考虑线上线下零售商竞争的制造商双渠道定价策略

根据现有的不同电商销售平台模式,将制造商双渠道销售模式划分为自营模式、平台模式和混合模式.分析在制造商主导的双渠道供应链中,3种不同渠道模式下价格竞争系数和佣金比例系数对其他经济变量的影响,以及制造商的最优定价决策与渠道选择问题.通过模型和数值分析发现,在平台模式和混合模式中,当制造商保证佣金比例系数在一定范围内,制造商利润随佣金比例系数的增加而减少,传统零售商、网络零售商和供应链总利润随佣金比例系数的增加而增加.在3种渠道模式中,混合模式对传统零售商和制造商利润增加更有利,平台模式对网络零售商和供应链总利润增加更有利.     

What is beautiful is good, even online: Correlations between photo attractiveness and text attractiveness in men’s online dating profiles

Attractive people are considered by others to have many positive qualities and in the case of social skills and intelligence, these attributions are often true. In internet dating, individuals with attractive profile photos are viewed more favorably overall, but no research has yet established whether they indeed have more positive qualities. We addressed this issue by having 50 women independently rate 100 photos and free-written texts taken from males’ profiles on a popular dating website. Photos rated as physically attractive had profile texts that were rated as more attractive, even though photos and texts were rated by different judges. Perceived confidence seemed to play a mediating role, suggesting that attractive men write appealing texts because they are aware of their high mate value. Thus, contrary to popular belief, the internet does not seem to “level the playing field.”     

The effect of pre- and post-service performance on consumer evaluation of online retailers

This study examines the effect of consumers' pre- and post-service encounter performance (SEP) on their satisfaction and repurchase intention in online markets. Specifically, we suggest that, in an online context, the different service performances: pre- and post-Service over time, affects consumer evaluation (i.e., overall satisfaction and repurchase intention) of a vendor. We introduce the experience-dissonance process in this research by integrating cognitive consistency theory as well as expectation-confirmation theory in order to investigate the consumer satisfaction formation processes in online transactions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Joint influence of online store attributes and offline operations on performance of multichannel retailers

This study examines the synergistic interchange between online and offline operations. To this end, this study proposed a multichannel performance model integrating Herzberg's (Herzberg 1966 Herzberg, F. 1966. Work and the nature of man, Cleveland, OH: World Publishing.  [Google Scholar]: Work and the Nature of Man, World Publishing, Cleveland, OH) motivation-hygiene theory and Thorndike's (Thorndike 1920 Thorndike, E. L. 1920. A constant error in psychological ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 4: 25–29. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]: J. Appl. Psychol., 4, 25 – 29) halo effect, and empirically tested it. The essence of the model was that e-satisfaction is formed by a varying influence of online (basic and marketing-related attributes) and offline (firm reputation, consumer offline channel use, and consumer offline satisfaction) factors, which then increases e-loyalty. Analyses on a sample of 203 multichannel consumers revealed that, in general, the hypothetical paths were significant except in two cases. In a multichannel's online operation, marketing-related online attributes (e.g. merchandising) exerted significant influence on e-satisfaction, but basic attributes (e.g. security) did not. In a multichannel's offline operation, firm reputation and consumer offline satisfaction contributed to increasing e-satisfaction. Both firm reputation and consumer offline channel use increased consumer offline satisfaction, which in turn increased online satisfaction. However, consumer offline loyalty did not transfer to online loyalty. Theoretical and managerial implications were suggested based on findings.     

Exploring the influence of personal schema on trust transfer and switching costs in brick-and-click bookstores

Due to competition, most firms try to retain and lock in customers; this is likely to ensure a greater market profit than that gained by acquiring new customers. While many studies have investigated customer satisfaction and retention in online and offline firms, scant research exists on customer satisfaction and customer retention in the context of brick-and-click firms: i.e., those that conduct business both online and in stores. Such firms encourage trust transfer among their customers. However, most studies have failed to consider the role of personal schema in trust transfer. Based on social exchange, investment, and information integration theories, we analyzed the impact of trust transfer, switching costs, and personal schema on customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions in the context of an offline bookstore that has now launched an online business. Our results indicated that trust transfer and switching costs had a small effect on customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions. Personal schema, however, affected both customer satisfaction and repurchase intention.     

The effects of the number of alternative products and the way they are presented on the consumers' subjective statuses in online travel sites

Since the Internet can aggregate and distribute a large amount of information to users, providing numerous products for consumers has been recognised as a major advantage of electronic commerce. As a result of information overload, however, consumers facing many alternatives in online shops may have difficulty deciding which one they prefer. Based on the theory of decision style and prospect theory, this study explores whether too many products sold in online shops reduces consumers' subjective statuses towards their buying decision. A 3 × 3 between subjects experiment was conducted and showed that the buyers' decision styles, the quantity of alternative products and the information about it affect consumers' subjective statuses. These results suggest that we should consider the role of electronic intermediaries more carefully, and further examine the theory of information overload and the need for appropriate information literacy.     

