PRODUCT RANKING: MEASURING PRODUCT REVIEWS ON THE PURCHASE DECISION

The development of the digital world today has had a significant impact on the industrial sector, one of which is the development of e-commerce. E-commerce is one of the platforms used by consumers in searching for information related to the needs of both products or services. Rating of a product plays an important role that can help consumers to support purchasing decisions and reduce search costs. Many factors can influence online purchasing decisions such as ewom, celebrity influencers, and online discounts, but very few studies have examined product ratings in determining purchasing decisions. This study aims to obtain results regarding the effect of product rating and web quality on purchasing decisions among private university students in Bandung. This type of research is an explanatory research that intends to explain the position of the variables studied and the relationship between one variable and another. The sample used in this study was 100 6th semester students with a focus on 3 classes of business and management faculty. The results showed that there was an influence between product rating and web quality variables on purchasing decisions. Although the results show that the effect is not large enough, these two factors, especially product ratings, are one of the variables that are often used by consumers in supporting online purchasing decisions

The significance of key constructs on consumer purchase intention in online retail in a Covid-19 climate

The unexpected outbreak of the COVID pandemic has affected many people and businesses in different ways. As consumers no longer felt safe going to shopping centres they considered online shopping. In South Africa, the online retail market is in its infancy and this presents an opportunity for businesses to capitalise on the current climate. This study investigated the significance of constructs associated with online consumer purchase intention (PI) in South Africa (SA) in a Covid-19 environment. A combination of the Technology Acceptance Model(TAM)and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technlogy-2(UTAUT2)model were used as a basis for the study including COVID-19 as a situational factor. A sample of 368 South African consumers participated in the study through an online survey. The results of this quantitative study revealed that the most significant constructs in determining consumers’ online retail PI in the current environment in SA are Covid-19 and Perceived ease of use(PEOU). The moderation impact of Covid-19 was significant on risk, trust, Perceived Usefulness(PU), PEOU, and Price Value(PV). The implications of this study provide many opportunities for businesses to focus on becoming agile and innovative to drive their online sales

Buyers’ psychological situations in cross-border electronic commerce

Cross-border electronic commerce (CBEC) has emerged as an innovative business model that transforms consumer behaviour and mindsets, in the era of digitalization and globalization. Buyer situations in CBEC are complex due to the separation of global sellers and buyers in terms of geographic distance, language and cultural differences, and buyer preferences. However, few studies have explored buyers’ shopping decisions from a situational perspective. Drawing on the stimulus–organism–response framework, this study conceptualizes a CBEC buyer shopping model that theorizes four psychological situational factors (i.e., CBEC platform design, user–platform interaction, logistics evaluation, and task orientation) as stimuli, cognitive and affective states as organisms, and shopping intention as a response. The model was empirically tested using 241 data through structural equation modelling. The results indicate that all situational factors positively affect two evaluative states, which in turn positively affect shopping intention. Implications for theory and practice are discussed

Impact of Online Service Convenience on Adoption of Electronic Information Resources

The present study elaborated on the impact of online service convenience on the adoption intention and adoption of electronic information resources. Factors of service convenience have been identified as access convenience, search convenience, evaluation convenience, transaction convenience, and possession/ post-possession convenience.  Data were collected from 205 Ph.D. scholars and faculty members from Central Government Institutes in Northern India. The received responses have been analyzed and presented with the help of PLS-SEM using ADANCO 2.2 software. The present study's findings suggested a significant impact of access, search, transaction, and possession/ post-possession convenience. However, evaluation convenience has been found insignificant in arousing adoption intention for electronic information resources. The uniqueness of the present study lies in elaborating on the unexplored area of online service convenience concerning electronic information resources

Sentiment Analysis in Sales Estimation: An Econometric Analysis of Product Listings and Reviews in a Chinese Cross-Border E-Commerce Context

Since the advent of electronic word-of-mouth communication, particularly in the form of user-generated reviews on e-commerce platforms, research has been undertaken to quantify and draw insights from this growing wealth of data. Coinciding developments in machine learning and natural language processing have enabled the systemic analysis of these texts, heightening the role of user feedback from a simple information channel between users to an indispensable source of “big data” information regarding consumer sentiment and behaviour. While otherwise extensive, contemporary research into the role of consumer sentiment, and, in particular, its effect on sales outcomes, is largely built around data gathered from Western e-commerce platforms, most notably Amazon. This has potentially limited its generalizability to wider contexts. In addition, many studies simplify the role of feedback valence by interpreting the sentiment polarity of a written review as equivalent to its corresponding numerical rating – a conflation that seems to go against existing research into rating inflation and other biases. This study seeks to further this field of e-commerce research by accounting for these issues. Us-ing cross-sectional data gathered from an industry-leading Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform, this study analyses the relationships between user-generated review sentiments and order amounts in a new context. By applying three different sentiment analysis tools to a total of 451,375 product reviews, overall sentiment polarity and subjectivity metrics were calculated for 8,319 product listings. Using these values, alongside other control variables (including numerical ratings, separate from sentiment polarities) from the listings, econometric regression models de-scribing the relationships were estimated and interpreted. The findings of this study demonstrate that, on a broad level, the notion of review sentiment polarity being positively related to sales outcomes is generalizable beyond the Western context. The role of a more nuanced aspect of review sentiments, namely the subjectivity of reviews, is found to be seemingly different from existing research into Western platforms, albeit somewhat inconclusively. The findings also support the notion that review sentiment polarity is not directly represented by its corresponding numerical rating, and that future studies should continue to differentiate between these two metrics. This study leaves open the exact causal nature of these relationships, requiring future research using time series data over multiple years. In addition, a greater variety of product categories could be studied in order to confirm the overall generalizability of these findings

