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1 – 10 of 103Xueqing Wang, Yang Li, Zhao Cai and Hefu Liu
This study aims to investigate the impact of experience product portal page aesthetics on bounce rate.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the impact of experience product portal page aesthetics on bounce rate.
Design/methodology/approach
This research collected data from an online shop selling original design furniture on Taobao.com. It employed deep learning algorithm and manual coding to operationalize image and text aesthetics.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that text aesthetics has a U-shaped relationship with bounce rate, whereas the relationship between image aesthetics and bounce rate is insignificant. Moreover, the U-shaped relationship between text aesthetics and bounce rate is weakened by image aesthetics.
Originality/value
This study addresses an important but understudied topic – the bounce rate of experience products in the context of e-commerce. Although the high bounce rate has increasingly gained attention from practitioners, there remains a scarcity of research that addresses the effect of product portal page aesthetics in the specific context of experience products. The authors theorize product portal page aesthetics as the design elements of an e-commerce website and deeply analyzed the role of product portal page aesthetics by classifying it into text aesthetics and image aesthetics. The authors’ findings provide implications for online sellers and platforms to effectively design product profile pages to reduce the bounce rate.
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Rajat Roy and Vik Naidoo
This paper aims to investigate the direct and interactive effects of regulatory focus (promotion versus prevention), attribute type (search versus experience) and word of mouth…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the direct and interactive effects of regulatory focus (promotion versus prevention), attribute type (search versus experience) and word of mouth valence (positive versus negative) on consumption decision for a service and a product.
Design/methodology/approach
Three empirical studies (two laboratories and a field experiment) using “university” and “mobile phone” as the research setting were used to test the key hypotheses.
Findings
Promotion (prevention)-focused subjects preferred experience (search) attributes over their counterparts while making consumption decision. This preference was further reinforced for both promotion and prevention-focused people under positive word of mouth. Under negative word of mouth, in comparison to their counterparts, promotion-focused people still retained their preference for experience attributes, whereas prevention-focused subjects reversed their preference and maintained status quo.
Research limitations/implications
Future research may validate and extend authors’ findings by looking into the underlying process or studying additional word of mouth variables that may moderate the current findings.
Practical implications
The findings will help managers devise a range of marketing strategies in the areas of advertising and product positioning, especially for products/services that are showcased in terms of experience and search attributes.
Originality/value
The current research is novel as no prior research has proposed and tested the two-way interaction between regulatory focus and search/experience attributes, or its further moderation by word of mouth valence.
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Tom M.Y Lin, Kuan‐Yi Lu and Jia‐Jhou Wu
Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) is a considerably influential factor for consumers to search for product information. Nowadays, consumers can easily post visual information (e.g…
Abstract
Purpose
Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) is a considerably influential factor for consumers to search for product information. Nowadays, consumers can easily post visual information (e.g. pictures or videos) to convey product information and consumption‐related experiences. Yet, prior eWOM studies focused primarily on the verbal information of eWOM. Few studies have paid sufficient attention to the effects of visual information in eWOM communication. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to employ blogs to investigate the effects of visual information on consumers' perception of eWOM message quality, credibility, product interest, and purchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted two empirical studies in the field of different product categories. Data were collected from subjects ranged in age from 16 to 50 (n=155 for study 1, n=309 for study 2), and analyzed using independent‐samples t test and univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Findings
Results show that subjects rated eWOM articles in blogs with visual information significantly higher in four areas than identical articles without visual information. Furthermore, there is an interaction effect between product category and visual information on product interest and purchase intention. Compared with experience products, when subjects read the eWOM information of search products with pictures (versus without pictures), they would generate greater product interest and purchase intention. In addition, the effect of visual information is stronger not only for search products (no matter whether utilitarian or hedonic products) but also for experience‐hedonic products than for experience‐utilitarian products.
Originality/value
The findings of this study provide useful knowledge for internet marketers to develop effective eWOM marketing and thus increase consumer trust in eWOM and intention to purchase products. Although visual information is found to be important, different product categories should take advantage of visual information in different degrees.
