Solution Exemplars and Sales Performance of Crowdsourcing Solvers: the Moderating Role of Reputation and Competence

An increasing number of signals are using to entice solvers to make online purchases by seekers in the competitive online markets today. However, how solution exemplars are in terms of their reputation or competence to improve sales performance has not yet been investigated. Extending signal theory to the online service marketplaces, we analyses the effect of solution exemplars’ structural characteristics on seekers’ sales performance such as quantity, diversity and popularity, exploring the moderating impact of seeker’s reputation and competence. We test the model using data from ZBJ.com, a popular crowdsourcing contest platform in China. Our analysis conducts a series of interesting findings, the impact of exemplar quantity and popularity on sales performance is positively significant, contrary to solution exemplar diversity. Regarding the moderation effects, reputation is proved to be negative, which is opposite to competence. We also elaborate on the theoretical contribution and practical significance

Tell Me What You Want: Exploring the Impact of Offering Option Repertoires on Service Performance in Gig Economy

Confronted with an increasingly competitive business landscape for credence goods in the gig economy, sellers in e-marketplaces must effectively design their services by configuring the service offering specification options to enhance the visibility of their service offerings. Motivated by the gap between the configuration of service offering specification options and its impact on service quality and sales, this study builds on the competitive repertoire theory to advance a research model that seeks to unveil how the volume, complexity, and heterogeneity of service offering specification option repertoires affect service quality and sales. We empirically examined our hypotheses with a dataset comprising 3,307 lifestyle-themed credence goods observations from Fiverr, one of the largest e-marketplaces for gig economy in the world. We discover that the repertoire volume increases both service quality and sales whereas repertoire complexity only increases service quality. Repertoire heterogeneity does not significantly impact on service quality and sales

Impact of Signals And Signal Generation on Sales Rank on Amazon.com

In eCommerce, information asymmetry between sellers and buyers has greatly increased compared to traditional offline retail due to increased temporal and physical distance. Signal theory suggests that signals play a key role in closing this information gap, building consumer trust, and increasing purchasing intent. This paper analyzes how different signals on Amazon.com, the largest eCommerce platform in the United States, impact sales rank through a panel regression analysis of 30 days of data in the Lip Scrub category. This study finds that Amazon.com-generated signals are more impactful than user-generated or sponsored signals and that sponsored product recommendations are not as effective as other studied signals, even though sellers pay to be sponsored. Future research can dive deeper into these signals and better understand their relationship with sales volume, growing the understanding of how consumers are influenced by information signals

Expanding the Oil and Gas Sector of Indonesia through Better Marketing Performance: Analysing the Role of Online Engagement, Interactivity and Brand Attachment

The present study attempts to examine the role of online engagement and online interactivity in improving the marketing performance of the Indonesian oil and gas sector. Along with the direct relationships, the mediating role of brand attachment is also investigated. The primary data has been drawn from a sample size of 294. To examine the impact of incorporated variables on marketing performance, Confirmatory factors analysis and the Structural equation modelling approach is incorporated in the study. Several tests were applied including: descriptive analysis, KMO and Bartlett’s test, rotated component matrix, convergent and discriminant validity. The direct effects indicated that online engagement and online interactivity are the significant and positive drivers of marketing performance, creating a significant impact on the improvement of marketing performance. Similarly, the indirect effects show that brand attachment acts as the significant mediator between online engagement and marketing performance. Also, brand attachment significantly mediated the relationship of online interactivity and marketing performance. The study embraces several theoretical, practical and policy making implications for the marketing management practitioners and strategy developers to attain high levels of marketing performance and business expansion. Finally, various limitations have been given along with recommendations for in-depth findings by future researcher

UNDERSTANDING USER’S TRUST FORMATION ON MULTI-SIDED E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS

With the ever-growing popularity of online shopping, platform environments providing access to products by multiple sellers increasingly attract users. To reduce information asymmetry and enhance user trust, platform actors provide signals such as star reviews to demonstrate their trustworthiness. This work investigates the influence of trust signals from different sources (on the platform itself vs. on external third-party review sites) and for different targets (platform provider vs. seller) on users’ trust formation in multi-sided e-commerce platforms. We conduct a choice-based conjoint analysis based on data from 81 participants. Our results show that users weigh external signals stronger than internal ones when building trust. Also, trust signals for sellers have a higher impact on users’ trust than platform provider signals. Signal discrepancies between internal and external reviews are especially harmful to the platform provider. These insights extend prior knowledge on trust formation and its impacting factors on e-commerce platforms

Breaching Location Silos: An Exploration of social media optimisation by SMMEs in Southern Africa

