The Importance of eWOM Elements on Online Repurchase Intention: Roles of Trust and Perceived Usefulness

The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of online review elements, including electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) quantity, credibility, and quality, on customer’s online repurchase intention through the mediating roles of online seller trust and perceived usefulness of the website. A partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modeling (SEM) was chosen to evaluate the measurement of research constructs and test the research hypotheses. This research uses data collected through online questionnaires in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The respondents’ criterion was college students who had read online recommendations before making purchases on Bukalapak.com, an e-commerce platform in Indonesia. The results suggest that the credibility and quality of eWOM have a positive direct effect on consumers’ repurchase intention, while the eWOM quantity has a negative influence on repurchase intentions. The eWOM credibility and quality indirectly influence repurchase intentions through trust in the online vendor. The perceived usefulness of the websiteonly mediates the influence of eWOM quality on online repurchase intention. Limitations and further research were also discussed.

The Effects of Product Monetary Value, Product Evaluation Cost, and Customer Enjoyment on Customer Intention to Purchase and Reuse Vendors: Institutional Trust-Based Mechanisms

This study develops a model based on perceived effectiveness of e-commerce institutional mechanisms (PEEIM) and trust-based mechanisms to explain how PEEIM, product monetary value (MV), product evaluation cost (PEC), and enjoyment influence trust online vendor (TV) and how they affect purchase intention (IP) and reuse intention (IR) in e-shopping. The study is based on a survey of 293 online shoppers in Taiwan. Results show that monetary value, product evaluation cost, and customer enjoyment have a positive relationship with trust in online vendors, and a positive indirect and significant relationship on intention to purchase and reuse the products or service in the e-shopping environment. However, PEEIM does not have indirect effects on the customer’s intention to purchase and reuse the products or services through the influence of trust online vendor if the influence of PEEIM on customer trust online vendor is low and no significant effects, but PEEIM does have significant direct effects on a customer’s purchase and reuse intention. In addition, PEEIM has two constantly indirect relationships with a customer to purchase and reuse intention the product or services through the influence of customer enjoyment and customer trust in online vendor relationships. The study contributes important theoretical and practical implications for scholars and e-commerce providers.

PERCEIVED EFFECTIVE SANCTIONS AND ITS EFFECT ON CUSTOMER INITIAL TRUST IN AN ONLINE VENDOR: A CONCEPTUAL PAPER

Research Highlights Perceived effective sanction, in this study, refer to perception that the customers have the ability to impose punishment on the vendor if the vendor does not fulfill his or her promises. This paper is aimed to examine the effect of perceived effective sanctions on trusting beliefs and trusting intention on an unfamiliar online vendor. This study proposes that a strong perception of effective of imposing sanctions on an unfamiliar online vendor may lead to customers’ trustworthiness perception of the vendor and subsequently, their tendency to rely on the vendor. This paper also proposes the methodology to validate the research model. ___________________________________________________________________________ Graphical Abstract The following figure shows the proposed research model in this study. Research Objectives In the literature, McKnight’s trust studies (i.e. McKnight, Choudhury, and Kacmar (2002a), (2002b)) have conceptualized trust by specifically dividing it into two separate yet interrelated components (i.e. trusting beliefs which refers to one’s beliefs that the other person is competent, benevolence, and has integrity where trusting beliefs is an important antecedent to another trust component, that is, trusting intention which refers to one’s willingness to depend on the other person). They have studied trust specifically on an unfamiliar online vendor, one with whom the customer has no past experience or interaction, also called initial trust in this study. Perceived effective sanctions has been suggested by Bock, Lee, Kuan, & Kim (2012) as antecedent to initial trust, however, trust that they conceptualized, in fact, referred to trusting beliefs as termed by McKnight’s trust studies. They have examined the effect of perceived effective sanctions on trusting beliefs only but not on trusting intention. It is essential to examine the effect of perceived effective sanctions on trusting intention as according to McKnight’s trust studies, compared to trusting beliefs, trusting intention indicates a firmer commitment to trust, has better predicting power on specific behavioral intention that will lead one to indulge in certain behaviors (i.e. purchase) and one who has trusting intention is not solely due to one’s trusting beliefs but also due to other factors in which one’s perceived effective sanctions could be one of them. Examining its direct effect on trusting intention should enhance the predicting power on trusting intention. Based on the researchers’ knowledge, McKnight’s conceptualization is best describing trust and thus it is worthwhile to incorporate perceived effective sanction in McKnight’s trust model to develop a greater understanding on how it affects customers’ initial trust on an unfamiliar online vendor. At the same time, improve the Bock, Lee, Kuan, & Kim’s (2012) work through a proposed direct relationship between the constructs. In particular, this study aims to examine the effect of perceived effective sanctions on trusting beliefs and trusting intention on an unfamiliar online vendor. Methodology This study suggests quantitative method to validate the conceptual model. Due to university students are the most connected, experienced and frequent users of the Internet Drennan, Mort, & Previte (2006) and based on Hair, Hult, Ringle, & Sarstedt’s (2017) 10 times rules and equation of determining sample size, a total of 120 local university students are proposed to participate in the study. The study involves two phases. In a computer laboratory, the respondents will asked to visit an unfamiliar or non-reputable website. This is to ensure the respondents visit a website for the first time so that initial trust as what we aim to study can be investigated. After the website browsing, the respondents are given a questionnaire which will solicit their perception on sanctions, trusting beliefs, and trusting intention. The collected data will be analyzed statistically using smartPLS. Conclusion According to the proposed research model and based on the literature, logic, theoretical, and empirical support, this study proposes that trusting beliefs positively affect trusting intention where in the context of online transaction, if customers strongly sense that an unknown online vendor is kind hearted, capable, and honest, these will increase their tendency to rely on the vendor. Futhermore, this study suggests that perceived effective sanctions positively affects trusting beliefs and trusting intention on an unfamiliar online vendor. We propose that customers with a strong perception on effective of imposing sanctions on an unfamiliar online vendor will have higher beliefs that the vendor will behave trustworthily and consequently have higher tendency to rely on the vendor. In particular, this study contributed academically by proposing a relationship between perceived effective sanctions and trusting intention; which it has not yet been explored in the literature. Acknowledgement The authors would like to thank the Zamalah Universiti Teknologi Malaysia for their financial assistance.

