The impact of religious affiliation on trust in the context of electronic commerce

There is currently a growing literature on the role that trust plays in encouraging consumers to engage in e-commerce transactions. Various models have been proposed which aim to identify both the antecedents and outcomes of trust displayed towards e-commerce web sites. Increased trust is generally shown to increase positive user attitude which in turn is linked to increased willingness to buy. Studies have shown the antecedents of trust include variables such as the perceived reputation and size of the vendor organisation. The current paper explores the role of cultural variables as antecedents of trust with the main emphasis being on religious affiliation. Participants recruited from Christian, Muslim and other faiths were asked to interact with online bookstores identified as Christian, Muslim or Neutral. Trust and attitudes towards the web sites were measured and this data was used to test the hypothesis that same-religion sites would be trusted and liked more than other religion or neutral sites. This hypothesis was partially supported, but only for the Muslim participants. It was found that the Muslim group expressed significantly more trust in the Muslim site compared to the Christian site. They also expressed significantly more positive attitudes towards the Muslim online bookstore than the other two sites. The implications of these result for theories of web based trust and attitude are discussed along with the practical implications of the findings

Understanding the consumption process through in-branch and e-mortgage service channels: A first-time buyer perspective

This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here (////BURA web address here). Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Purpose – The twin aims of this paper are to explore the differences in the consumption process between the traditional in-branch and web-based (e-mortgage) service channels and how the differences relate to any problems identified in the electronic service environment, with respect to information search and product evaluation. Design/methodology/approach – A process-oriented approach comparing the two service channels (in-branch vs e-mortgage) was conducted in two study phases. Data from the e-mortgage process were collected using protocol analysis with 12 first-time buyers (FTBs) applying on a website belonging either to a hybrid or to an internet-only bank. Results of the e-mortgage process were mapped on to stages of the in-branch process, which was captured by observation of six FTB mortgage interviews to determine the level of correspondence and emergent issues. Findings – Support for the FTB in the e-mortgage process was problematic and service provision was found to be product- rather than consumer-oriented. Practical implications – The study highlights the importance of design issues in the electronic service environment for creating confidence in the online advice and information available on home mortgages for FTBs. Originality/value – The paper promotes increased understanding by financial service providers of the characteristics that support the consultative selling process for complex products such as mortgages and inform multichannel retailing

Impact of Online Marketing Practices on E- Business Models in India: Choice as a Determinant

Till today, Web portal Model is popular e- business model which is selling a wide range of products, with both depth and breadth of range. However, over recent years, consumers have become more discerning due to changing lifestyles, spending priorities and shopping patterns (Fisher, 1998). The focus of this research paper is to draw attention of marketers and shoppers towards the need to develop a hypothetical model named Global Super Store Model, is to change the consumer towards provision of providing a wide range of products with price comparison facility on a single portal along with a huge range of brand name suppliers. This research paper is also an attempt to find out the impact of online marketing practices on both existing Web Portal Model and our Global Super Store Model for choice as a determinant. Keywords: Choice, Global super store, Online Shopping, Web portal model, Online marketing practices, India

Cultural Marker Identification for Web Application Design Targeted for Malaysian Multicultural Users

The rapid growth of technology result in two contradictory phenomenon, the global world becomes smaller while the internet users increase drastically. This diversity of users becomes the main attention toward the study of human computer interaction due to the influential of users’ background toward the usability of web application whereby combination of color strongly determine user’s preference and engagement level.  Hence, determination of color based cultural marker is crucial to the interface design process in order to fulfill the need of diverse users. Most of the empirical study so far has been carried in western contextual. As a result, suggested marker are not applicable in eastern perspective, particularly Malaysia which consist of multicultural society. This article provides content analysis of the website application targeted to multicultural audience to determine the prominent color based cultural markers. More importantly, identifications of the markers could assist the interface designers towards creating web based application that reflected the multicultural audience preferences

The Impact of Social Influence and Trust on Customer-to-Customer Online Shoppers’ Purchase Intention: An Empirical Study in Indonesia

Customer-to-customer (C2C) electronic commerce is agrowing area of e-commerce. It is facilitated in large part bywebsites offering free classified advertisement, auctions, forumsand individual pages for small-medium sized and start-upentrepreneurs. What factors are affecting C2C online shoppers’Purchase intention? To answer this question, a theoreticalframework was formed and tested using multiple regression on196 Indonesian customers collected via a Web survey. The resultsshow that social influence and trust are key predictors of purchaseintention in C2C e-commerce. These findings also indicate, basedon gender, only social influence has a significant difference. Whilebased on age, it reveals that only trust has no significant difference.This suggests that to facilitate C2C online shopping, marketplaceor C2C stores need to enhance social influence and develop moretrust as well as take into account shoppers’ perception based ongender and age

The Impact of a ‘Theological’ Web Interface on Trust in the Context of Electronic Commerce

