A Conceptual Model for Building the Relationship Between Augmented Reality, Experiential Marketing & Brand Equity

Purpose:   This study aims to build a conceptual model based on the S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) framework to understand how Augmented Reality influences brand equity. The proposed model is intended to look into the influence of AR attributes like interactivity, vividness, modality, novelty, and media richness on consumers’ experiential values and brand equity in e-commerce.   Theoretical framework: This study developed the conceptual model by following the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) Model  (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974).   Design/methodology/approach: To advance the conceptual and managerial understanding of AR as an experiential marketing tool, this study followed the systematic literature review approach to build the integrated conceptual model.   Findings: Results of the study has developed a conceptual model for studying the application of AR technology as an experiential marketing tool on customer purchasing experience and brand equity in the e-commerce setting.   Research, Practical & Social implications: This study contributes towards the available literature by studying the AR and its various dimensions for building brand equity. This study will not only assist the e-commerce firms in their decision-making process about adopting this technology but also the marketers to develop the effective marketing strategies for consumer experience of AR uses on e-commerce platforms.   Originality/value: This study introduces modality of AR as a media characteristic in its interface in creating seamless user experience in the proposed model

Online Shopping Decisions Enhancement with Fuzzy Expert System

Purpose Nowadays, due to the rapid development of the Internet and the rapid growth of web pages, many electronic websites are using product recommendation systems to guide users to the products that they need. Such systems usually provide a list of suggested items that the user may prefer. These systems are provided as a support tool to help users obtain information that best meets their needs. These systems can actually improve user decisions, resulting in increased sales and mutual customer satisfaction. The purpose of the paper is to improve user decisions in online shopping using fuzzy expert system. Methodology: The statistical population of this study consists of 30 experts in the field of e-commerce who were selected by combining two methods of deliberate sampling and snowball sampling. To analyze the status of improvement of users' decisions, a fuzzy expert system was created using input variables business reputation status, environmental factors status in e-commerce, online store features; product specifications; user/customer characteristics. Findings: The final results showed that there is no significant difference between the results of the created expert system and the mean of expert opinions. Originality/Value: In this paper, a conceptual Model to improve user decisions in online shopping using a fuzzy expert system is designed

The role of customer inspiration and relationship quality in engaging the online experience: insights from Kuwait and Portugal

The main research objective of the current thesis is to analyse the relationship between the online experience and customer engagement considering moderators and mediators and compare between Kuwait and Portugal. The thesis provides a systematic literature review on the online experience, customer inspiration, relationship quality, customer engagement, e-commerce, and national culture. Next, we conducted in-depth interviews with seven participants from Kuwait and Portugal, which allowed us to understand similarities and differences in online customer purchasing experience perceived by Kuwait and Portuguese customers and contributed to creating the conceptual model to be analysed in the quantitative approach. We used two Qualtrics panel samples for the qualitative research, one with 210 participants from Kuwait and another with 240 from Portugal. Major findings reveal that (i) customer empowerment strengthens the relationship between customer perceived value and online engagement, (ii) cooperation, e-commerce, and cultural perceptions are three relevant factors contributing to form three clusters of participants from Kuwait and Portugal, (iii) both online relationship quality and customer inspiration act as mediators in the relationship between the online experience and customer engagement, (iv) and finally there are differences between Kuwait and Portugal in engaging online, based on cultural differences. Managers can benefit from our research by offering an immersive online experience to their customers. Through stimulating online experiences, firms can inform customers about their products and services, educate their stakeholders about various subjects and, above all, manage a collaborative and participatory digital environment.O principal objetivo de investigação desta tese é analisar a relação entre a experiência online e o compromisso do cliente, considerando diferentes moderadores e mediadores e comparando entre o Kuwait e Portugal. A tese oferece uma revisão sistemática da literatura sobre a experiência online, inspiração do cliente, qualidade de relacionamento, compromisso do cliente, e-commerce e dimensões culturais. Em seguida, realizamos entrevistas em profundidade com sete participantes do Kuwait e de Portugal, o que nos permitiu compreender semelhanças e diferenças na experiência de compra destes clientes e contribuiu para a criação do modelo conceptual a ser analisado na abordagem quantitativa. Utilizámos duas amostras de painéis da plataforma Qualtrics para as pesquisas qualitativas, uma com 210 participantes do Kuwait e outra com 240 participantes de Portugal. As principais conclusões revelam que (i) o fortalecimento do cliente reforça a relação entre o valor percebido do cliente e o compromisso online, que (ii) a cooperação, o e-commerce e as perceções culturais são três fatores relevantes que contribuem para a formação de três grupos de consumidores, que (iii) tanto a qualidade da relação online como a inspiração do cliente atuam como mediadores na relação entre a experiência online e o compromisso do cliente, e finalmente, que (iv) existem diferenças entre o Kuwait e Portugal no envolvimento online, com base nas diferenças culturais. Os gestores podem beneficiar da nossa pesquisa oferecendo uma experiência online imersiva aos seus clientes. Através do estímulo de experiências online, as empresas podem informar os clientes sobre os seus produtos e serviços, educar os seus "stakeholders" sobre vários assuntos e, acima de tudo, gerir um ambiente digital colaborativo e participativo

