Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/310008 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Citation: 
[Journal:] Marketing Letters [ISSN:] 1573-059X [Volume:] 34 [Issue:] 1 [Publisher:] Springer US [Place:] New York, NY [Year:] 2022 [Pages:] 155-160
Publisher: 
Springer US, New York, NY
Abstract: 
Some companies offering online services employ tactics that make it hard for customers to quit their accounts. These tactics are commonly referred to as "dark patterns" and may include hiding the cancelation procedure, asking customers to go through an excessive number of steps to complete the cancelation, or simply not letting customers quit their accounts straight away. Arguably, dark patterns are the result of misaligned incentives between companies and customers as companies can still benefit from their customers' data even if they no longer use the companies' services. Against this background, the authors conduct an observational survey of the state of current market practice and call for future research that enhances our understanding of dark patterns, their organizational antecedents, customers' psychological responses to these tactics, and the wider consequences of dark patterns for firms and markets.
Subjects: 
Dark patterns
Online services
Platform economy
Privacy
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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