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The objective of this study is to analyze price dispersion in the context of internet based shopping malls and assess which of the main informational elements available online…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study is to analyze price dispersion in the context of internet based shopping malls and assess which of the main informational elements available online about sellers affect online price dispersion.
Design/methodology/approach
The author collected data for 100 models of watches from seven major brands and 100 models of cameras from nine major brands available for sale on Amazon. Statistical regression of price dispersion against average price, number of stores, shipping charge variation, average number of customer reviews, variation in the percentage of positive reviews and a dummy variable of product type were performed.
Findings
It is shown that price dispersion is present even in an online shopping mall. The conclusion significantly adds to the online pricing research, by showing that price dispersion is influenced by the average product price and product type and shipping charges. The number of stores does not affect price dispersion because there is no obstacle impeding the customer from finding the prices for all stores. A key finding is that the number of customer reviews significantly influences online price dispersion.
Research limitations/implications
The study only analyzes price dispersion for two products using secondary data. Future studies can analyze different types of goods and focus on which elements affect the buyers' store selection by using primary data.
Practical implications
Managers can see that there are numerous other elements of information besides price that influence buying decisions. Practitioners need to note the importance of customer reviews in online settings, including the significance of the number of reviews as signal of experience and reliability.
Originality/value
The paper shows that online price dispersion exists even in the context of practically inexistent search costs. Even though the buyers have instant access to all prices of a product, they use a combination of elements in order to decide the seller selection. A key contribution of the study shows that the amount of information available about the seller and the customer reviews significantly influence online price dispersion.
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George Christodoulides, Nina Michaelidou and Evmorfia Argyriou
This paper aims to present a cross‐national study that investigates changes in purchase intentions of UK versus Chinese consumers following exposure to successive e‐WOM comments…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a cross‐national study that investigates changes in purchase intentions of UK versus Chinese consumers following exposure to successive e‐WOM comments in the form of positive and negative user reviews for experience versus search products.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2(e‐WOM valence and order: negative versus positive most recent)×2(product type: experience versus search)×3(purchase intentions at t1, t2, t3) repeated‐measures factorial design is used to test a set of hypotheses developed from the literature.
Findings
Chinese consumers are susceptible to recent e‐WOM comments regardless of their valence, while UK consumers anchor on negative information regardless of the order in which it is acquired. This holds particularly for experience products.
Originality/value
This cross‐national study contributes to the scarce literature on the impact of e‐WOM on consumer purchase decisions by comparing UK and Chinese consumers. The authors suggest that culture moderates the development of product evaluations following exposure to e‐WOM.
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Chen Chen, Rong Du, Jin Li and Weiguo Fan
Though online communities offer unprecedented opportunities to involve people in knowledge sharing, the reasons why users would like to participate in those activities in online…
Abstract
Purpose
Though online communities offer unprecedented opportunities to involve people in knowledge sharing, the reasons why users would like to participate in those activities in online communities have still been under-explored. In this research, the authors aim to use the value co-creation theory to build and test a continuance usage model, which focuses more on experiential values resulted from the knowledge sharing behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
An integrative research model is built to investigate how knowledge sharing behavior affects users’ co-creation value and then drives their continuance usage in online communities. Online survey data collected from 239 Sina Microblog users in China are utilized to validate the proposed model and hypotheses.
Findings
Empirical results indicate that the knowledge sharing behavior helps improve users’ co-creation value, including customer learning value, social integrative value and hedonic value. This co-creation value can subsequently affect users’ future participation intention in online communities.
Originality/value
This paper seeks to fill the research gap by examining customers’ motivations or perceptions underlying their knowledge sharing behavior at the usage-stage, instead of the pre-usage stage mainly concentrated on by previous studies. The managerial implications can be utilized for policy making to encourage customers’ participation and operate a better online community.
