• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.29-41
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• 2012

This paper undertakes a conceptual review of transaction cost to broaden the understanding of the transaction cost analysis (TCA) approach. More than 40 years have passed since Coase's fundamental insight that transaction, coordination, and contracting costs must be considered explicitly in explaining the extent of vertical integration. Coase (1937) forced economists to identify previously neglected constraints on the trading process to foster efficient intrafirm, rather than interfirm, transactions. The transaction cost approach to economic organization study regards transactions as the basic units of analysis and holds that understanding transaction cost economy is central to organizational study. The approach applies to determining efficient boundaries, as between firms and markets, and to internal transaction organization, including employment relations design. TCA, developed principally by Oliver Williamson (1975,1979,1981a) blends institutional economics, organizational theory, and contract law. Further progress in transaction costs research awaits the identification of critical dimensions in which transaction costs differ and an examination of the economizing properties of alternative institutional modes for organizing transactions. The crucial investment distinction is: To what degree are transaction-specific (non-marketable) expenses incurred? Unspecialized items pose few hazards, since buyers can turn toalternative sources, and suppliers can sell output intended for one order to other buyers. Non-marketability problems arise when specific parties' identities have important cost-bearing consequences. Transactions of this kind are labeled idiosyncratic. The summarized results of the review are as follows. First, firms' distribution decisions often prompt examination of the make-or-buy question: Should a marketing activity be performed within the organization by company employees or contracted to an external agent? Second, manufacturers introducing an industrial product to a foreign market face a difficult decision. Should the product be marketed primarily by captive agents (the company sales force and distribution division) or independent intermediaries (outside sales agents and distribution)? Third, the authors develop a theoretical extension to the basic transaction cost model by combining insights from various theories with the TCA approach. Fourth, other such extensions are likely required for the general model to be applied to different channel situations. It is naive to assume the basic model appliesacross markedly different channel contexts without modifications and extensions. Although this study contributes to scholastic research, it is limited by several factors. First, the theoretical perspective of TCA has attracted considerable recent interest in the area of marketing channels. The analysis aims to match the properties of efficient governance structures with the attributes of the transaction. Second, empirical evidence about TCA's basic propositions is sketchy. Apart from Anderson's (1985) study of the vertical integration of the selling function and John's (1984) study of opportunism by franchised dealers, virtually no marketing studies involving the constructs implicated in the analysis have been reported. We hope, therefore, that further research will clarify distinctions between the different aspects of specific assets. Another important line of future research is the integration of efficiency-oriented TCA with organizational approaches that emphasize specific assets' conceptual definition and industry structure. Finally, research of transaction costs, uncertainty, opportunism, and switching costs is critical to future study.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.31-60
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• 2016

Purpose In 2016, the market size of mobile(m-) shopping goes beyeond more than half of a total of online shopping. People use smartphones as the main device for m-commerce. Under the circmustances, this study attempts to address why people prefer to use smartphone-based m-commerce. In other words, it is necessary to understand the main value that smartphone-based m-commerce creates. Drawing on the studies of consumption value, this study focuses on utilitarian value in predicting customers' continuance intention in the context of smartphone-based m-commerce, recognizing that utilitarian value is a key extrinsic motivation in the goal-oriented, performance-oriented shopping contexts. Furthermore, this study identifies factors affecting customers' utilitarian value from the perspective of benefits and costs, following the notion that it represents the result of evaluating a trade-off of benefits and costs caused by smartphone-based m commerce. More specifically, in this study, ubiquitous service, location-based service (LBS), transaction speed, and price utility belong to the benefit dimension, whereas technology anxiety and cognitive effort belong to the cost dimension. Design/methodology/approach To test the proposed hypotheses, the study conducted partial least squares (PLS) analysis with a total of 294 data collected on users with experience in smartphone-based m-commerce. Findings The results show that first, utilitarian value is increased by the benefits, such as ubiquitous service, transaction speed, and price utility. However, LBS has no direct effect on utilitarian value. Second, the noteworthy finding is that ubiquitous service and LBS greatly increase transaction speed. Third, technology anxiety and cognitive effort considered as the cost dimension are negatively associated with utilitarian value but their impacts on it are non-significant. Finally, the results support the argument that utilitarian value is a determinant of continuance intention. Overall, the findings imply that utilitarian value greatly depends on the peception on benefits rather than the aspect of cost in smartphone-based m-commerce. Overall, the findings offer new insight into the studies of m-commerce by considering and verifying the impacts of its benefits and costs simultaneously.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.73
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• pp.21-42
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• 2017

