The effects of web accessibility certification on the perception of companies’ corporate social responsibility

While websites are generally effective communication tools for information sharing, marketing, public relations, etc., people with disabilities and elderly individuals encounter considerable difficulty in accessing information through websites. To minimize this, countries around the world have made web accessibility compulsory by law and have implemented web accessibility certification programs. Therefore, the goal of this study is to analyze the effects of web accessibility certification on the perception of companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR). We conducted an experiment in which participants were instructed to browse the websites of two private Korean enterprises that had been granted web accessibility certification. The participants then completed a four-item questionnaire measuring some components of CSR. We analyzed the collected data using logistic regression analysis and multivariate analysis of variance. We also interviewed some of the participants after the experiment to collect more qualitative data. The analysis of results indicates that web accessibility certification marks significantly influence web users’ perceptions of the CSR of the companies that post the marks on their websites. The qualitative data also facilitate practical recommendations for effective web accessibility certification marks. The findings of this study add to the body of knowledge on web accessibility. This study thus contributes to both research and practice in the field of web accessibility.