Digital exchange compromises: Teetering priorities of consumers and organizations at the iron triangle

Journal of Consumer Affairs

Societal well-being is challenged by the complexity and intangibility of the compromises inherent in digital exchanges. Increasingly these exchanges rely on technology, with competing priorities that challenge cooperation and communication among key parties involved. The authors examine the factors that drive tensions between consumers and organizations in digital exchanges, as well as how and why interest groups, lawmakers, and bureaucrats (also known as the “iron triangle”) try to mediate these exchanges through policy and regulation. By explicating the nature of these relationships, the authors illustrate various trade-offs faced by all parties and depict a novel, comprehensive framework to facilitate holistic assessment of the factors underlying these ubiquitous but complex digital relationships with vague ethical stewardship. This framework serves as a lens to help guide business and regulatory policymaking and as a platform for identifying future research opportunities.