Trust Promoting Seals in Electronic Markets

Abstract

In order to promote web sales, companies conducting electronic commerce are constantly seeking viable and efficient ways to increase web traffic. One approach is to build consumers' trust, and ultimately to increase web sales. Many business-to-consumer online merchants follow this approach and display trust-promoting seals on their websites. However, whether these seals really fulfill the tasks they have promised has remained unexplored. This study empirically examines the influence of trust-promoting seals on consumers' online purchasing decisions. The results show that the trust-promoting seals are generally effective in promoting web sales, and some seals enhance promotion better than others.     

CLV

SUMMARY

It is becoming increasingly clear from the literature that there is a need for a metric that can objectively measure future profitability of the customer to the firm. This paper traces the emergence of such a metric—the customer lifetime value (CLV) and discusses the two measures of computing CLV—the aggregate approach and the individual level approach. Subsequently, eight strategies that are available to firms for maximizing CLV are discussed. These strategies assist firms in deciding how to: select the best customer, make loyal customers profitable, optimally allocate the resources, pitch the right product to the right customer at the right time, link acquisition and retention to profitability, prevent customer attrition, encourage multi-channel shopping behavior, and maximize brand value. Each of these strategies was successfully implemented by different firms across various industries, resulting in significant increases in the bottom-line. Further, the challenges in implementing a CLV-based framework in a B-to-C organization are also discussed with an illustration.     

A Model of Household Grocery Shopping Behavior

The shopping trip to the grocery store is one of the most basic elements of consumer behavior. The authors seek to provide an understanding of the factors that account for variations in shopping behavior across households. They present a model of shopping behavior that assumes that households seek to minimize the travel cost associated with shopping and the cost of holding goods in inventory. As in the classic EOQ model, observed shopping behavior reflects the manner in which households balance these costs while meeting their consumption needs. A number of propositions derived from the model are tested using data on shopping trips made by households over a one-year period. The results support the model and indicate that the relationship between household characteristics and shopping behavior can be fairly complex: for some households shopping may have a recreational aspect while for others it may compete directly with wage-earning activity.     

A model of adolescents' online consumer self-efficacy (OCSE)

This paper investigates adolescent online shopping and self-efficacy development in the virtual setting. The authors present and test a model of antecedents and mediators to two dimensions of online consumer self-efficacy. Additionally, a discriminant analysis finds that more involved adolescent online shoppers can be differentiated from less involved online shoppers on key variables of interest-shopping motivations, self-efficacies, shopping behaviors, and relative influence in household decision-making.     

The effect of dynamic retail experiences on experiential perceptions of value: an internet and catalog comparison

The authors introduce cognitive continuum theory (CCT) as a theoretical framework to examine the effect of consumer shopping tasks and retail information display properties on consumer perceptions of experiential value. In this empirical investigation, the nature of a consumer’s shopping task is found to exert a direct influence on consumer perceptions of efficiency, economic value, and shopping enjoyment, all active dimensions of value. In addition, congruent interactions between shopping task and retail information display properties exert an enhancing effect on the reactive dimensions of value, as evidenced by perceptions of visual appeal, entertainment value, and service excellence. Future application of CCT is outlined and managerial implications are discussed.     

Do Audit Clients Successfully Engage in Opinion Shopping? Partner‐Level Evidence

This study investigates whether companies engage in audit opinion shopping activities by exerting influence over an audit firm's decision to switch the engagement partner (“partner‐level opinion shopping”) in the Chinese setting, where the identities of engagement partners are publicly disclosed. Adopting the empirical framework developed by Lennox [2000], we show evidence that companies successfully engage in partner‐level opinion shopping. Further, partner‐level opinion shopping is more likely to be successful if a company is economically important to an audit firm, and it is less likely to be successful if the audit firm is formed as a partnership rather than a corporation. We also find that companies successfully engaging in partner‐level opinion shopping exhibit significantly lower earnings quality. Finally, we directly compare audit records between incoming and outgoing partners and find that, for companies that successfully improve audit opinions after partner switching, incoming partners have a significantly higher propensity to issue clean opinions than their outgoing counterparts.     

校园购物网的营销策略探讨

信息时代,网络已经深深改变了传统社会中人们的生活方式和工作方式,大大提高了人们获取和传递信息的能力。在如今的大学校园,网上购物已成为了当代大学生课余生活的一大热门。校园网的高速、快捷为校园购物网站的建设提供了得天独厚的条件。如何在拥有广大消费群体和消费潜力的校园市场,开辟出一片符合大学校园的电子商务市场,建立一个基于校园网的经济、实用、高效、稳定的校园购物网站,是当前亟待解决的问题。本文通过对校园网站营销进行探讨和研究,提出了相应的营销策略,以期能对校园购物网的发展起到一定的借鉴作用。     

中国审计市场制度安排与研究思考——兼评审计意见购买的内在机理

审计市场在发展中,逐渐形成一些主要制度安排,如会计师事务所体制形式变迁、上市公司可以同时发行A股、B股和H股等、责权利失衡的上市审批和监管以及设定配股和退市底线。这些安排导致国际所在审计市场的主导地位,并产生股权融资偏好、IPO包装上市、上市公司"保壳"和控股股东"圈钱"等奇怪的现象,同时也决定着审计服务的基本特征。结合这些特有的制度背景,才能深刻把握审计意见购买的内在机理,从而揭示审计意见购买的基本规律和主要特征,并推动审计理论的发展。本文对此进行了探讨。     

网络购物中的危机

本文对现今社会上的网络购物中所碰到的危机开始讲述,从而进一步深入讨论了在科技发展的今天,网络犯罪也越来越防不胜防,以致于引发我们今后必须要改善的一些方向。     

网络购物中物流服务选择关键影响因素的DEMATEL分析

从物流快递企业品牌效应、速度、价格、安全性、服务和辐射范围6个方面,系统分析了消费者网络购物中物流服务选择的影响因素以及各影响因素之间的关系,借助DEMATEL方法定量揭示了各因素影响消费者网络购物中物流服务选择的中心度和原因度。结果表明,快递运输速度、快递服务价格和产品运输可靠性等因素是影响消费者网络购物中物流服务选择的关键因素。