Published ArticleThis study explores the significance of social media as e-marketplaces for advancing e-commerce for small scale, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in the southern African sub-region – notably in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Evidence from the examination of extant literature and our personal observations reveal that when properly harnessed as e-marketplaces, social media platforms, especially those that are compatible with mobile devices (i.e. smart mobile phones, tablets and notebooks), have tremendous e-commerce potential to enhance brand awareness, market growth, and market share for firms, thereby augmenting and expediting the management of customer relationships and brand loyalty. These benefits have the potential to trigger innovative marketing, brand positioning and creativity for SMMEs in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The main theoretical contribution of this study is the development of a conceptual model of social media that promotes SMME growth especially considering the large percentage of youth with a large appetite for new technology. Therefore, active engagement on social media could breach (the current) location silos," by tapping into the diaspora market

Users’ processing of online marketplace listings for high and low involvement goods

Purpose – To understand how users of online marketplaces process market signals in their decision making and whether this depends on if the good is of high or low involvement.Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a mixed methods approach. Study 1 draws on an analysis of interviews with online marketplace users using hypothetical eBay purchases as stimuli, understanding how users conceptualize specific market signals and whether their importance varies depending on the type of purchase (high versus low involvement good). Study 2 tests hypotheses derived from signaling theory, using an eye tracking experiment.Findings – Price and photographs act as “fast and frugal” signals for inclusion in consideration sets for low involvement purchases, but consumers deem them insufficient for high involvement purchases where high-cost signals that help establish seller credibility are far more salient. Users pay relatively greater attention to costly market signals, which are beyond sellers’ direct control, for high involvement goods.Practical implications – The paper offers insights for sellers regarding the presentation of quality cues and strategies online marketplaces can employ to reduce information asymmetry.Originality/value – Drawing on and extending signaling theory, the paper introduces and confirms hypotheses for understanding users’ attention to market signals when making purchase decisions on online marketplaces. It identifies how the degree of involvement of a product affects the processing of market signals.<br/

Users’ processing of online marketplace listings for high and low involvement goods

Purpose: To understand how users of online marketplaces process market signals in their decision making and whether this depends on if the good is of high or low involvement. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employs a mixed methods approach. Study 1 draws on an analysis of interviews with online marketplace users using hypothetical eBay purchases as stimuli, understanding how users conceptualize specific market signals and whether their importance varies depending on the type of purchase (high versus low involvement good). Study 2 tests hypotheses derived from signaling theory, using an eye tracking experiment. Findings: Price and photographs act as “fast and frugal” signals for inclusion in consideration sets for low involvement purchases, but consumers deem them insufficient for high involvement purchases where high-cost signals that help establish seller credibility are far more salient. Users pay relatively greater attention to costly market signals, which are beyond sellers’ direct control, for high involvement goods. Practical implications: The paper offers insights for sellers regarding the presentation of quality cues and strategies online marketplaces can employ to reduce information asymmetry. Originality/value: Drawing on and extending signaling theory, the paper introduces and confirms hypotheses for understanding users’ attention to market signals when making purchase decisions on online marketplaces. It identifies how the degree of involvement of a product affects the processing of market signals

Towards returns management strategies in internet retailing

The digital transformation of the retailing industry in recent years has had a profound effect on consumers’ behaviour on a global scale. When shopping and browsing online, consumers are not able to “touch and feel”, which means that product returns are inevitable. The fashion industry has particularly suffered from high return rates, which fluctuate between 30% and 50%. The industry has been struggling to strike a balance between competitive customer service, profitability and company sustainability targets.Against this backdrop, the purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the development of returns management strategies in internet retailing. Returns management in an online environment encapsulates both the return policy and the return process. The former has an impact on consumers, whilst the latter refers to the company itself. Four studies provide evidence to serve the purpose of the thesis. First, the author investigates how the return policy affects purchase decisions (Study I and Study II) and second, how internet retailers manage their return processes (Study III). Finally, the author sheds light on the way effective strategies for returns management can be established (Study IV).Two quantitative studies and two qualitative studies were conducted. More specifically, in Study I and Study II, data were collected from consumers through an online survey. Study III followed an exploratory multiple case study design, while in Study IV, data were collected through a confirmatory multiple case study.The findings of this thesis have significant implications for theory and practice. This research extends the returns management literature by uncovering mediating and moderating mechanisms of interest. The notion of fit between returns management and business intent can prove to be a valuable tool with extensive applicability to a wide range of returns-related decisions. This research also presents an array of identified misalignments that can assist supply chain managers in designing effective and robust returns management strategies in the internet retailing domain