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Zahy Ramadan, Maya Farah and Norma Al Rahbany
Following the changes in consumer behavior in the hospitality industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon launched “Explore”, an interactive livestreaming customized service…
Abstract
Purpose
Following the changes in consumer behavior in the hospitality industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon launched “Explore”, an interactive livestreaming customized service that connects users with hosts worldwide, allowing them to discover a vast array of experiences from the comfort of their homes. This study aims to assess the effects of Explore on the hospitality and tourism industries.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory qualitative approach was adopted. Data was collected from 18 expert interviews and 292 online reviews on Explore.
Findings
The findings indicate that the pandemic has altered consumer behavior when it comes to experience-related venues. Within that shift, Explore was shown to have reinvented the travel industry. The major three themes extracted revolved around the following: replica of real-life touristic experiences (having the experience as if consumers were physically present), experience-bound versus output-oriented customers (those who want to explore the real experience by being physically present versus those who seek to discover a certain culture or acquire a new skill even virtually) and post-virtual experience (effects on the hospitality industry).
Originality/value
The study puts forth the coopetition that could emanate from the inter-relationship between the Amazon Explore platform and the hospitality industry if the two were to cooperate even beyond the context of global pandemics. Indeed, Explore has gained awareness and trial and could be a sustainable ongoing business, especially among those with financial and other types of limitations that could hinder their traveling propensity.
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Kyoung‐Nan Kwon, Mi‐Hee Lee and Yoo Jin Kwon
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of perceived product characteristics (i.e. involvement, product type, and switching cost) and consumer value consciousness…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of perceived product characteristics (i.e. involvement, product type, and switching cost) and consumer value consciousness on private brand purchase intent.
Design/methodology/approach
A college student sample was surveyed to measure product characteristic perceptions for six product categories and to evaluate private brand purchase intent. Analysis of covariance was conducted for hypothesis testing.
Findings
Support existed for the significant effects of all three product characteristics on the intent to purchase private brands. A moderating effect by value consciousness on the product type (search versus experience) emerged.
Practical implications
It is critical that retailers identify appropriate product categories as they develop private brands. Private brand marketing strategies should be designed to reduce the level of product involvement and switching cost, and to increase consumer perception of search properties.
Originality/value
The research is one of the few studies to test the effects of product characteristics extensively and to provide related marketing implications.
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Hong (Iris) Xie and Colleen Cool
This paper reports on an investigation comparing searcher experiences with Web and non‐Web interfaces to online databases. The study was designed to address the following…
Abstract
This paper reports on an investigation comparing searcher experiences with Web and non‐Web interfaces to online databases. The study was designed to address the following questions: what is the nature of searcher preferences for Web versus non‐Web interfaces to online databases and, more specifically, what are the characteristics of Web and non‐Web based interfaces that help or hinder effective searching? Two samples of students enrolled in a graduate level Advanced Databases Searching course were used as participants in the research. In this class, the students used several Web and non‐Web based online databases. The data collected from self‐administered open‐ended questionnaires were employed in the analysis to address the research questions posed above. Results of the study indicate that some of the functions of Web interfaces outperform non‐Web interfaces; but at the same time they are not universally preferred. An important dynamic that surfaced in this study which helped to explain searcher preference for one type of interface over another was that of user control versus ease of use in the search process. This study concludes with an argument for greater attention to the tension between user control and ease of use in the design of effective and useful interactive online retrieval systems.
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Stephanie Gillison and Kristy Reynolds
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how shoppers’ expectations regarding the amount of search and disconfirmation of these search expectations affect outcomes of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how shoppers’ expectations regarding the amount of search and disconfirmation of these search expectations affect outcomes of the shopping trip.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of shoppers is used to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
Survey results indicate that search disconfirmation is conceptually distinct from but related to search effort and search regret. The results show that negative search disconfirmation mediates the relationship between search effort and shopper satisfaction, hedonic and utilitarian shopping value, choice confidence, search regret and negative word-of-mouth intent.
Originality/value
The findings underscore that search effort itself is not negative for shoppers. However, when search effort is perceived as excessive compared to shoppers’ expectations, negative retail outcomes can occur. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
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