Purpose

E-commerce companies use manipulative user interface (UI) designs known as dark patterns to influence customer decisions over internet platforms. Although dark patterns are known to annoy users and erode customer trust, e-commerce companies continue to use them heavily. Therefore, this study identifies and ranks the factors that motivate e-commerce companies to use dark patterns.

Design/methodology/approach

Feedback from 17 industry experts was collected, and a novel causal modelling technique known as the Grey Influence Analysis (GINA) was applied to discover the most important motivating factors in the system.

Findings

Meeting long-term economic goals, leveraging data from the existing users and meeting short-term marketing goals emerged as the most crucial reasons behind dark pattern usage. These motivational factors indicate that e-commerce companies prioritize profits over sustainability and are coherent with the agency theory of corporate governance.

Research limitations/implications

The motivating factors have been identified considering the overall e-commerce industry. The factors may vary for specialized e-commerce sectors.

Practical implications

The study’s findings could help e-commerce managers adopt a user-centric approach and encourage them to fulfil their motivations behind dark patterns via other ethical strategies. Furthermore, company shareholders and managers could resolve conflicts of interest to avoid dark patterns and adopt a customer-centric approach. The study would also spark discussions on digital ethics and prompt legal authorities to devise policies against dark patterns.

Originality/value

The study demonstrates a systematic methodology for utilizing GINA in various domains. Additionally, it advances the literature on dark patterns and online customer manipulation.

中文翻译：

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利润高于原则：通过代理理论的视角揭示电子商务黑暗模式背后的激励因素

 目的

电子商务公司使用称为暗模式的纵性用户界面 （UI） 设计来影响客户在互联网平台上的决策。尽管众所周知，深色模式会惹恼用户并削弱客户信任，但电子商务公司仍在大量使用它们。因此，本研究确定了促使电子商务公司使用黑暗模式的因素并进行了排名。

设计/方法/方法

收集了 17 位行业专家的反馈，并应用了一种称为灰色影响分析 （GINA） 的新型因果建模技术来发现系统中最重要的激励因素。

 发现

满足长期经济目标、利用现有用户的数据和实现短期营销目标成为使用暗模式背后的最关键原因。这些激励因素表明，电子商务公司将利润置于可持续性之上，并且与公司治理的代理理论一致。

研究局限性/影响

考虑到整个电子商务行业，已经确定了激励因素。这些因素可能因专业电子商务行业而异。

 实际意义

该研究的结果可以帮助电子商务管理者采用以用户为中心的方法，并鼓励他们通过其他道德策略来实现黑暗模式背后的动机。此外，公司股东和管理者可以解决利益冲突以避免黑暗模式并采用以客户为中心的方法。该研究还将引发关于数字道德的讨论，并促使法律当局制定针对黑暗模式的政策。

 原创性/价值

该研究展示了在各个领域利用 GINA 的系统方法。此外，它还推进了有关黑暗模式和在线客户纵的文献。