Gen Y customer loyalty in online shopping: An integrated model of trust,user experience and branding

Generational theory posits that generational cohorts develop similar attitudes and beliefs. Gen Y, Millennials, will become the largest customer segment for hotels worldwide. This group likes to travel and prefers to spend money on experiences rather than materialistic items. Their responses to online marketing is expected to be different as they process website information five times faster than older generations and are the most emotional and least loyal customers compared to all other generations. The aim of this research is to develop and test a comprehensive model that explains how Gen Y develops loyalty to a hotel booking website. To test the research model, an online survey was distributed to a systematic random sample of 2500 Gen Yers. Findings highlight that trust is the most important antecedent of e-loyalty in online shopping for Gen Y customers. Brand equity is also a key precursor of e-loyalty. Finally, a positive online experience (flow), is also a significant precursor of e-loyalty for this cohort.     

Understanding customers' loyalty intentions towards online shopping: an integration of technology acceptance model and fairness theory

As with any other information system (IS), the success of online shopping depends largely on customer satisfaction and other factors that will eventually increase customers' loyalty intentions. This article integrates two major variables of technology acceptance model (TAM), trust, and fairness to construct a model for investigating the motivations behind customers' loyalty intentions towards online shopping. The hypothesised model is validated empirically using data collected from 311 customers of an online shopping store. The results indicated that distributive, procedural and interactional fairness were strong predictors of trust, which in turn influenced satisfaction. Distributive fairness and interactional fairness exhibited significant positive effects on satisfaction. Perceived usefulness and satisfaction influenced loyalty intention towards online shopping. Perceived ease of use acts indirectly on loyalty intention through the mediating effect of perceived usefulness. Implications for theory and practice and future research directions are discussed.     

Antecedents of flow in online shopping: a test of alternative models

Flow is an optimal state of experience that has been studied in various situations, including online environments. In such environments, it has been found to be positively related to exploratory behaviour, revisit and purchase intention, and positive attitude towards web sites. Based on flow theory, this study tests the complete structure of the flow model as it was originally formulated in an online shopping context. The role of the preconditions of flow is elaborated and the effect of web site complexity, an important interface design variable, on flow is examined. Results show that web site complexity affects flow through the mediating effects of the three preconditions of flow. Theoretical and practical implications of this finding are discussed.     

Sext and gender: examining gender effects on sexting based on the theory of planned behaviour

The emergence and popularity of new communication tools provide opportunities for new sexual behaviours, among which is sexting. Sexting refers to sending nude or sexually suggestive pictures of oneself to another person through digital media. Extending Walrave, Heirman, and Hallam’s work [2014. “Under Pressure to Sext? Applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour to Adolescent Sexting.” Behaviour &; Information Technology 33 (1): 86–98], the present study addressed gender effects on sexting based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). We examined whether women and men differ in their attitude, subjective norm, self-efficacy, perceived control regarding sexting, and their likelihood to sext. We also tested the moderating effect of gender on the association between TPB variables and sexting. Respondents were 381 Chinese students aged 17–24 years. Mediation analysis showed that compared with women, men had higher levels of attitude, subjective norm, and self-efficacy surrounding sexting, and therefore had a stronger tendency to sext. Simple slope analysis revealed that the positive relationship between subjective norm and sexting only existed among women. Perceived control was negatively associated with sexting, and this association was stronger among men. These findings demonstrate that contemporary gender construction provides men with more facilitating factors to sexual activities and restricts women to non-desiring subjects. Although changes in sexual practices occur in the digital culture, gender inequality in sexuality persists.     

The impact of online game character’s outward attractiveness and social status on interpersonal attraction

Online games resemble miniature societies, in which social interactions occur within a virtual world. Previous studies have realized that the main motivation in playing games is to fulfill interpersonal needs. Players expect to own great interpersonal attraction to help them develop ideal interpersonal relationships. In the real world, individual outward appearance and social status are two important factors having influence on interpersonal attraction. In online games, the outward appearance of characters can be manipulated by changing the clothes and accessories used by those characters. This study proposes that difference in outward appearance, as in real society, affects player interpersonal attraction assessments. Additionally, when game experience and performance of players are accumulated, their grade in game would be raised. This study also proposes that the variation of role grade would influence its social status and the attitude of others. This study conducts experiments, and the results verify that a game character with high outward attractiveness and social status acquires higher online interpersonal attraction than one with low outward attractiveness and social status, and vice versa.     

The effect of behavioral tracking practices on consumers’ shopping evaluations and repurchase intention toward trusted online retailers

The study applies the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) model and Social Contract Theory to investigate the effect of behavioral practices scenarios (stimulus) on consumers’ evaluations of their online shopping experiences (internal organism) and repurchase intention toward online retailers (external response). The findings suggest there is a disconnect between online shoppers and their trusted online retailers regarding the information collected from online shoppers since, currently, sharing of information collected from customers within affiliates or even with third-party companies such as networking advertising associations for secondary uses (e.g. targeted advertising) is a fairly common practice in the marketing field. Left unresolved, this disconnect may undermine consumers’ repurchase intention toward the retailers and potentially injure the social contract between retailers and their customers. These findings are significant for the online retailing industry, consumers and public policy makers.     

