Web seals have recently been subject to increasing skepticism from consumers. This study develops and tests a theoretical model of web seal skepticism by integrating multiple theoretical perspectives. We explore how web seal skepticism emerges and harms consumers’ perceptions. The results of an online experiment with 757 participants demonstrate that consumer skepticism increases consumers’ mistrust in information system providers and makes them feel less protected. Our findings also indicate that situational factors (web seal unreliability and seal authority incredibility) are significant antecedents of web seal skepticism and that consumers’ inferences of providers’ manipulative intent mediate the relationships.

卷筒密封最近受到消费者越来越多的质疑。本研究通过整合多种理论视角，开发并测试了网络密封怀疑论的理论模型。我们探讨网络密封怀疑论如何出现并损害消费者的看法。对 757 名参与者进行的在线实验的结果表明，消费者的怀疑增加了消费者对信息系统提供商的不信任，并使他们感到受到的保护较少。我们的研究结果还表明，情境因素（网络印章不可靠性和印章权威可信度）是网络印章怀疑的重要先决因素，并且消费者对提供商操纵意图的推断调节了这种关系。