• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.83-95
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• 2007

We are motivated by how offline and online firms compete. The Internet made many conventional offline firms build a dynamic online business as another sales channel using their advantages such as brand equity, an existing customer base with comprehensive purchasing data, integrated marketing, economies of scale, and longtime experience with the logistics of order fulfillment and customer service. Even though the hybrid selling using both offline and online channel seems to have advantages over a pure online retailer, all the conventional offline firms are not seen to create an online business. Many conventional offline firms began to launch online business since the Internet era, however, just being online business is not likely to guarantee success. According to Bizate.com's report whether the hybrid channel strategy is successful is still under investigation. For example, consider the classic case of Barnes and Noble versus Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble was already the largest chain of bookstores in the U,S., when Amazon.com was established in 1995, BarnesandNoble.com followed suit in 1997, After suffering losses in its initial years, Amazon finally turned profitable in 2003. In 2004, Amazon's net income was $588 million on revenues of $6.92 billion, while Barnes and Noble earned $143 million on revenues of $4.87 billion, which included BarnesandNoble.com's loss of $21 million on revenues of $420 million. While these examples serve to motivate our thinking, it does not explain when offline firms should venture online. It also does not provide an analytical framework that can generalized to other competitive online-offline situations. We attempt to do this in this paper and analyze a hybrid channel model where a conventional offline firm competes against online firms using its own direct online channels. We are particularly interested in an optimal channel strategy when a conventional offline firm sells its products through its own direct online channel to compete with other rival online firms. We consider two situations where its direct online channel and other online firms are symmetric and asymmetric in the brand effect. The analysis of this paper presents several findings. In the symmetric model where a hybrid firm's online channel is not differentiated from a pure online firm, (i) a conventional offline firm will not launch its online business. In the asymmetric model where a hybrid firm's online channel is differentiated from a pure online firm, (ii) a conventional offline firm can launch its online business if its brand effect is greater than a certain threshold. (iii) there is a positive relationship between its brand effect and online customer costs showing that a conventional offline firm needs more brand effect in order to launch online business as online customer costs decrease. (iv) there is a negative relationship between its brand effect and the number of customers with access to the Internet showing that a conventional offline firm tends to launch its online business when customers with access to the Internet increases.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.489-497
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• 2020

The introduction of self-service technologies (SSTs) in retail stores aims to provide customers with a more satisfying shopping experience. Many retailers are increasingly turning toward the adoption of self-service technologies in providing services directly to customers. Given that previous SST research has focused mainly on the impact of the introduction of SST on customer responses, the present study explored the impact of the presence of employees in the relationship between SST and customer responses. Based on the two ground theories, motivation-based theories of behavior and social impact theory, this study tested the relationships between shopping motivations, SST use intention, and retailer attitude. Moderating effects of the presence of employees on the three relationships were also tested. Data were collected using an online survey and analyzed through structural equations modeling. Test results showed that both hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations effect on SST use intentions, and SST use intentions effect on retailer attitude, subsequently. Although the presence of employee did not moderate the relationship between shopping motivations and SST use intentions, the employee presence moderated the relationship between SST use intentions and retailer attitude. The impact of SST use intentions on retailer attitude was higher in the high presence of employee group than in the low group.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.73-96
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• 2003

Shopping is a work and fun for a consumer. Retailers satisfy social and physiological needs through various experiences as well as economic and rational. Do offer online shopping malls fun and hedonic experiences that offline retailers do? This study applied the hedonic-experiential value relating to the consumption dimension of fun and excitement to online shopping. Especially, a model of online hedonic-experiential value, consisted of its antecedents and consequences, was developed and identified through a survey(n=436). As the result, graphic & multi-media, site structure & design, customer services, payment, individualization, product assortment & display, interactivity, dynamic pricing factors influence online hedonic-experiential value. Also, online hedonic-experiential value significantly related to revisiting, purchasing, and word-of mouth intention of the shopping site. The implications for online retailer are discussed and further research is suggested.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1-7
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• 2005

This paper examines strategic competition model between offline and online retailers and draws strategic implications. Research on the price competition between conventional offline retailers and online retailers has been done through empirical approaches, however, the results are conflicting. This paper reconciles the existing conflicting empirical findings on price levels between offline and online retailers through theoretical approach. This paper analyzes how the internet market has effect on equilibrium prices of both offline and online retailers and discusses the possible reasons why there exist price differences between offline and online retailers in business to consumer electronic commerce.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.23-33
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• 2014

The selection of keywords for bidding is a critical component of paid search advertising. When the number of possible keywords is enormous, it becomes difficult to choose the best keywords for advertising and then subsequently to assess their effect. To this end, we propose an ultrahigh dimensional keyword selection approach that not only reduces the dimension for selections, but also generates the top listed keywords for profits. An empirical analysis using a unique panel dataset from a large online clothes retailer that advertises on the largest search engine in China (i.e., Baidu) is presented to illustrate the usefulness of our approach.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.5-14
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• 2020