A framework for B2C and B2B E-commerce ethics and its effect on customer satisfaction: a comparison study between the UK and Egypt

Internet is fundamentally transforming the nature of the relationship that businesses have with consumers and the public. While e-commerce has witnessed extensive growth in recent years, consumers concerns regarding ethical issues surrounding online shopping also continue to increase. With increasing acceptance of the internet as a source for retail, ethical issues concerning internet usage have prompted serious concerns to consumers and created new challenges for practitioners. These growing concerns about safety and ethical behaviour in online retailing can harm and restrain internet retail growth and deter consumers from online activities. Marketers must understand how these ethical challenges relate to dissatisfaction and distrust in the online retailing environment to foster further growth. The vast majority of earlier research on this area is conceptual in nature and limited in scope by focusing on consumers’ privacy issues. In an online context, this study proposes and tests a conceptual model that will discover the relationships between ethical factors associated to online providers’ web sites (e.g. security, privacy, non-deception, fulfilment, service recovery, shared value, and communication) and customer satisfaction to online providers’ web sites. It also explores a mediating role of trust and commitment on the link between ethical factors and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the current study examines the differences between e-commerce ethics between the UK and Egypt in the context of B2C and B2B e-commerce. The conceptual model is then tested with a total of 980 completed questionnaires collected from two sample countries; namely, Egypt and the UK. These were analysed through a multivariate analysis using a variance-based statistical technique known as Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. The findings of this study show significant support for the proposed model. As predicted, BPSE is a second-order construct composed of seven dimensions (i.e., security, privacy, fulfilment, non-deception, service recovery, communication, and shared value). Trust and commitment mediate the relationship between BPSE and satisfaction. In addition, II reliability/fulfilment and non-deception are the most effective dimensions in BPSE. Byer’s perceptions regarding sellers’ ethics (BPSE) has a significant influence on consumer satisfaction. No major differences between the two country models were found. These findings have both theoretical and practical implications in that the results have provided empirical evidence on the indirect impact of BPSE on customer satisfaction and can serve as an indication in practice for both online service providers managers and policy makers in understanding consumers’ perceptions about e-commerce ethics and its effects on customer satisfaction. Ke

An investigation into the factors that influence customers' adoption of e-services