Consumer electronics acceptance based on innovation attributes and switching costs: The case of e-book readers

The predictors of innovative consumer electronics product acceptance range from technology to economic factors. Prior studies assume direct effects from these predictors on acceptance behavior. We study e-book readers as an illustrative technology. We contend that consumers’ perceived innovative attributes (relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity) directly affect their acceptance behavior, and also influence their behavior via their perception of the costs (procedural, financial, and relational switching costs). Our findings reveal that complexity is a key antecedent to switching costs. The empirical results also suggest the full or partial mediating role of procedural and relational switching costs between the innovative attributes and the use of e-book readers. Financial switching costs, however, are not influential for the use of e-book readers.     

How virtual community participation influences consumer loyalty intentions in online shopping contexts: an investigation of mediating factors

Extant studies generally recognise that virtual community building is an effective marketing programme for forging deep and enduring affective bonds with consumers. This study extends previous research by proposing and testing a model that investigates key mediating processes (via trust, satisfaction and identification) that underlie the relationship between virtual community participation and consumer loyalty intentions. The authors test the hypotheses using data obtained from three large online retailing stores. Virtual community participation significantly enhances loyalty intentions, through both social mechanisms (via community identification) and psychological mechanisms (via trust and satisfaction). Moreover, the findings provide insights into the complex relationship between the two mechanisms in online shopping settings. Community identification is a pivotal factor for enhancing customer loyalty intentions. The results advance understanding of the process by which virtual community building facilitates the development of business-to-consumer relationships in the computer-mediated environment. The authors discuss the managerial implications of the findings, as well as avenues for further research.     

Research on the interactive effects of online scores

With the popularity of online shopping, more and more consumers are making their decisions according to online reviews. However, studies on the effects of online scores produce different results, even for the same products. This study analyzes the impact of online scores from the perspective of the interaction between the different forms of online scores to provide a reasonable explanation of the inconsistency of the research results in this regard. The results of this study demonstrate that the effect of the overall score is negatively affected by the difference between the weighted score and the overall score itself. Moreover, it is also positively influenced by the difference between the overall score of one product and those of its substitutes. While considering the difference between the sub-dimensional scores and the overall score, its influence on the effect of the overall score is insignificant. This research theoretically validates the interactive effects of online scores and provides the basis for an online-score-based operation.     

Online consumer retention: contingent effects of online shopping habit and online shopping experience

In this study, we further develop the information systems continuance model in the context of online shopping, using a contingency theory that accounts for the roles of online shopping habit and online shopping experience. Specifically, we argue and empirically demonstrate that although conceptually distinct, online shopping habit and online shopping experience have similar effects on repurchase intention. They both have positive mediated effects through satisfaction and moderate the relationship between satisfaction and online repurchase intention. The results of a survey study involving 122 online customers provide strong support for our research model. We also identify after-sale service, transaction efficiency, security, convenience, and cost savings as important online shopping usefulness drivers. Theoretical and practical implications include establishing a contingency theory to more fully explain online customer retention as well as guidelines for development of customer relationship management initiatives.     

How e-servicescapes affect customer online shopping intention: the moderating effects of gender and online purchasing experience

Information Systems and e-Business Management - E-commerce is expanding at a tremendous rate, and the related internet pages, referred to as an electronic servicescapes (e-servicescapes) now have a...     

Lock-in and the costs of switching mainframe computer vendors inthe US federal government in the 1970s

No careful empirical research has tested the widely held belief that the cost of switching computer vendors tends to produce technological “lock-in”, meaning that the cost of switching between incompatible vendors is prohibitively expensive. Using several studies by federal agencies into the costs of switching mainframe computer vendors, this article concludes that mainframe computers of the late 1970s possessed many of the features typically associated with lock-in. However, many other factors also attenuated tendencies to lock-in. While lock-in was important for the outcomes of several well-documented instances, it is not clear whether lock-in was important for the outcomes of a wide set of cases     

Triggering participation: Exploring the effects of third-person and hostile media perceptions on online participation

Using a 2 × 3 mixed between-within subjects experiment (N = 102), we tested how the presence of online comments affects self-other differences and perceptions of media bias, as well as factors predicting subjects’ likelihood of commenting on an online news story. We found that (a) presence of comments lowers self-other differences and consequently attenuates the third-person effect, and (b) perceptions of media bias significantly predict likelihood of commenting. Additionally, we found that subjects were more likely to comment on stories they found biased against their position as a form of corrective action, and that subjects were more likely to share and like stories they found biased in favor of their position as a form of promotional action.