Role of Consumer Associations in the Governance of E-commerce Consumer Protection

Despite the proliferation of e-commerce and the growing discussion of how to govern this sector, governance for e-consumer protection is an under-researched area. This study is the first of its kind to employ both quantitative (e-survey) and qualitative (interviews) research to examine e-consumer protection from the view of all three e-governance sectors: e-consumers, e-retailers, and other stakeholders (government, industry, and consumer associations). In particular, this study employed a governance perspective, rather than other perspectives, such as marketing. Focus was aimed toward the tri-sectors' perceptions of six roles of consumer organizations during the e-consumer protection e-governance process. Victoria, Australia was used as a working example. Results suggest that the governance process for e-commerce in Victoria may be compromised due to the lack of overall agreement among the three governance sectors about the role of consumer associations. The tri-sector e-governance model is more appropriate in explaining e-consumer protection than models that eschew the governance process.