A multi-criteria accessibility index for quantifying digital fairness in e-commerce

IF 4.3 2区计算机科学 Q2 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Information and Software Technology Pub Date : 2025-09-30 DOI:10.1016/j.infsof.2025.107907

Adam Wasilewski , Katarzyna Walecka-Jankowska , Anna Zgrzywa-Ziemak

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Context:

The research is situated within the debate on fair, sustainable, and inclusive information systems. It focuses on the analysis of the digital accessibility of Amazon’s marketplaces and widely accepted standards, alongside legal differences related to the European Accessibility Act (EAA).

Objective:

The study aims to analyze the intersection of digital accessibility and fairness on global e-commerce platforms. In the context of sustainable and inclusive software systems, the study critically assesses the extent to which Amazon adheres to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) in various regional domains. The purpose of the article is to present the proposed approach to studying digital accessibility for more sustainable and fair e-commerce systems.

Methods:

For the purpose of the study, a measure of digital accessibility was proposed, and a quantitative analysis of the level of WCAG compliance was conducted based on the results obtained after analyzing the homepages and selected product pages. The empirical research was repeated twice, six months apart, to observe the direction of change in the context of the need for some marketplaces to comply with EAA regulations.

Results:

The analysis reveals significant disparities in accessibility implementation, often correlating with the presence or absence of international regulatory mandates, such as the EAA. These findings highlight a systemic trade-off in which compliance-driven enhancements in certain locations coincide with accessibility deficits elsewhere. The study contributes to the discourse on fairness in software systems by demonstrating how uneven regulatory pressures can result in inequitable user experiences.

Conclusion:

Using the proposed aggregate measure, an analysis of changes in the digital accessibility of all Amazon marketplaces over time was conducted, showing that regulations affect the fairness of information systems. In addition, the effectiveness of the introduced metric was verified, opening up possibilities for its wider use to improve the quality of information systems.

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电子商务中数字公平量化的多标准可及性指标

背景：该研究处于关于公平、可持续和包容性信息系统的辩论之中。它侧重于分析亚马逊市场的数字可访问性和广泛接受的标准，以及与欧洲无障碍法案（EAA）相关的法律差异。目的：本研究旨在分析全球电子商务平台上数字可及性与公平的交集。在可持续和包容性软件系统的背景下，该研究批判性地评估了亚马逊在各个区域领域遵守Web内容可访问性指南（WCAG）的程度。本文的目的是提出建议的方法来研究更可持续和公平的电子商务系统的数字可访问性。方法：以研究为目的，提出数字可及性的度量标准，并根据对网站主页和选定产品页面的分析结果，定量分析WCAG的符合性水平。实证研究重复了两次，间隔六个月，以观察一些市场需要遵守EAA法规的背景下的变化方向。结果：分析揭示了无障碍实施方面的显著差异，通常与是否存在国际监管要求（如EAA）有关。这些发现强调了一种系统性的权衡，即某些地方的合规驱动的增强与其他地方的可访问性缺陷相吻合。该研究通过展示不平衡的监管压力如何导致不公平的用户体验，为软件系统公平性的论述做出了贡献。结论：使用所提出的汇总度量，对所有亚马逊市场的数字可访问性随时间的变化进行了分析，表明法规影响了信息系统的公平性。此外，所采用的度量标准的有效性也得到了核实，为更广泛地使用它来提高信息系统的质量开辟了可能性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Information and Software Technology 工程技术-计算机：软件工程

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

7.70%

发文量

164

审稿时长

9.6 weeks

期刊介绍： Information and Software Technology is the international archival journal focusing on research and experience that contributes to the improvement of software development practices. The journal''s scope includes methods and techniques to better engineer software and manage its development. Articles submitted for review should have a clear component of software engineering or address ways to improve the engineering and management of software development. Areas covered by the journal include: • Software management, quality and metrics, • Software processes, • Software architecture, modelling, specification, design and programming • Functional and non-functional software requirements • Software testing and verification & validation • Empirical studies of all aspects of engineering and managing software development Short Communications is a new section dedicated to short papers addressing new ideas, controversial opinions, "Negative" results and much more. Read the Guide for authors for more information. The journal encourages and welcomes submissions of systematic literature studies (reviews and maps) within the scope of the journal. Information and Software Technology is the premiere outlet for systematic literature studies in software engineering.