Critical review of the e-loyalty literature: a purchase-centred framework

Over the last few years, the concept of online loyalty has been examined extensively in the literature, and it remains a topic of constant inquiry for both academics and marketing managers. The tremendous development of the Internet for both marketing and e-commerce settings, in conjunction with the growing desire of consumers to purchase online, has promoted two main outcomes: (a) increasing numbers of Business-to-Customer companies running businesses online and (b) the development of a variety of different e-loyalty research models. However, current research lacks a systematic review of the literature that provides a general conceptual framework on e-loyalty, which would help managers to understand their customers better, to take advantage of industry-related factors, and to improve their service quality. The present study is an attempt to critically synthesize results from multiple empirical studies on e-loyalty. Our findings illustrate that 62 instruments for measuring e-loyalty are currently in use, influenced predominantly by Zeithaml et al. (J Marketing. 1996;60(2):31-46) and Oliver (1997; Satisfaction: a behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York: McGraw Hill). Additionally, we propose a new general conceptual framework, which leads to antecedents dividing e-loyalty on the basis of the action of purchase into pre-purchase, during-purchase and after-purchase factors. To conclude, a number of managerial implementations are suggested in order to help marketing managers increase their customers’ e-loyalty by making crucial changes in each purchase stage

Impact of Consumer Characteristics and Hedonic Shopping Motivations on Online Auctions

Online auctions present unique characteristics in the consumer decision making process that raise new issues related to consumer shopping behaviors in auction-based purchases. The present research examined the relationship between hedonic shopping motivations and shopping values in online auctions and found that the hedonic shopping motivations are important predictors of shopping values in online auctions. This research also defined consumer characteristics that influence hedonic shopping motivations. Hedonic shopping motivations combined with consumer characteristics are critical factors of consumer shopping evaluation in the online auction environment. The results of this study also revealed that consumers’ shopping evaluation (i.e., shopping value) positively influence their preferences for online auctions. Preferences are important factor to form behavioral intentions in online auctions. The primary contribution of this dissertation is that it provides an empirically tested theoretical foundation on the components of consumer characteristics, hedonic shopping motivations, and shopping values in online auction environment. Contrary to previous studies that focused on utilitarian benefits of online shopping, this study focused on hedonic aspects of shopping which may explain the success of online auctions in the current retail market

How do bidders’ organism reactions mediate auction stimuli and bidder loyalty in online auctions? The case of Taobao in China

© 2016 Elsevier B.V.Currently, it is critical to nurture bidder loyalty in the highly competitive online auction business. This study investigated the mediating effect of consumer perceptions between technological/brand stimuli and bidder loyalty to an online auction website by applying the traditional and evolutionary stimulus-organism-response models. We tested these models using 449 bidders from Taobao, an online auction service provider in China. Based on the results of covariance-based structural equation modelling, we showed that consumer perceptions fully mediate technological stimuli, but only partially mediate brand stimuli, and bidder loyalty. These results can be used to further improve the related research and practice.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

MEASURING THE ANTECEDENT EFFECTS OF SERVICE COGNITION AND INTERNET SHOPPING ANXIETY ON CONSUMER SATISFACTION WITH E-TAILING SERVICE

Internet shopping anxiety (ISA), or the negative emotion that results from an individual’s experiences with online shopping in particular, is an important factor to explain the consumer’s emotion in ecommerce usage experience, such as e-tailing service usage experience. In this study, we introduce Internet shopping anxiety (ISA) as a new factor that reflect the consumer’s emotion in e-tailing service usage. We explore and empirically validate the relationships among Internet shopping anxiety, perceived risk and consumer satisfaction under the online retailing context. This study surveyed and collected the responses of 239 survey participants with online shopping experience. The results indicated that E-tailing service quality and trust in website have significant negative effects on Internet shopping anxiety. Further, the results showed that Internet shopping anxiety have a significant positive effect on perceived risk. Finally, perceived risk is found to have a significant negative effect on consumers’ satisfaction.consumer satisfaction, e-tailing service, internet shopping anxiety.

Ishodi percipirane kvalitete koji se odnose na online prodavaonicu: empirijski dokazi

