Exploring customer trust and relationships in the online environment

This thesis presents eleven selected publications concerning trust and relationships in the online environment. The evolution of the research over ten years showcases the author’s dedication to the practical application of marketing for the benefit of organisations and individuals alongside contribution to academic knowledge. The advent of new technology by way of the internet has added a new dimension to the complexity of marketing strategy and, from a practical point of view, marketers need to incorporate cutting edge technology into their strategic thinking. Existing literature at the time that the author started this research was at the nascent stage and over the period of the research, it became obvious that technology could be used as a tool to help build relationships. Conversely, customers demonstrated varying degrees of trust in both the technologies and the organisations using online-based tools. It became essential, therefore, for organisations to appear trustworthy in order for customers to engage with online marketing platforms and subsequently entrust their purchasing activities to the online environment. The research appraised in this thesis makes a significant contribution to knowledge about marketing in the online environment and the implications of engendering consumer trust. Six key contributions to knowledge are claimed as a result of this work. Firstly, a framework for using online marketing strategically has been developed. Secondly, an analysis of how online marketing fits into the traditional marketing framework is provided. Thirdly, the author introduces the notion that trust in a brand influences online behaviour by reducing perceived risk, leading to consumers committing to online purchasing. Fourthly, online brand elements used to create credibility of a B2B brand are identified. Fifthly, the author presents an identification of how structural elements of websites can be utilized to differentiate online brands from competitors’ offerings. Finally, the author puts forward the proposition that marketers can learn from relatiaonships between contributors to online social networks. The researcher has utilised a variety of deliberately chosen methodologies, most of which are qualitative. The thesis also contains three secondary contributions related to research design. These are the use of a bought-in, permission-based email list, the innovative use of netnography to elicit rich data from online discussion forums and, finally, content analysis of websites. The work concludes by offering eight recommendations for future research directions

Privacy notice for dummies? Towards European guidelines on how to give "clear and comprehensive information" on the cookies' use in order to protect the internet users' right to online privacy

The reviewed ePrivacy Directive aims at ensuring internet users’ online privacy by requiring users to give informed consent to the gathering, storing, and processing of their data by internet service providers, e.g., through the cookies’ use. However, it is hardly possible to talk about an "informed" consent if internet users are not aware of cookies or do not understand when and how they work. Currently, European rules require internet service providers to provide internet users with a "clear and comprehensive" information on the cookies’ use without further specifying what kind of disclosure would be seen as compliant therewith. This paper assesses the need for harmonized European guidelines on transparent and readable disclosure on the cookies’ use and suggests the way forward based on comparative legal research and findings from consumer behaviour research

Greenwash and Green Trust: The Mediation Effects of Green Consumer Confusion and Green Perceived Risk

[[abstract]]The paper explores the influence of greenwash on green trust and discusses the mediation roles of green consumer confusion and green perceived risk. The research object of this study focuses on Taiwanese consumers who have the purchase experience of information and electronics products in Taiwan. This research employs an empirical study by means of the structural equation modeling. The results show that greenwash is negatively related to green trust. Therefore, this study suggests that companies must reduce their greenwash behaviors to enhance their consumers’ green trust. In addition, this study finds out that green consumer confusion and green perceived risk mediate the negative relationship between greenwash and green trust. The results also demonstrate that greenwash is positively associated with green consumer confusion and green perceived risk which would negatively affect green trust. It means that greenwash does not only negatively affect green trust directly but also negatively influence it via green consumer confusion and green perceived risk indirectly. Hence, if companies would like to reduce the negative relationship between greenwash and green trust,they need to decrease their consumers’ green consumer confusion and green perceived risk.[[notice]]補正完畢[[journaltype]]國外[[incitationindex]]SSCI[[booktype]]紙本[[booktype]]電子版[[countrycodes]]NL

Relationship Marketing through the Prism of Customer Loyalty

Straipsnyje sistemiškai nagrinėjamas dviejų aktualių praktikai ir mokslui sudėtingų reiškinių - ryšių rinkodaros ir vartotojų lojalumo derinys. Išanalizuoti tokie esminiai šių reiškinių aspektai: ryšių rinkodaros ir vartotojų lojalumo istorinis kontekstas, ryšių rinkodaros turinys strateginiu ir taktiniu lygmenimis, populiariausių ryšių rinkodaros strategijų ypatybės, vartotojų lojalumo būsenų kaitos specifika, lojalumo programų vieta rinkodaros grandinėje. Remiantis analizės rezultatais parengtas rinkodaros priemonių poveikio vartotojų lojalumo būsenai vertinimo metodas, kuriame integruotas inovatyvus komponentas, skirtas rinkodaros priemonių sinergijos efektui skaičiuoti. Metodas patikrintas analitinio modeliavimo būdu, aptartos jo taikymo galimybėsThe paper systemically analyzes two complex phenomena relevant to practice and science - mixture of relationship marketing and customer loyalty. The following fundamental aspects of these phenomena were analyzed: the historical context of relationship marketing and customer loyalty, content of relationship marketing at strategic and tactical levels, the most popular features of relationship marketing strategies, specifics of loyalty status change, the place of customer loyalty programs in marketing chain. Based on the results of the analysis a method for measuring the effect of marketing tools on the status of customer loyalty was prepared, the method has an integrated innovative component that calculates the synergy effect of marketing tools. The method was tested in analytical modelling manner, the possibilities of its application were discusse