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

Factors affecting the adoption of online auctions by internet users in Hong Kong

This is an exploratory empirical study with the aim to identify the factors that affect the adoption of online auctions by Internet users in Hong Kong. The frameworks used were the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model), TCE (Transaction Cost Economics) and SERVQUAL (Service Quality). It was found that the dimensions that affected the customer’s perceived value of the online auction are benefits, costs, risks and service quality. Data was collected from four pilot focus groups, one online survey and a final focus group. The subjects in the focus groups were 21 undergraduates, whereas the subjects in the online survey were 152 internet users. The results of the pilot focus groups guided the design of the online survey. The results of the survey was analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The final focus group was used to seek explanations to some issues arose from the online survey. It was found that the factors in the benefit dimension were liquidity, enjoyment, and price transparency. The factors in the cost dimension were time, effort, service charge and reputation of the user. The factor in the risk dimension was financial risk. The factors in the service quality dimension were efficiency and system availability. The final focus group revealed that the auctioneer’s role in policing the auction web site was important. For differences among the subjects, it was also found that the adult users consider their reputation in auction website, young adults are worried about financial risks, and female users are more concerned about financial risks than male users. The implications of these differences are discussed. The main academic contribution was the development of a questionnaire and a model which can be used in further research about other forms of auction

Entertainment gratification, informative gratification, web irritation and self-efficacy as motivational factors to online shopping intention / Norol Hamiza Zamzuri ... [et al.]

The Internet technology and pervasive computing has provided consumers with privileges to shop online. In addition, the Industry 4.0 agenda has placed the business web and the social web as the ecosystem domains, which explains why online shopping is a norm today. While many studies have been conducted to investigate the determinants of consumers’ intention to use online shopping, mixed results are always found, especially when the business take unique approaches for their digital presence. Besides, even though self-efficacy has been studied extensively in information system research, technological complexity has always given a challenge to consumers’ computing ability. Building on the Use and Gratification Theory (GTA) and the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), this study aims to examine the relationships between entertainment gratification, informative gratification, web irritation and self-efficacy towards individual’s intention to use online shopping. Using the quantitative survey approach, data was collected from 217 young executives who are frequent online shoppers. The results of the structural equation modeling suggest entertainment gratification, informative gratification and self-efficacy are the factors that derive consumers’ intention to shop online. On the other hand, web irritation has no significant relationship with online shopping intention. The findings do not only capture the importance for web retailers to provide adequate buying-selling information and to provide the element of fun to the shopping portals, but it also suggests for the web retailers to provide less complicated online shopping features since consumers’ ability to use the technology determines purchase behavior. The findings serve as future research agenda

High or low initial setting price?: Initial setting price as prediction of intention to bid in on line auctions

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economic

Electronic word-of-mouth and its influence on purchase intention: a literature review and research agenda

AbstractThe rise of the internet enables consumers to exchange and share consumption-related experiences through online reviews. This form of word of mouth, referred to as electronic word of mouth, can exert a strong impact on consumers' buying behaviour. Thus, academic interest in investigating the impact of e WOM has increased significantly over the last two decades. Al though many studies on the impact of e WOM have been published, the literature is fragmented, and scant attempts have been made to incorporate the findings of the existing research. This paper conducts a systematic literature review to synthesise the findings of prior research and to explain the impact of e WOM on consumers' purchase intention. Based on the analysis of the relevant literature, age, involvement, product and consumer characteristics were identified as moderators, while brand equity dimensions and trust act as mediator variables for the relationship between e WOM and purchase intention. Finally, drawing on the TCCM framework, this study provides directions for future research

Examining factors influencing the repurchasing intention of credence products: empirical evidence from Thailand

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThe purpose of this study is to examine post-purchase evaluation factors influencing repurchase intention of credence products, and develop a model of consumer’s post-purchase evaluation for the repurchase intentions. The credence products in this case are dietary supplements, with a focus on consumers in Thailand. The study classifies a conceptual model and hypothesised relationships into two consumer perspectives: product; and brand. This research assumes that trust, expectations, satisfaction factors may relate to repurchase intention for the consumer product perspective. Also, brand trust, brand experience, expectation, and satisfaction factors are correlated with repurchase intention from the consumer brand perspective. The research adopts a hypothetico-deductive method to enable the testing of hypotheses and also a structural equation modelling (SEM) to measure the constructive relationship and regression analysis that evaluates the relationship between independent and dependent variables. Both simple regression and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used to examine the effect of post-purchase evaluation factors on repurchase intention. These analyses are based on a sample of 504 dietary supplement users of vitamins, minerals, and herbs or other botanical products in four regions of Thailand through face-to-face structured interviews. Findings indicate that from consumers’ product perspective, consumer trust has no significant direct effect on consumer repurchase intentions whereas the relationship between consumer trust and consumer repurchase intentions of credence products are related, when it is mediated by consumer expectation and consumer satisfaction. In terms of consumers’ brand perspective, the study leads to a better understanding of consumer brand trust and consumer expectation, both of which have no significant direct effect on consumer repurchase intentions. Consumer brand trust, consumer brand experience and consumer repurchase intentions are not correlated when mediated by consumer expectation. Other findings reveal that brand experience has a direct impact on repurchase intentions whereas consumer satisfaction is a significant mediating factor when connected with: (1) the relationship between consumer brand trust and repurchase intention; (2) the relationship between consumer brand experience and repurchase intention. The study makes a contribution to a post-purchase evaluation for repurchase intentions of credence products from both consumers’ product and brand perspectives in Thailand. This study also suggests that consumer brand experience is the strongest factor and consumer satisfaction is the strongest mediator for consumers’ P-PE for the repurchase intention of credence products. From a managerial perspective, the findings of this study provide evidence for both the public and private sector in Thailand in terms of devising marketing strategies in accordance with this model

UK corporate share repurchases: an empirical analysis of corporate motives and payout policies

This thesis investigates the motives behind share buybacks in the UK, and examines this form of corporate payout in relation to dividends by extending traditional corporate dividend behaviour models to include payouts made through share repurchases. Using hand-collected data for 267 firms belonging to the FTSE 350 from 2001 to 2004, we show that the motives of firms in the UK to repurchase their shares appear to be different from those of US firms, which we mainly attribute to differences in corporate governance between the two countries. We find that the most plausible motive behind share buybacks in the UK is the distribution of surplus cash to shareholders although, contrary to US findings, UK share buybacks are related primarily to expected rather than unexpected earnings. Indeed, share buybacks appear to be paid out of the same expected earnings component as are dividends, which suggests that repurchases may be substitutes for (at least part of) regular dividend payouts. When we use behavioural dividend models, such as Lintner (1956) and Fama & Babiak (1968), to determine whether they can be extended to estimate changes in total payouts as opposed to just dividends, we find that firms that repurchase their shares tend to have a smoother dividend policy, which lends support to the substitution hypothesis of share repurchases. Further, we develop modified versions of these models in which we assume that dividends or total payout changes are the result of a full adjustment to expected changes in earnings and a partial adjustment to unexpected changes in earnings. We show that these models appear to better reflect the changes in total payout policy that have occurred in recent years in the UK

Approaches to monetary policy revisited - lessons from the crisis, 6th ECB Central Banking Conference, 18-19 November 2010

This volume contains a collection of papers, commentaries and speeches that review the strategic and operational decisions taken by the central banks to combat the crisis and that reflect on the lessons for the future. The contributions are grouped around five broad topics: monetary policy strategy, lessons from historical experiences, challenges for macroeconomic and finance theory, the international dimension of the crisis, and operational frameworks for monetary policy.monetary policy strategy, monetary policy operational framework