A BPO is an irrevocable undertaking given by an Obligor Bank acting on behalf of the buyer to a Recipient Bank acting on behalf of the seller to pay on satisfaction of certain specified conditions. There have been a Trade Service Utility(TSU), a Transaction Matching Application(TMA) and ISO 20022 TSMT messages that core electronic technical systems linked to the BPO. As a key usefulness of the BPO, it brings to market an alternative means of satisfying the risk mitigation, financing and information management needs of banks and businesses engaged in trade. That is, corporates can spread the risk among multiple Obligor Banks by requesting multiple BPOs for the same trade transaction not to exceed the value of the initial transaction. Since the BPO replaces the manual document checking process with the electronic matching of data, buyers and sellers will benefit from significantly increased accuracy and objectivity. By using BPO, buyers and sellers can become trusted counterparties by demonstrating reliability and giving sellers the assurance of being paid on time as per the payment terms and conditions agreed. When compared to L/C, the BPO requires submission of data only. This requires a change of practice of those accustomed to dealing with physical documentation. The beneficiary of a BPO is the Recipient Bank which is always the Seller's Bank. In the meantime, banks will need to agree between themselves that the URBPO 750 will be applied, modified or excluded. However, customers of banks will face low transactional costs due to a fully automated process and standardized data formats used in international trade documentation. There is no amendment and cancellation rules in the URBPO 750s, but only have Assignment of Proceeds rules. As a result, the BPO is likely to enable new business opportunities, lower costs, fast transaction process and strengthen key customer relationships.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.152-168
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• 2021

Purpose - This paper has an objective to suggest reasonable criteria in choosing Incoterms 2020 rules for efficient and effective logistics management in that the Incoterms rules affect not only the rights and obligations of the parties to the sales contract but also the control and management of logistics system and transaction costs in the transaction. Design/methodology - An analysis of the various factors is needed to assess the positive or negative impact on global value chain in choosing Incoterms rules from a total logistics view. This study analyzes the impact of which the content of individual incoterms rules can have on the operation of international logistics systems under the global value chain from a strategic perspective to suggest reasonable criteria for selection of Incoterms rules depending on the transaction situation. Findings - Results of this study shows that consideration of various aspects which includes the characteristics of the products, logistics capabilities, infrastructure, transaction volume, operational cost, customs regulations, tax and accounting should be reflected in choosing the appropriate Incoterms rules. Therefore, in order to minimize the total cost and improve logistics performance, it may be helpful to develop a decision support model which allows users to select appropriate Incoterms rules based on various influencing factors. Originality/value - This Study is different from previous research which has mainly focused on the rights and obligations of the parties to the transaction regarding the transfer of risks and costs under the Incoterms. In addition, this study has significance in that it provides implications for export and import companies that can be able to use Incoterms as a strategic tool to efficiently manage the global value chain and improve supply chain performance.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.3-21
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• 2007

The explosive growth of e-marketplace transactions requires an appropriate trust measuring framework to protect involving transacting entities such as buyers and sellers. As a strategic competitive edge, e-marketplace service providers have been adopting various system features that make sure no one transacting entity takes a major risk in online transactions involved. In this paper, an improved trust measuring method using fuzzy theory for an e-marketplace is proposed. The proposed methodology incorporates fuzzy set and calculation concepts to help build trust matrices and models, which are used to measure the level of risk involved in a specific e-marketplace transaction concerned. The proposed framework can be utilized to optimize the transaction costs by recommending a differentiated transaction process according to the risk level involved in each online transaction.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.109-133
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• 2006

The Study investigated economic effects and the conditions in the public Shipping e-marketplace. For efficient operation of the public Shipping e-marketplace, this study analyzed how do the participation and community actualize in the public Shipping e-marketplace actualize. According to the research results of the Shipping Cooperations, For Promoting participation in the public Shipping e-marketplace, the Cyber-intermediary operating public Shipping e-marketplace provides timely shipping information, needs publicity strategy generating more benefits than offline transaction, and gives a conviction of the searching costs and transaction costs decrease. Second For promoting community, the Cyber-intermediary must playa major role in electronic community and drive forward continuous publicity strategy in the public Shipping e-marketplace.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.201-216
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• 2019