Researchers and academics from diverse disciplines have highlighted the role of ‘trust’ for establishing and strengthening existing relationships between individuals and organisations in the commercial and the social context. Various models have been proposed which aim to identify both the antecedents and outcomes of trust displayed towards e-commerce Web sites. Increased trust is generally shown to increase positive user attitude, which in turn is believed to increase the intention to buy. Studies have shown the antecedents of trust include variables such as the perceived reputation and size of the vendor organisation. The current paper investigates the role of trust on e-consumers from a cultural perspective. Religious sub-cultures have been targeted as the main study area for this paper’s research investigation. Participants recruited from Christian, Muslim and other faiths were asked to interact with online bookstores that identified with a Christian, Muslim or Neutral orientation. Neutral Web sites were those sites classified as devoid of any religious marketing, branding and logos. Trust and attitudes towards the Web sites were measured and this data was used to test the hypothesis that same-religion sites would be found more trustworthy and appealing than other religion or neutral sites. This hypothesis was partially supported, but only for the Muslim participants. It was found that the Muslim group expressed significantly more trust in the Muslim site compared to the Christian site. They also expressed significantly more positive attitudes towards the Muslim online bookstore than the other two sites. The implications of these results for theories of web based trust and attitude are discussed along with the practical implications of the findings

Localisation challenges in usability and customer relationship management of e-commerce environments

With growing competition in the global E-Market place, the focus of E-Businesses is moving from customer acquisition to customer retention. Towards this, E-Businesses, in addition to providing a usable site, are integrating Customer-relationship Management (CRM) strategies into the design and usability of E-Commerce environments. These CRM strategies include personalisation, providing consistent customer service across different communication channels of the E-Business, meeting customers' expectations with regards to product information, giving cues for trustworthiness (e.g. security seals, data protection assurances), etc. However, CRM strategies employed in American and West European market places are aimed at an individual's (customer–s) self-interest and self-gratification and these might not be applicable in other cultures, for example, in Asia where, loyalty to family and clan, filial piety, delayed gratification, and connections and networks of trust and obligations via relatives and extended family, are valued. Through several examples, this position paper highlights the challenges that E-Businesses face in the global marketplace of localising not only the user interface design issues of the E-Commerce Web site such as colours, language, currency formats, etc., or the cultural attractors such as religious iconography, beliefs, national symbols, and so on, but also the CRM strategies of the E-Commerce environment. The issues, therefore, for discussion in the workshop arising from this paper are as follows: – Significance of integrating both HCI / Usability and CRM strategies into the design and usability of E-Commerce environments for customer retention and loyalty; – Localisation of CRM strategies in E-Commerce environments; – Are the usability and CRM strategies genre-specific, that is, specific to a particular domain of E-Commerce, such as banking, shopping, travel, and so on; – Which elicitation and usability evaluation techniques can be applied by designers and usability professionals in order to elicit values, attitudes, and expectations towards CRM of local customers? – Are patterns of on-line purchasing becoming standardised (as more and more Web retailers follow Amazon's retail processing business model)? Are people learning to lead two different lives: responding to such standardised E-Commerce environments as well as to localised interfaces that meet their local preferences and requirements

Consequences of User Manipulation through Dark Patterns

With increasing competition in the online market, companies frequently apply “dark patterns” to steer user behavior in ways that benefit the company but may harm the user. To date, consequences of dark patterns use are rather unknown. Prior research demonstrated positive effects (e.g., an increase in acceptance rates) and negative effects (e.g., negative emotions) of dark patterns use. To explain these contradictory effects, we draw in information manipulation theory. In a survey experiment we confronted participants with the dark patterns scarcity and sneaking. The results indicate that exposure to dark patterns increases perceived violations of communication maxims, which increase perceived user manipulation. This, in turn, reduces attitude toward the website and website design. Further, the results show that perceived user manipulation is significantly higher for users with low familiarity with online shopping. We plan to validate the findings in a field experiment to be conducted in the near future

Perceived Risk and Trust Associated with Purchasing at Electronic Marketplaces

Understanding consumer behavior is of vital importance to consumer oriented e-business models today. In this paper we report on a study into the relationships between consumer perceptions of risk and trust and the intention to purchase at a C2C electronic marketplace. Distinguishing for electronic marketplace settings is that consumer behavior is subject to perceptions of both selling party and the institutional structures of the intermediary operating the system. Building upon the well-established literature of trust we consider the concepts of institutional trust and party trust. We extend this categorization by introducing the concepts of institutional risk and party risk. Next, we adopt the process of measurement instrument development as put forward by Churchill (1979). We develop measurement instruments for institutional trust (4 items), institutional risk (5 items) and party risk (4 items). All measurement scales contain acceptable alpha’s and are unidimensional. An empirical study is applied to explore the relationships between the risk and trust types and consumer purchase intention. The results reveal significant, direct effects of party trust and party risk. Second order effects of institutional trust and institutional risk are investigated and reported. The paper concludes with general observations and recommendations for further research