Confirming a Taxonomy of Decision Constructs in Business-to-Consumer Commercial Transactions

One might assume information systems (IS) are developed so systems enhance the user experience and facilitate a satisfying, productive interaction. From prior research, the authors established this assumption was not safe and certain design features amongst some online retailers were atypical of ‘good’ design elsewhere. It was apparent the transactional process was being used to present consumers with optional extras (and other decisions) that not only slowed the process down, but also stressed and agitated users. The research identified some new and unusual decision constructs such as the ‘must-opt’. The objective of the research presented herein is two-fold: to make an incremental contribution in first theorizing and then identifying and categorizing into a taxonomy some new decision constructs alongside established ones encountered throughout on-line Business-to-Consumer (B2C) transactional processes followed by a preliminary study confirming their existence

Watching People Making Decisions: A Gogglebox on Online Consumer Interaction

This paper presents a research study, using eye tracking technology, to measure participant cognitive load when encountering micro-decision. It elaborates and improves on a pilot study that was used to test the experiment design. Prior research that led to a taxonomy of decision constructs faced in online transactional processes is discussed. The main findings relate to participants’ subjective cognitive load and task error rates

Conceptualisation and development of the admin-avatar taxonomy : antecedents, attitudinal and behavioural consequences

Academics and practitioners have increasingly acknowledged the significance of the consumer–brand relationship in both traditional and online contexts. However, the impersonal nature of the online environment is considered to be a hindrance in the development of the brand–consumer relationship. The literature suggests that strong relationship outcomes depend on successful relationship marketing tactics. Admin-avatar concept is a new concept -firstly emerged in this research- which can be used as a technological and marketing tactic. Admin-avatar can embody consumer-facing employees and mimic their real-life roles on companies’ websites, thereby playing a key role in enhancing the relationships between consumers and brands in the online environment. Despite the importance of this technology, very little attention has been paid to the investigation of the admin-avatar concept from a marketing perspective. Following a systematic review of the literature found in 10 major electronic databases and published between 1993 and 2013, significant gaps in literature were identified. Specifically, this research examines the nature of the admin-avatar concept, including its main characteristics, dimensions, and conditions as well as the attitudinal and behavioural consequences of admin-avatar users.Adopting the mixed methods design, a taxonomy was developed from interviews (qualitative phase) which laid the foundation for the development of the admin-avatar framework. Spiggle’s (1994) framework was adopted for the qualitative data analysis. A conceptual framework was developed and built on the theoretical foundations of reasoned action theory (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). The admin-avatar framework was empirically tested through a series of lab-based experiments (quantitative phase). Following a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to purify the scales, determine the dimensionality of the constructs and support their convergent and discriminant validity. The context used for this study was the university admissions admin-avatar. propositions were tested using repeated measures (first experimental deign study), factorial design (second experimental deign study) and serial mediation techniques for both experimental studies. The results mostly support the taxonomy developed from the qualitative phase.This thesis contributes to the new technology in marketing and practice, specifically by: (1) providing a clear and comprehensive definition of the admin-avatar concept, (2) developing a comprehensive taxonomy of admin-avatar that enriches the area of new technology in marketing by the further investigations by applying the taxonomy to other contexts (e.g., schools, banks, retails and other commercial companies), and (3) confirming the notion that the addition of an admin-avatar will transform the consumer attitude towards the website and the brand. Furthermore, the addition of an admin-avatar will prompt consumers to engage in voluntary behaviours such as saying positive things about the organisation/brand (word of mouth) and recommending the brand and its products to other potential consumers (recommendation). In other words, adding the admin-avatar on the brand website will significantly change the attitudes of brand’s consumers. These positive attitudes will encourage consumers to do voluntary behviours for the brand. From a practical perspective, these findings offer practitioners a clearer and richer understanding of the admin-avatar, facilitating appropriate designs for admin-avatar(s). The findings of this research also give practitioners clear insights into the main advantages of the admin-avatar, such as the degree of its convenience (e.g., quickness and effortless), hedonism (excitement) and attractiveness

Servitisation and value co-production in the UK music industry

Since the rise of music on the internet, record companies have reported falling sales of physical products. This has occurred at a time when technology has radically increased choice, availability and the opportunity for the consumer to purchase music. As the music industry has moved from a product to a service business model, has the loss of sales meant they have not taken their customers with them? This paper provides a description of different music consumers based upon quantitative analysis of consumer characteristics. The paper then undertakes an exploration of the relationship between the consumer groups and their purchasing preference in relation to intangible ‘service’ purchase such as downloaded music and the purchase of a tangible physical product such as CDs or vinyl. In addition, we analyse the relationship between consumer types and their propensity to actively engage with music communities, such as through engagement with social media, and thus their willingness to coproduce greater value. Finally we explore the moderating effects of age and time devoted to listening to music on purchasing preferences and music discovery

Avatar Taxonomy: A New Technological Tool to Enhance the Consumer-Brand Relationships

