowledge on safety. In another way, Hu et al. (2003) test the effect of some of the most popular logos (VeriSign Secure Site, BizRate, TRUST.e, BBBOnLineReliability Program and AOL Certified Merchant Guarantee) on purchase intentions in the portal. They note a general increase in purchase intentions after the introduction of stamps, particularly with logos related to guarantees, security and trust. In Kim et al. (2008), the authors attempt to evaluate whether an information campaign on security stamps among users increased awareness and importance attached to stamps and increases the perception of privacy, security and information quality. They use a set of university students to answer a survey after using a Business-to-Consumer site. Users receive a session on security issues, privacy and fraud on the Web, and then repeat the previous experience with new fill in the questionnaire. Statistical analysis on users’ responses has confirmed the first two hypotheses (increased awareness and importance attached to stamps) but did not confirm the other (increased perception of privacy, security and quality of information). It means that the assessment of service has not changed only by the introduction of stamps, which appears to be normal. Currently there are several organizations that provide online certification services. One of the most popular is Verisign, the leader in issuing SSL Certificates (Secure Sockets Layer) to implement secure sessions on Internet. According to the company, there are over 90,000 hosted domains in 145 different countries with Verisign symbol. Organizations that purchase a Verisign certificate can include the Verisign Stamp in the website, informing customers of the company's concern with security issues. It is presented in Figure 3 the stamp currently in use.

Figure 3 – Verisign Stamp

4.1.2. Logos/Stamps identifying the use of best practices at e-commerce/e-business sites; One way to tell the customer that the supplier of the service uses a set of best practices is through some kind of certification. A certification is recognition by an external and independent entity of the fulfillment by the organization of a certain set of rules defined in a normative reference or technical specification. In ebusiness, the supplier includes in the site the certification stamp. According to Kim et al. (2004) certificates can be classified in three areas: security (eg Verisign, WebTrust), privacy (eg WebTrust Trust.e, BBBOnline Privacy) and business integrity (eg BBBOnline Reliability, BizRate.com certified). In this study, the authors attempt to evaluate whether the introduction of

(from www.verisign.com)

VeriSign is focused only on security issues. BBB - Better Business Bureaus, is a nonprofits North American (and Canada) founded in 1912 with the goal of promoting clear behaviours, honest and ethically correct marketing and mediate disputes between customers and suppliers. In the particular case of ebusiness, is to ensure trust between online buyers and sellers. Its actions include: - Creation of the business trust community; - Definition of relevant standards for e-commerce trust; - Supports the use of best practices; - Identification of e-commerce models; - Denunciation of deviant behaviour to normative references.

BBB defines confidence in two aspects: integrity and performance. Integrity includes respect, ethics and intent while performance relates to the ability to supply goods according to the defined level of time and device. Trust standards include a set of policies, procedures and best practices focused on how the business deal with the public, fairly and honestly, summarized in the following sentences: - Build Trust; - Advertise Honestly; - Tell the Truth; - Be Transparent; - Honour Promises; - Be Responsive; - Safeguard Privacy; - Embody Integrity. The accreditation program requires the completion of these standards, the commitment to resolving any complaints made by customers and a fee for issuing and maintaining the certificate. The accredited organization has the right to use identifiers stamps. It is presented in Figure 4 examples of accreditation stamps in use.

Figure 4 - BBB Stamps (from www.bbb.org)

TRUSTe program is similar to BBB. Originating in 1997, works only in the United States of America. It has now over 2,400 certified sites, including reference organizations such as Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Nestle, and eBay. One of its functions is to arbitrate in disputes between entities (typically customer-supplier), resolving over 5,000 conflicts annually. Its certification program includes four distinct services: - Web Privacy Seal; - EU Safe Harbor Seal; - Email Privacy Seal; - Trusted Download Program. Stamps for the four types of certification are shown in Figure 5.

- The site must be online or be online in the weeks following; - The company must agree to pay an annual fee to maintain certification. The Accreditation Program of Electronic Commerce (PACE) was created in Portugal in 2003 as an initiative of the Business to Consumer Commission of Electronic Commerce Association in Portugal (ACEP). In 2007 launched a new phase of the project and is eligible for accreditation, all members of ACEP, where the process was free of charge for Company Members. There were 13 websites accredited by this reference in April 2010. The website are subject to an audit process, according to the "Manual of Compliance”. This document contains a set of binding recommendations and principles (optional), covering the following topics: - Legality; - Privacy and confidentiality of data; - User authentication; - Terms and conditions of use; - Intellectual property; - Terms and conditions of sale; - Arbitration and dispute resolution, such as complaints and returns; - Advertising regulation; - Business availability (hours); - Minors protection; - Data updating and content managing; - Ergonomics, usability (navigation) and graphic design; - Accessibility for the handicapped. The Seal of Compliance is the graphic element that represents the contract between the accrediting entity (ACEP) and the website owner, through which he undertakes to meet the requirements in the compliance manual and the accrediting entity agrees to guarantee the monitoring of website compliance and ensure the availability of independent mechanisms for resolving potential conflicts. It is presented in Figure 6 the ACEP Seal of Compliance.

Figure 6- ACEP Seal of Compliance (from www.comercioelectronico.pt/

Figure 5 – TRUSTe Stamps

The system predicts the existence of random and nonscheduled audits or as the result of a formal complaint.

