On Diffusion and Confusion - Why Electronic Signatures Have Failed

Even seven years after the directive was enacted the market share of EC-directive conforming signature cards is disappointingly low, failing to meet any involved party's expectations. Also the lack of customers discourages companies from investing in signature products and applications. As a result almost no commercial usage for qualified electronic signatures exists. Consequently no customers seek to obtain signature products. With this contribution we examine, if economic principles are responsible for the missing adoption of qualified electronic signatures in Europe. We show that their attributes related to the rate of adoption are far from optimal. We then take a look at efforts being undertaken to increase the adoption of qualified electronic signatures. We conclude the contribution with some recommendations on how to structure a future signature market in order to speed up the diffusion process.

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