Customer satisfaction is a key concern in any business strategy. It is often assumed that customer satisfaction can be enhanced using e-services. E-service is defined as interactive service received via the Internet (Jiang et al., 2013). E-service has contributed to business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce by providing on-demand solutions to customers. The relationship with the customer is enhanced by introducing self-service options, product customisation and variety. However, there may also be negative impacts, such as techno-stress and lack of online customer assistance. The primary aim of this research was to develop a conceptual framework to describe the correlation relationship between the factors that influence customers’ adoption of e-services. Organisations use the Internet to attract customers, to conduct financial services and obtain information. This research focussed specifically on online shopping. The Grounded Theory research methodology was chosen for its flexibility and iterative comparison of data. A quantitative survey was conducted to determine the relative significance of the factors uncovered by the Grounded Theory methodology and to validate the hypothesis of the conceptual model. Customer adoption is attained where customer satisfaction is high, where the customer sees value in the service, and where there is customer loyalty or trust. To date, research has focussed primarily on developed countries. Many challenges face South Africa as a Newly Industrialised Country (NIC). The negative factors facing developing countries in terms of e-service adoption include: lack of infrastructure, economic constraints and an emergent socio-political framework. The aim of this research was to build a conceptual model for explaining interrelationships between the identified factors that have an impact on customer e-service adoption. The customer’s perception of technology-driven services affects the organisation’s reputation, which in turn affects profitability. This research will be beneficial to managers in local organisations that thrive on e-services. An understanding of customer preferences will lead to improvement of customer services in South Africa.Information ScienceM. Sc. (Information Systems

A configuration perspective on value proposition-driven business model design

This research investigates how configuration theory and design-science approaches inform business model design. It was believed that these approaches might offer new insights into what are the mechanisms through which dimensions of a business model interact with and influence each other – a gap in the literature – providing a novel solution artefact (i.e. framework) for their design. The vaccine industry and the B2B e-commerce context were selected as the business model design test-bed, because they provide the necessary conditions in terms of uncertainty and volatility in supply and demand, as well as supply network, technological and infrastructural complexity. The design-science research methodology involved conceptualising a business model artefact based on literature, and then developing and evaluating it using an in-depth case study of a vaccines manufacturer that went through a B2B e-commerce business model redesign process. The literature-derived conceptual artefact defined four business model dimensions (value creation, value delivery, value capture, customer), and it was hypothesised that these dimensions may be linked via a value proposition that could be expressed in terms of tangible, intangible, and monetary flow components. Building on the conceptual artefact, in-depth interviews with multiple respondents from the selected case study were used to test the dimensions and help define five configurational properties for each of the value proposition’s flow components (volume, velocity, veracity, variety, value). Semi-structured in-depth interviews with an additional set of respondents were then used to evaluate the business model artefact, focusing on the interrogation of the refined dimensions and the developed configurational properties, as well as their ability to express the vaccine manufacturer’s overall business model. In that process, each dimension of the case study’s business model was examined from a configuration perspective to identify alternative configurations of its business model, thereby demonstrating the utility of the proposed artefact. Integration and validation of the artefact’s dimensions using the case study confirmed that a vaccines manufacturer’s business model can be expressed in terms of the four proposed dimensions and that these dimensions can be linked via a dynamic value proposition that changes as it moves from one business model dimensions to the next. It was also found that each business model dimension possesses capabilities that affect the configuration of the value proposition’s components (in terms of the five identified properties). These findings contribute to theory by suggesting that the value proposition is not just an output of a business model, as is currently considered in the literature, but an integral mechanism of a business model through which its dimensions interact with and influence each other. These insights also address the knowledge gap related to classification of value exchanges and their interdependencies within pharmaceutical businesses through a business model perspective, and contribute to e-commerce business model literature by highlighting its reconfigurable elements. For practitioners, the findings provide a set of properties for the (re-)configuration of the value proposition at each dimension of a business model, and as such, enable the identification of opportunities that may support improved value generation as part of the overall business model design approach. This understanding offers several avenues for future research, including exploring the relationship of the developed artefact’s elements with external factors (e.g. market, regulatory), and developing business model archetypes based on the patterns of the configurations of the value proposition’s properties