(from www.truste.org)

4.1.3. QWEB Specification Organizations with interest in certificate their electronic business processes must meet the following criteria: - The company must be headquartered in the United States; - The company must have a website or a set of websites with similar privacy policies;

The QWEB specification, owned by the International Certification Network (IQNet), defines a set of rules and guidelines for e-commerce and e-business certification. The specification is based on a set of rules and best practices for key processes and e-business support. If the company implements these rules the website may

have a QWEB certification stamp, attesting to compliance with the stated specification. QWEB Specification version 2.0 (IQNET, 2005) outlines the requirements that entities must meet to obtain the website certification. These requirements are grouped into seven distinct areas: identification of the online supplier, information to be provided on the certified website, on the certified website, transaction management, social responsibility, processing of users’ personal information (privacy), security and quality of the e-business process (control, complaints and corrective actions). The website certification process is based on a third party audit to certify compliance with items. It includes a front-office (website) audit for reviewing all online information, and a back-office audit where the business support system is analyzed. Certified website can use QWEB Certification stamp, shown in Figure 7.

- Strategic Management - Customer Support - Website The Section 1 - ”QWEB Certification Mark" was composed by 11 questions that try to address the degree of agreement with statements related to the use of the QWEB certification mark. Section 2 - “Strategic Management" included 6 questions, which try to evaluate the importance and use of strategic management by the QWEB certified companies. The Section 3 - “Customer Support" included 3 questions in order to evaluate the importance and use of this aspect by the certified companies. Finally, the Section 4 – “Website” aim was to evaluate the importance and use of aspects related to the website (15 questions) and the agreement of the certified companies with some questions raised also related to the website (5 questions). The scales used are presented in Figures 8, 9 and 10:

Figure 7 – QWEB Certification Stamp (from www.qwebmark.net)

When the certification mark is awarded, the organization is registered in the QWEB database (www.qwebmark.net), and given the QWEB logo and HTML code to insert on the website. 4. 2. Specialist interview To define the survey, it was important to identify a number of e-business situations, which could potentially represent improvement opportunities for the QWEB specification. The first relevant source of information was the literature review. It was also important to understand the perspective of the certification bodies. For that purpose we have conducted an interview with the QWEB Product Manager at APCER, that is, simultaneously, a QWEB Auditor. The framework used in the interview was composed by the following group of questions: - The QWEB project. - The QWEB Specification. - The QWEB certification process. 5. THE SURVEY Based on information gathered in the previous phases, we were able to develop a questionnaire that was sent to all QWEB certified organizations. A first version of the questionnaire was tested in a Portuguese QWEB certified company. Based on the feedback gathered we were able to improve the survey and reached its final version. The literature review had shown us a wide range of situations that could be considered to this project. The final version of the questionnaire was composed by 44 questions, grouped in four sections: - QWEB Certification Mark

Figure 8 – Agreement scale

Figure 9 – Importance scale

Figure 10 – Use scale

At the end of the survey, there were some open questions related to organization general information: - Number of Employees - Turnover - Type of business (online only, online+physical place) - Activity sector (CAE/EAC) - Country - Certification year (QWEB) The survey was developed in Limeware LimeSurvey solution. LimeSurvey is an open source solution for online surveys. It requires a server installation at user. It was used LimeSurvey version 1.72 on SentOS 5.2 linux platform.

Organizations with QWEB Certification belong to several European countries (Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Finland and France). For this reason it was decided to implement the survey in three languages: Italian, English and Portuguese. 6. ONGOING AND FUTURE WORK Based on the qualitative and quantitative analyses that we will perform over the data collected, we will propose a new version of the QWEB specification, incorporating our research findings. In order to validate our specification proposal, we will test it with a QWEB Coach company. The QWEB Coach is a qualified organization with technical acknowledged expertise to undertake a process of implementing practices in accordance with the QWEB Specification. 7.REFERENCES APCER (2006), “Especificação QWEB”, versão 1.2. Barnes, S., Vidgen, R. (2000), “WebQual: An Exploration of Web Site Quality”, Proceedings of the Eighth European Conference on Information Systems, Vienna, July 2000, 1, 298-305. Barnes, S., Vidgen, R. (2001a), "An Evaluation of Cyber-Bookshops: The WebQual Method”, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 6, 625. Barnes, S., Vidgen, R. (2001b), "Assessing the Quality of Auction Web Sites", Proceedings of the Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences, Maui, Hawaii, January. Barnes, S., Vidgen, R. (2002), “An integrative approach to the assessment of e-commerce quality”, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 3(3), 114-127. Barnes, S., Vidgen, R. (2003), “Interactive EGovernment: Evaluating the Web Site of the UK Inland Revenue”, Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations, 2(1), 22pp. Barnes, S., Vidgen, R. (2005), “Data Triangulation in action: using comment analysis to refine web quality metrics”, Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Information Systems, Regensburg Germany, May 2005, 26–28. Hu, X., Lin, Z., Zhang, H. (2003), “Trust-promoting seals in electronic markets: an exploratory study of their effectiveness for online sales promotion”, Journal of Promotion Management, 9 (1–2), 163– 180. IQNET (2005), “QWEB Certification scheme”, Release 2.0. Kano, N., Seraku, K., Takahaski, F., Tsuji, S. (1984), ‘‘Attractive quality and must-be quality’’, Quality The Journal of The Japanese Society for Quality Control, Hinshitsu, April 1984, 14(2), 39-48.

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