Improving the service quality of cross-border e-commerce: How to understand online consumer reviews from a cultural differences perspective

IntroductionCross-border e-commerce (CBEC) consumers come from different countries; thus, cultural differences may affect their evaluations and perceptions of service quality. This paper follows Hofstede’s framework as a theoretical anchor to explore how to use online consumer reviews that reflect cultural differences to improve the service quality of CBEC.MethodsFirst, based on a latent Dirichlet allocation model, 14 service quality issues that consumers are concerned about in CBEC were identified. Second, a generalized ordered logistic regression model was explored to analyze the cultural influences on consumer sentiment orientation. Finally, the effect of each cultural dimension on consumer service quality perception in CBEC was evaluated by employing a binary logistic regression model.ResultsThe results showed that consumers paid more attention to the service quality of logistics service, customs efficiency and tariff, shopping experience, and so on. Cultural dimensions significantly impacted consumers’ emotional tendencies. Moreover, cultural dimensions had significant impacts on consumers’ service quality perception (e.g., logistics service, trust in sellers, customs disputes, and cell phone performance). Still, consumers’ quality perceptions of some services (e.g., cell phone functions, items as described, logistics package quality, and gifts) were less affected by cultural dimensions.DiscussionOur findings not only provide new perspectives for CBEC consumer behavior studies on quality improvement but also provide practical implications for CBEC enterprises

The impact of mukbang live streaming commerce on consumers’ overconsumption behavior

Food live streaming shopping, which features a host eating and promoting the products to viewers, has become a new form of food marketing. This paper examines the impact of content, influencer, and channel factors of mukbang live streaming on consumers' perceived value and subsequent impulse purchase and food consumption behaviour. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 was an experiment with 216 participants, revealing that a non-ASMR regular food video in which the mukbanger talks to viewers while eating is more influential in enhancing the video’s perceived value and increasing impulsive purchase and consumption. Study 2 introduced the influencer factors into the experiment conducted with 624 participants. It showed that a credible and parasocial influencer significantly affected consumers’ perceived value, regardless of the food featured, resulting in impulse purchase and consumption. Study 3, excluding the content factors fully mediated by influencer factors, examined the impact of live streaming influencer and shopping platform on perceived value and food well-being. A cross-sectional survey of 630 respondents found that channel factors (food product offerings and convenience) and influencer factors (credibility and parasocial relationship) significantly enhanced consumers’ perceived value, leading to impulse purchase and overconsumption. Theoretical and practical implications were provided to enrich future research and responsible business practices in online food marketing

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

Impacto del desarrollo del servicio postal en el crecimiento de las compras electrónicas transfronterizas en el Perú

Worldwide e-commerce continues to grow progressively. In 2018, 1.452 million online buyers were registered, 23% of which were buyers from foreign websites. However, in Peru, e-commerce has grown only 3% in the 2019-2020 period, showing a slowdown compared to the countries with the best digital performance. Similarly, it was shown that for online buyers one of the main problems when buying on foreign web pages is the delivery time of the products, with Serpost being in charge of distributing more than 60% of international shipments in Peru. Objective: Analyze the impact of the development of the postal service on the growth of cross-border electronic purchases. Methodology: A structured online survey was applied to 421 people over 15 years old who made at least one cross-border electronic purchase in the last 12 months in Peru. Findings: The development of the postal service impacts the growth of cross-border electronic purchases. 84% of those surveyed indicate their intention to increase the number of purchases on foreign websites under the condition of improving the postal service.El comercio electrónico a nivel mundial sigue creciendo de manera progresiva. En el 2018, se registraron 1452 millones de compradores en línea, siendo el 23% compradores de páginas web extranjeras. Sin embargo, en el Perú el comercio electrónico ha crecido solo 3% en el periodo 2019-2020, mostrando una desaceleración en comparación a los países con mejor desempeño digital. De igual manera, se demostró que para los compradores en línea uno de los principales problemas al comprar en páginas web extranjeras es el tiempo de entrega de los productos, siendo Serpost el encargado de distribuir más del 60% los envíos internacionales en el Perú. Objetivo: Analizar el impacto del desarrollo del servicio postal en el crecimiento de las compras electrónicas transfronterizas. Metodología: Se aplicó una encuesta en línea estructurada a 421 personas mayores de 15 años que realizaron al menos una compra electrónica transfronteriza en los últimos 12 meses en el Perú. Hallazgos: El desarrollo del servicio postal impacta en el crecimiento de las compras electrónicas transfronterizas. El 84% de los encuestados indicaron su intención de incrementar el número de compras en páginas webs extranjeras bajo la condición de mejora del servicio postal

Software Engineering Methods for the Internet of Things: A Comparative Review

Accessing different physical objects at any time from anywhere through wireless network heavily impacts the living style of societies worldwide nowadays. Thus, the Internet of Things has now become a hot emerging paradigm in computing environments. Issues like interoperability, software reusability, and platform independence of those physical objects are considered the main current challenges. This raises the need for appropriate software engineering approaches to develop effective and efficient IoT applications software. This paper studies the state of the art of design and development methodologies for IoT software. The aim is to study how proposed approaches have been solved issues of interoperability, reusability, and independence of the platform. A comparative study is presented for the different software engineering methods used for the Internet of Things. Finally, the key research gaps and open issues are highlighted as future directions