Purpose – Despite tremendous growth of e-commerce, there are reports of concerns about the quality of products and services in online transactions. This study evaluates customer perceptions of product quality in online circumstances. Specifically, the study proposes a model for analyzing the prominent outcomes of perceived webshop quality. Design/Methodology/Approach – The data was obtained through an online survey using a structured questionnaire administered to 515 online customers. Furthermore, regression analyses tested the causal relationship proposed in the hypothesis. Findings and implications – The study found that both the dimensions of product quality and webshop quality affect customer loyalty and satisfaction. Besides, satisfaction and trust affect loyalty. Results also reveal that satisfaction affects trust. On the other hand, product quality has not been shown to affect customer trust. Limitations – Since there is no online customer database, a public online survey with screening questions was used. The sample consists only of the representatives of the student population who have purchased products online. As the sample may not reflect the entire population of online consumers worldwide, caution is to be applied when generalizing the findings. Originality – This study contributes the existing knowledge about how perceptions of quality, satisfaction, and trust combine to increase loyalty in the case of e-commerce. This is a step towards expanding and contextualizing research on perceived quality and its outcomes in a non-traditional Eastern context. This paper provides marketers with valuable insights into the perceptions and attitudes of young online shoppers.Svrha – Unatoč ogromnom rastu e-trgovine, postoje izvješća o zabrinutosti u vezi s kvalitetom proizvoda i usluga u online transakcijama. Istraživanje procjenjuje percepcije kupaca o kvaliteti proizvoda u online okolnostima. Konkretno, predlaže se model za analizu istaknutih ishoda percipirane kvalitete. Metodološki pristup – Podatci su prikupljeni pomoću strukturiranog online anketnog upitnika na uzorku 515 online kupaca. Za testiranje uzročnih odnosa predloženih u hipotezama korištena je regresijska analiza. Rezultati i implikacije – Istraživanje je pokazalo da obje dimenzije, kvaliteta proizvoda i kvaliteta online prodavaonice, utječu na lojalnost kupaca i zadovoljstvo. Osim toga, zadovoljstvo i povjerenje utječu na lojalnost. Rezultati također otkrivaju da zadovoljstvo utječe na povjerenje. S druge strane, pokazalo se da kvaliteta proizvoda ne utječe na povjerenje kupaca. Ograničenja – Budući da ne postoji online baza podataka o kupcima, provedeno je javno online istraživanje s eliminacijskim pitanjima. Uzorak je bio samo iz populacije studenata koji su kupili proizvode putem interneta. Stoga je potreban oprez pri generaliziranju nalaza istraživanja. Uzorak možda ne odražava cijelu populaciju online kupaca diljem svijeta. Doprinos – Istraživanje doprinosi proširenju postojećeg znanja o tome kako se percepcije kvalitete, zadovoljstva i povjerenja kombiniraju za povećanje lojalnosti u slučaju e-trgovine. To je korak prema proširenju i kontekstualizaciji istraživanja percipirane kvalitete i njezinih ishoda u netradicionalnom istočnjačkom kontekstu. Rad pruža marketinškim stručnjacima vrijedne uvide u percepcije i stavove mladih online kupaca

Young consumers’ purchase behaviour of sustainably-labelled food products. What is the role of scepticism?

This paper aimed to investigate consumer scepticism towards third-party sustainability labels in the context of food products, evaluating its role in the formation of the customer’s buying behaviour. A covariance-based structural equation model (CB-SEM) was developed, and it included the customer’s socio-environmental concern, scepticism toward sustainability labels, reported use of the socio-environmental commitment declared by the producer, and purchase behaviour of sustainably-labelled food products. The model was tested on a sample of 311 Italian high-educated young consumers, a group of sustainability-conscious individuals. The findings highlight that purchase behaviour is positively influenced by two reciprocally-related variables: socio-environmental concern and the reported use of the socio-environmental commitment declared by the producer. While other studies have ascertained that scepticism is an antecedent of purchase behaviour, this study findings highlight it can also be considered a mediator of the relationships between purchase behaviour and other antecedents considered in this model. In addition to advancing the study on the role of scepticism in the formation of purchasing decisions for food products, drawing on signalling theory, this study provides insights for practitioners and policymakers, highlighting the absolute necessity to reassure consumers about the credibility of third-party sustainability labels and providing them with the instruments needed to distinguish the truth from the fluff in sustainability communication

The Influence Of Belief And Justice On Brand Loyalty In Social Commerce

This paper presents a research model to examine factors influencing brand loyalty and these relationships in social commerce. The model comprises four research hypotheses with five constructs, including behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, control beliefs, justice and brand loyalty. The constructs are measured by well-supported measures in the literature. The hypotheses are tested via an empirical study of social commerce. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze survey data collected from 363 usable responses. The results show that, in the order of importance, control beliefs, behavioral beliefs and normative beliefs are the major factors contributing to justice and in turn enhance brand loyalty for the social commerce as a whole

Trust and reciprocity effect on electronic word-of-mouth in online review communities

Purpose Social media developments in the last decade have led to the emergence of a new form of word of mouth (WOM) in the digital environment. Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is considered by many scholars and practitioners to be the most influential informal communication mechanism between businesses and potential and actual consumers. The purpose of this paper is to extend knowledge about WOM in this new context by proposing a conceptual framework that enables a better understanding of how trust and reciprocity influence eWOM participation in ORCs. Design/methodology/approach This study applies non-probability convenience sampling technique to conduct a quantitative study of data from an online survey of 189 members of ORCs. Partial least squares (PLS) is used to analyse the correlations between individuals’ intention to seek opinion, to give their own opinion and to pass on the opinion of another within ORCs. Findings The data analysis reveals that opinion seeking within ORCs had a direct effect on opinion giving and opinion passing. Ability trust and integrity trust had a positive effect on opinion seeking, while benevolence trust had a direct positive effect on opinion passing. Reciprocity had a direct impact on opinion passing. While reciprocity did not affect opinion giving, the relationship between these two concepts was mediated by integrity trust. Research limitations/implications By studying the complexities that characterise the relationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM, the study extends understanding of eWOM in ORCs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of only a few papers that have examined the complex interrelationships between reciprocity, trust and eWOM in the context of ORCs