PurposeAvatars, which are used as a technology and marketing tactic, can embody consumer-facing employees and mimic their real-life roles on companies' websites, thereby playing a key role in enhancing the relationships between consumers and brands in the online environment. Academics and practitioners have increasingly acknowledged the significance of the consumer-brand relationship in both traditional and online contexts. However, the impersonal nature of the online environment is considered to be a hindrance to the development of these relationships. Despite the importance of this technology, little attention has been paid to the investigation of the avatar concept from a marketing perspective. This paper explores the nature of the avatar concept, including its main characteristics, dimensions, and conditions as well as the attitudinal and behavioural consequences of avatar users.Design/methodology/approachAdopting the qualitative design, a taxonomy was developed from interviews. In total, 42 interviews were conducted with current university students. 30 participants participated in the exploratory interviews. A total of 12 interviews were conducted during the in-depth stage based on findings in the preceding research.FindingsBased on the qualitative data analysis, a taxonomy was developed. The idea of the taxonomy is summarized in that different dimensions of the avatar are considered the main base (first phase) of the taxonomy. There are consequential three parts: the attitudinal consequences related to the website; the attitudinal consequences related to the brand; the behaviours towards the brand. These behaviours represent the final phase of the taxonomy.Originality/valueBy developing a taxonomy of using avatars on brands' websites, the authors advance the understanding consumer-brands relationships. Using avatars' verbal interactions helps in shaping consumers' cognitive, affective, attitudinal and behavioural responses and add vital empirical evidence to the increasing body of research and practices involving avatar usage in the interactive marketing area

Evaluating the Role of Trust in Adoption: A Conceptual Replication in the Context of Open Source Systems

This study is a conceptual replication of the Chandra, Srivastava, & Theng (2010) study on the role of trust in adopting a unique type of technology. Whereas Chandra et al. focused on mobile payment systems, we apply their theoretical model to the context of adopting open source software (OSS). Results are largely consistent and comparable with those of the original model; we also found that user trust plays a vital role in OSS adoption intention. However, two of the hypotheses had significantly different results in our model when compared to the original—specifically, perceived reputation did not have a significant impact on trust in the technology, and trust had a more powerful effect on the perceived usefulness of the technology. We argue that users’ expectations regarding trust are different depending on the type of technology that a user intends to adopt

Risk Management and Perception of Coffee Growers

The current research studied the relationship between risk management by the institutions underlying the Colombian coffee sector and risk perceptions held by Colombian coffee growers from a neo-institutional approach, in order to explain the risk perceptions and individual behaviors of coffee growers and establishing the effect of institutions on risk perception and management of Colombian coffee growers. The research was performed through an explanatory study with a sequential mixed approach, formed by two phases: (a) a qualitative phase characterized by elaboration of taxonomies on the risks Colombian coffee growers are vulnerable to, and on risk management instruments offered by institutions, creating a coffee grower’s profile, sociodemographic features and exploitation scale; and (b) a quantitative stage that developed a Structural Equation Model (SEM), through which the existing relationship between risk management offered by Colombian coffee sector institutions and risk perceptions of Colombian coffee growers was empirically evaluated, by studying risk perceptions from past experiences and the way coffee growers deal with the risk associated to situations they must face, risk attitudes and management strategies. The study concluded that the set of risk management instruments offered by the institutions underlying the coffee sector lower risk exposure of Colombian coffee growers, and also determine their risk management strategies. In addition, the current study showed that adjusting the extended model proposed by Sitkin and Pablo (1992) showed its capacity to capture the relationships observed in the context of the Colombian coffee grower. Finally, the institutions underlying the coffee sectors affect risk perceptions of opportunity or threat situations faced by coffee growers; it is also validated through the existing relationship between the constructs.Tesi

Relationship and search for discounts, and their effects on loyalty and e-commerce, when mediated by satisfaction and trust

This study analyzes the e-commerce relationships, since it can be less humanized and characterized by the search for discounts. Marketing stablishes that the consumption relationships must be based in multiple gains and on a long-term vision. However, although virtual environment fosters economies of scale to the organizations and more attractive prices to consumers, the intensification of this process suggests that there will be only price comparisons in the long term, eroding profitability and improving spurious relationships between companies and consumers. Through structural equation modeling, this study identified that the relationships based on propension to discount lead to satisfaction and trust, more than relationship based relations, as on more human business approaches. We also identified the mediation of loyalty and trust in online consumption environment by replicating the findings in physical stores, to reinforce business to consumer relations

Examining the anatomy of last-mile distribution in e-commerce omnichannel retailing: A supply network configuration approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the interplay between configuration dimensions (network structure, network flow, relationship governance, and service architecture) of last-mile supply networks (LMSN) and the underlying mechanisms influencing omnichannel performance.Design/methodology/approachBased on mixed-method design incorporating a multiple embedded case study, mapping, survey, and archival records, this research involved undertaking in-depth within- and cross-case analyses to examine seven LMSNs, employing a configuration approach.FindingsThe existing literature in the operations management (OM) field was shown to provide limited understanding of LMSNs within the emerging omnichannel context. Case results suggest that particular configurations have intrinsic capabilities, and that these directly influence omnichannel performance. The study further proposes a taxonomy of LMSNs comprising six forms, with two hybrids, supporting the notion of equifinality in configuration theory. Propositions are developed to further explore interdependencies between configurational attributes, refining the relationship between LMSN types, and factors influencing omnichannel performance.Practical implicationsThe findings provide retailers with a set of design parameters for the (re)configuration of LMSNs and facilitate performance evaluation using the concept of fit between configurational attributes. The developed model sheds light on the consequential effects when certain configurational attributes are altered, preempting managerial attention. Given the global trend in urbanization, improved LMSN performance would have positive societal impacts in terms of service and resource efficiency.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies in the OM field to critically analyze LMSNs and their behaviors in omnichannel retailing. Additionally, the paper offers several important avenues for future research.</jats:sec