At present, there are various standards used as the governing law of contracts for establishing, implementing, and resolving disputes between the parties to international sales contracts, called "Forum Shopping." Uncertainty and increased transaction costs, which may arise from these various norms, may hinder the activation of international commerce. This study examines the process of enacting and examining various international unification norms that have emerged through international organizations to eliminate trade barriers caused by choice of governing law concerning parties involved in the international sale of goods. Issues regarding the positive and negative perspectives are discussed to identify obstacles to international unification norms. In particular, by comparing and analyzing the differences between the regulations of the CISG and PICC, the representative international unification norms on international sales contracts, the possibility of unification of the norms on international sales contracts are reviewed. Direction for the establishment of a single international regulation is presented for reducing the transaction costs and uncertainties in the international sale of goods.

• Management Science and Financial Engineering
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.95-107
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• 2005

As online shopping malls have emerged as a substantial shopping channel, they have used various sales promotion strategies to acquire new customers. Most of these strategies have been applied by offline malls for years. One, loss-leader pricing, is a type of promotional pricing in which stores sell well known products below their marginal cost, in order to attract customers and induce them to purchase more goods through impulse buying. This strategy is based on the expectation that customers will factor transaction costs into their purchasing decisions. However, its application to online malls fails to recognize that transaction costs are lower online, and that customers will behave differently as a result. Our study predicts that loss-leader pricing will not work online because online malls entail lower searching and moving costs than offline malls The study examines the effectiveness of loss-leader pricing with empirical data from a survey as well as log data from a Korean online shopping mall. The results show that while loss-leader pricing does attract customers to online shopping malls, it encourages cherry-picking rather than impulse purchases of regular-price goods.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.69-88
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• 2008

Firms or internal exchanges exist to eliminate or at least reduce transaction costs from the separating process in many firms by dealing more efficiently with bounded rationality, complexity, and tendency towards opportunism faced by the markets so that vertical integration is supposed to have a positive relationship with performance. The organizational structure of Korean economy in the latter part of the $20^{th}$ century is much related with this transaction costs' view. I propose to estimate the effect of vertical integration on the firm's performance using the data of the Korean listed corporations from 1991 to 1995, therefore. The estimated results show that vertical integration at firm level is negatively and significantly related with the firm's performance: the higher level of vertical integration the worse performance. However, the group level integration is not related with performance at all.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.113-139
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• 2007

This study aims to, looking from a standpoint of network, has investigated the shipping industry's B2B e-marketplace, the characteristics that can earn electronic trust from the users, and characteristics of the web-site. It has examined the mechanism whereby electronic trust be earned and how it affects web-site involvement and service transaction intention. Ultimately, The study attempts to make proposals whereby such trust can lead for a cooperative trading community in the shipping industry's B2B e-marketplace The Covalence structural equation modeling was designed and empirically tested for the shipping industry's B2B e-marketplace. The shipping industry employees were given questionnaires and data were analyzed. Except for perceived security of the three characteristic factors on the web-site, the perceived site quality and characteristics factors in operation only affected co-variables. Transaction Fairness was determined to be the most important factor among exogenous factors increasing electronic trust. With regards to transaction rules, if a transaction is beneficial only to one side, then no long term transaction will not take place. If the concerned parties properly recognize that transaction fairness is crucial to electronic transaction, then it will enormously contribute to successful operations of shipping e-marketplace. Also, Perceived efficiency in transaction also affects electronic trust. This reduces transaction costs and speeds up and simplifies the transaction process. It has reduced greater time and costs than existing off-line transaction, and would positively affect electronic trust. By making an open forum for participants to obtain information for transaction, they can gather useful information, and at the same time, the web-site operator can provide information, which, in turn, will increase electronic trust in electronic transaction. Furthermore, such formation of trust in electronic transaction influences shipping companies in such a way that they will want to continuously participate in the transaction, raising web-site involvement. The result of increased trust is that shipping companies in the future will do business with each other and form a foundation for continuous transactions amongst themselves. Consequently, the formation of trust in electronic transaction greatly influences web-site involvement and service transaction intention. The results of the study have again proved that in order to maintain continuous business relationship with the current clients, electronic trust in virtual space, which operates the shipping industry's B2B e-marketplace, is important for the interested parties.