The interplay between IT governance, audit, and security and digital customer engagement: How unspoken electronic communication mediates the relationship

This study investigates the impacts of IT governance, audit, and information security on digital customer engagement with a focus on the moderated mediating effects of unsaid electronic communication (UEC). Governance processes have expanded in significance based on the potential for a foundation of a trusted environment—particularly as organizations in the Digital Age expand their digital operations (Transformation 89–93)—with a solid governance framework, strong IT audit documentation, and cybersecurity penetration over time. The paper commends a conceptual model that designates the quality of governance, audit intensity, and protection of information assets as directly associated with digital customer engagement, as well through indirect connections by their impact on implicit e-signals, which include system reliability, trust cues, privacy assurance, and security pointers. These non-verbal, text-based computer consciousness affect levels of trust, credibility, and perceived institutional legitimacy by customers. The findings recommend that engagement in digital is not only a matter of marketing strategies but also significantly underpinned by governance-based responsibilities and risk management capabilities. The study equipment has valuable implications on how IT governance, audit, and security could be adopted for achieving customer engagement intentions when the digital environment is unstable.