Purpose: Trust plays an important role in e-commerce because consumers perceive more risk involved with this type of shopping than traditional way of shopping. Trust is defined as complex and multidimensional issue. This paper argues that trust should be considered to have two important components as trust belief and trust intention, in which trust belief has three components as competence, integrity and benevolence. Research design, data and methodology: This study examines the relationship between retailer website quality (web design, navigation, information), reputation and risk toward trust. In addition, trust and risk toward buying behavior are also considered, leading to customer satisfaction. The paper is conducted on a sample of 594 customers with direct experience of online shopping in Vietnam. Both confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and a structural equation model (SEM) were utilised. Results: Empirical findings from this paper indicate that trust is high order construct. Website quality and reputation have positive impacts on customers' trust. Trust has a positive relationship to buying behavior and customers' satisfaction while perceived risk has negative relationship to buying behavior. In contrast, a relationship between perceived risk and trust is not supported in this study. Conclusions: Improving reputation and website quality (especially information) may increase customers' trust and eventually lead to purchase decision.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.272-285
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• 2012

The purpose of the study is to examine the role of consumer perceptions of websites' entertainment and informativeness in developing their attitudes (attitude toward the retailer and attitude confidence toward the product) in the context of apparel e-tailing. A structural equation model was developed for an empirical test based on the literature on uses-and-gratifications and attitude confidence. A sample of 119 consumers who live in the United States participated in the online survey. The results generally supported the proposed model. Specifically, the analyses revealed that consumers' purchase intention toward the displayed product is positively influenced by their attitudes toward the retailer and by their confidence in their attitudes toward the product. Interestingly, only one of the two cognitive antecedents, perceived entertainment, has a positive impact on consumers' attitude toward the retailer. Perceived informativeness, however, had a positive impact on attitude confidence. These findings suggest that consumers who have high perception of an e-tail website's entertainment are more likely to exhibit favorable attitudes toward the e-tailer, while consumers who have high perception of an e-tail website's informativeness are more likely to hold strong confidence in their attitudes toward the product displayed on the website. Both consumer attitudes toward the e-tailer and their attitude confidence lead to their purchase intentions.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.43-52
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• 2017

Purpose - This study investigates shopping behaviors and effects focusing on the seniors in 50s and 60s based on their buying satisfaction in online shopping. The study investigated causal relation between effects having influence upon online shopping behavior to give theoretical base on the use of online shopping. The study gave implications of consumption attitude of silver generation as well as senior consumers in aging society. Research design, data, and methodology - The subject was senior consumers who have experienced online shopping to be sensitive to the fashion and to have active and reasonable consumption pattern and to be active and to have positive value. Results - This study investigated the mediating effect on purchase satisfaction of the 50s and the 60s upon online shopping to examine online shopping use and effects. The subject was the ones in their 50s and 60s in Gyeonggi and Chungnam who had experienced online shopping. All of hypotheses of models at PLS analysis were supported. Conclusions - Both information innovation and self-satisfaction showed positive influence upon the ease of and also access of the use. In addition, the access to the use had positive influence upon the purchase intention in retailers' online shopping.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.41-50
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• 2017

Purpose - Online product review has become a crucial part of the online retailer's market performance for a wide range of products. This research aims to investigate how an individual reviewer's review frequency and timing affect her/his average attitude toward products. Research design, data, and methodology - To conduct reviewer-level analysis, this study uses 42,172 posted online review messages generated by 6,941 identified reviewers for 59 movies released in the South Korea from July 2015 to December 2015. This study adopts Tobit model specification to take into account the censored nature and the selection bias arising from the nature of J-shaped distribution of movie rating. Results - Our estimation results support that the negative impact of review frequency and timing on valence. Furthermore, review timing has an inverted-U relationship with the user's average valence and enhance the negative effect of review frequency. Conclusions - This study contributes to the growing literature on the understanding how eWOM is generated at the individual consumer level. On the basis of the main empirical findings, this study provides insights into building a recommendation system in online retail store based on the consumer's review history data - frequency, timing, and valence.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.709-724
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to develop a multi-dimensional scale measuring consumers' perceived challenge in shopping fashion products online, and to verify its validity and reliability. Relevant literature is first reviewed to identify possible dimensions of perceived challenge. Next, Study 1 is conducted in order to explore the dimensions empirically and to see whether the dimensions that emerged were consistent with prior findings. A total of 190 responses to an open-ended question was qualitatively analyzed by using content analysis. The findings of Study 1 generate 26 items reflecting four dimensions (i.e., product knowledge, previous experience, website functionality, and product availability), which correspond to the dimensions suggested in literature review. Study 2 is subsequently conducted to refine the items so that the perceived challenge scale establishes cross-validation, convergent validity, discriminant validity, reliability, and predictive validity. A total of 238 responses is quantitatively analyzed by using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. In the results of Study 2, the perceived challenge scale is found to consist of a total of 16 items reflecting three dimensions: E-commerce Challenge (corresponding to Previous Experience reported in Study 1), Retailer Challenge (corresponding to Website Functionality), and Product Challenge (corresponding to Product Knowledge); all Product Availability items have been eliminated through the item refinement process. Specifically, E-commerce Challenge and Retailer Challenge are found to predict flow, supporting flow theory, while Product Challenge fails to lead to flow significantly. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future studies are also discussed.