The lost manuscripts of Leonardo Da Vinci

Customer satisfaction is a key concern in any business strategy. It is often assumed that customer satisfaction can be enhanced using e-services. E-service is defined as interactive service received via the Internet (Jiang et al., 2013). E-service has contributed to business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce by providing on-demand solutions to customers. The relationship with the customer is enhanced by introducing self-service options, product customisation and variety. However, there may also be negative impacts, such as techno-stress and lack of online customer assistance. The primary aim of this research was to develop a conceptual framework to describe the correlation relationship between the factors that influence customers’ adoption of e-services. Organisations use the Internet to attract customers, to conduct financial services and obtain information. This research focussed specifically on online shopping. The Grounded Theory research methodology was chosen for its flexibility and iterative comparison of data. A quantitative survey was conducted to determine the relative significance of the factors uncovered by the Grounded Theory methodology and to validate the hypothesis of the conceptual model. Customer adoption is attained where customer satisfaction is high, where the customer sees value in the service, and where there is customer loyalty or trust. To date, research has focussed primarily on developed countries. Many challenges face South Africa as a Newly Industrialised Country (NIC). The negative factors facing developing countries in terms of e-service adoption include: lack of infrastructure, economic constraints and an emergent socio-political framework. The aim of this research was to build a conceptual model for explaining interrelationships between the identified factors that have an impact on customer e-service adoption. The customer’s perception of technology-driven services affects the organisation’s reputation, which in turn affects profitability. This research will be beneficial to ii managers in local organisations that thrive on e-services. An understanding of customer preferences will lead to improvement of customer services in South Africa.Art History, Visual Arts and MusicologyD. Litt. et Phil. (Art History

What drives consumers' e-loyalty to airlines web site? Conceptual framework and managerial implications

This study proposes a revised technology acceptance model that integrates expectation confirmation theory to measure continuance intentions of online shopping for airlines web sites. The sample respondent 465online users in Saudi Arabia. A structural equation model confirms model fit. Perceived usefulness, enjoyment, social pressure, and loyalty incentives are determinants of online flight booking continuance in Saudi Arabia. This research moves beyond online booking intentions and includes factors affecting online booking continuance. The research model explains 53% of the intention to continue booking using airlines web sites

Psychological elements explaining the consumer's adoption and use of a website recommendation system: A theoretical framework proposal

The purpose of this paper is to understand, with an emphasis on the psychological perspective of the research problem, the consumer's adoption and use of a certain web site recommendation system as well as the main psychological outcomes involved. The approach takes the form of theoretical modelling. Findings: A conceptual model is proposed and discussed. A total of 20 research propositions are theoretically analyzed and justified. Research limitations/implications: The theoretical discussion developed here is not empirically validated. This represents an opportunity for future research. Practical implications: The ideas extracted from the discussion of the conceptual model should be a help for recommendation systems designers and web site managers, so that they may be more aware, when working with such systems, of the psychological process consumers undergo when interacting with them. In this regard, numerous practical reflections and suggestions are presented

Uncovering the antecedents of trust in social commerce: an application of the non-linear artificial neural network approach

Purpose – The internet creates ample opportunities to start a mobile social commerce business. The literature confirms the issue of customer trust for social commerce businesses is a challenge that must be addressed. Hence, this study aims to examine the antecedents of trust in mobile social commerce by applying linear and non-linear relationships based on partial least squares structural equation modeling and an artificial neural network model. Design/methodology/approach – This study applied a non-linear artificial neural network approach to provide a further understanding of the determinants of trust in mobile social commerce based on a non-linear and non-compensatory model. Besides, a questionnaire was distributed to 340 social commerce customers in Malaysia. Findings – The conceptual framework for investigating trust in mobile social commerce has various advantages and contributions to predicting consumer behaviour. The results of the study showed there is a positive and significant relationship between social support, presence and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology2 (UTAUT2). In addition, UTAUT2 has fully mediated the relationship between social support, presence and trust in social commerce. Finally, the results concluded the relationship between UTAUT2 and trust in social commerce would be stronger when the diffusion of innovation and innovation resistance is high and low, respectively. Research limitations/implications – The current study provides a novel perspective on how customers can trust social m-commerce to provide real solutions to managers of encouraging e-marketing among consumers. Practical implications – This paper shows how businesses can develop trust in social m-commerce in Malaysian markets. The findings of this study probably could be extended to other businesses in Asia or other countries. Because trust in social e-commerce has a dynamic role in consumer behaviour and intention to purchase. Originality/value – This study provided a new perspective on mobile social commerce and paid more attention to an investigation of such emerging commerce. The originality of this study is embodied by investigating an integrated model that included different theories that presented new directions of trust in mobile social commerce through social and behavioural determinants