A Hybrid Pythagorean Group Decision Making Model for Website Selection

The digital revolution has transformed many offline retailers to perform their business activities online, resulting in tough competition in a dynamic marketing environment. A well-built, user friendly, and attractive e-commerce website will result in high traffic intensity and eventually impact the market position of the online vendor. Over the past few decades, a number of studies have been done to predict the key determinants of e-commerce system success. This chapter considers the criteria, namely system quality, content quality, use, trust, support, personalization, and electronic word-of-mouth. Evaluating objects based on a single criterion may pose to be subjective, which have shifted these decisions towards multiple criteria, and hence has popularized the concept of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM). This chapter combines Pythagorean fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (PFAHP) and complex proportional assessment of alternatives with grey relations (COPRAS-G), under multiple decision makers, to select the best e-commerce website from five alternatives.

Online Opportunities: A Quantitative Content Analysis Benchmark Study of Online Retail Plant Sales

Online, direct selling (ODS) has become the leading way that people acquire goods, with Amazon (Seattle, WA) being the largest online vendor in the United States. This study sought to determine if horticultural businesses were engaging in ODS with Amazon, ebay, and other websites. Researchers examined the ODS activity of 498 businesses using quantitative content analysis methods, and found that 93 horticultural industry businesses were conducting some form of ODS through their websites, but only four offered products on Amazon. Results indicate that ODS remains an untapped marketplace for the horticultural industry, particularly for small, rural businesses.

Novel Benzodiazepines (Clonazolam and Flubromazolam) Identified in Candy-Like Pills

Objectives To identify the contents of pills found on an intoxicated patient by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTof).5 To highlight the potential ability that this technique can add to the clinical laboratory. Methods Illicit PEZ-like pills purchased from an online vendor, containing unknown substances, were investigated by UHPLC-QTof. Accurate mass and experimental data were obtained. Tentative identifications were subsequently confirmed with commercial standards. Results Accurate mass data, high-energy mass spectra, elucidation software, and a review of the scientific literature enabled the tentative identification of clonazolam and flubromazolam in the PEZ-like pills. On the basis of these tentative identifications, commercial standards were purchased to confirm the initial findings. On subsequent reinterrogation of the data, flubromazolam was identified in the urine specimen of the patient. Conclusions Utilizing high-resolution mass data, 2 novel benzodiazepines were tentatively identified by reinterrogation of a routine analysis for drugs of abuse. Use of UHPLC-QTof in a clinical toxicology laboratory provides additional capabilities to explain and potentially improve treatment of patients presenting to the emergency department with symptoms possibly due to toxic substance ingestion.