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This paper aims to examine the effects of consumers' perceptions concerning the ethics of online retailers on web site satisfaction and loyalty.

An online survey instrument was administered to a sample of 220 students who were enrolled in various business undergraduate classes at a mid size university located in the southwestern USA. Participants completed a questionnaire based on their latest online purchase. The measurement model and structural relationships were estimated using AMOS 18.

Non‐deception, fulfillment, and security are significant predictors of web site satisfaction. Only privacy is related directly with loyalty. While direct effects of fulfillment and non‐deception on loyalty are not significant; satisfaction mediates these relationships. Results provide a strong support for the web site satisfaction‐loyalty relationship.

Internet retailers must address ethical issues surrounding their web sites by protecting financial and personal information, delivering accurate products, and avoiding deceptive practices.

The current research is one of few studies in online retailing that examines the relationship between perceived online ethics, satisfaction and loyalty. By offering evidence to prior conflicting results in the literature, a strong association between what consumers perceive as ethical online retailing, their satisfaction and loyalty to online retailers was confirmed.

The objective of this paper is to examine online brand relationships, and the linkage between satisfaction, trust, and loyalty on the web site level. The web site is considered to be an extension of the parent brand. It also seeks to explore the effects of offline experiences on web site‐level experiences.

Hierarchical regression analysis is applied in order to test the hypotheses. The data are based on an online survey (n=867) conducted on a Finnish consumer‐magazine web site.

The research findings support the results of earlier studies suggesting that satisfaction and trust on the web site level are determinants of web site loyalty. However, they also show that brand‐level experiences affect online satisfaction, trust, and loyalty differently, depending on the consumers' relationship with the brand. Interestingly, in this case the length of user history and registration on the web site had a negative effect on web site trust. Two of the reasons behind this type of result are believed to be the prevalent culture in web site discussion forums and the degree of fit between the parent brand and the brand extension.

The paper synthesises the literature on online and offline brand relationships and brand extension. The results of the study, which was based on a large‐scale survey, give researchers and practising managers alike valuable information on how parent‐brand experiences relate to the attitudes and commitment of customers to online brand extensions. The context of the study, i.e. the magazine publishing industry, has attracted less research attention, even though several publishers have extended their brands online.

As the number of female customers shopping in online clothing stores increases, understanding how female customers’ e-loyalty is formed and fostered in this type of online store becomes very pivotal. Yet, despite its importance, little research has been done on this issue. The purpose of this paper is to focus on female online clothing shoppers and aim to examine the mediators of e-loyalty in the context of online clothing stores: e-satisfaction and e-trust.

A total of 482 subjects who are female and have online clothing store shopping experience in Taiwan were obtained and structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the measurement and structural models.

The results show that both perceived online privacy and security are positively associated with e-trust, whereas web design is not. Furthermore, perceived delivery time and web site design are positively associated with e-satisfaction. Both e-trust and e-satisfaction in turn positively influence e-loyalty for female online clothing shoppers.

On the basis of the literature review, there is a lack of theoretical knowledge of the relationships between e-loyalty, e-satisfaction, and e-trust among female online clothing shoppers. The research fulfills this important theoretical gap by extending prior studies on e-loyalty to further examine the factors that form e-satisfaction and e-trust, and how they, as mediators, influence the development of female customers’ e-loyalty in the context of online clothing stores. The result provides a model that contributes to understanding the formation of female customers’ e-loyalty.

The results of this study are helpful to online store managers in increasing their customers’ loyalty. Specifically, online clothing store managers have to create quick item delivery methods and friendly online shopping web sites that provide all necessary information and are easy to navigate and use so as to increase customers’ e-satisfaction. They also need to establish reliable and trustworthy web sites by letting their customers easily perceive the web sites’ privacy and security features to enhance customers’ e-trust. As e-satisfaction and e-trust increase, e-loyalty is fostered.

The contributions of this study are threefold. First, this study focusses on an important but previously neglected group in the context of online clothing stores: female online clothing shoppers. Second, the authors’ investigation extends the literature on e-loyalty by identifying important mediators (e-satisfaction and e-trust) and probing into their relationships to e-loyalty in the context of online clothing stores. Third, the findings contribute to academia and to future research by increasing understandings of the importance of the concerns and experiences of female online clothing shoppers and by suggesting that future research pay more attention to female online shoppers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the issue of the influential factors of buyer satisfaction and loyalty toward online auction web sites and online auction sellers. Customers' loyalty toward the online auction web site and seller is also explored.

An internet survey is conducted on 221 buyers of online auction.

Loyalty intention toward an online auction seller positively affects a buyer's loyalty intention toward the online auction web site, whereas his/her loyalty intention toward the online auction web site negatively affects his/her loyalty intention toward the online auction seller.

The first is in its cross‐sectional design. Second, this paper examines the antecedents of the online auction web site and the online auction seller in a single country. The findings may have limited generalizability to other countries.

The results of this paper provide less positive news for online auction sellers. Sellers on an online auction web site should be careful in making online auction web site change decisions. Although a seller can secure buyer loyalty intention by providing strong e‐service quality, overall satisfaction and the specific asset investment (SAI), buyers still may not be enthusiastic about moving with the seller to another auction web site.

This paper contributes to comparing the pulling force of the web sites and the sellers, and explains that SAI can affect the buyers through web sites and sellers. There are three parties involved in the model.

With the rapid expansion of global online markets including India, researchers and practitioners are challenged to understand drivers of customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty towards web sites. The paper aims to focus on web site design, which is expected to influence whether customers revisit an online vendor.

Participants in India evaluated a local and foreign web site of the same online vendor. Surveys and interviews were used to collect the data.

The results indicate significant preference for the local web site in almost all design categories. Further, the local site instilled greater trust, satisfaction and loyalty. Data collected for this study are compared with parallel work conducted using the same procedures in four other countries.

The current investigation is relevant for researchers who aim to expand knowledge concerning the impact of web site design related to user trust, satisfaction and loyalty. The work also has implications for web designers or managers who seek to enhance the market attraction and retention of online web sites. Limitations of the study are that both the local and foreign web sites used were Samsung web sites and that only a single task (searching for a cell phone) was used.

Few studies have examined web design in relation to user outcomes such as trust, satisfaction and loyalty in international markets.

The objectives of this article are to develop a multiple‐item scale for measuring e‐service quality and to study the influence of perceived quality on consumer satisfaction levels and the level of web site loyalty.

First, there is an explanation of the main attributes of the concepts examined, with special attention being paid to the multi‐dimensional nature of the variables and the relationships between them. This is followed by an examination of the validation processes of the measuring instruments.

The validation process of scales suggested that perceived quality is a multidimensional construct: web design, customer service, assurance and order management; that perceived quality influences on satisfaction; and that satisfaction influences on consumer loyalty. Moreover, no differences in these conclusions were observed if the total sample is divided between buyers and information searchers.

First, the need to develop user‐friendly web sites which ease consumer purchasing and searching, thus creating a suitable framework for the generation of higher satisfaction and loyalty levels. Second, the web site manager should enhance service loyalty, customer sensitivity, personalised service and a quick response to complaints. Third, the web site should uphold sufficient security levels in communications and meet data protection requirements regarding the privacy. Lastly, the need for correct product delivery and product manipulation or service is recommended.

Most relevant studies about perceived quality in the internet have focused on web design aspects. Moreover, the existing literature regarding internet consumer behaviour has not fully analysed profits generated by higher perceived quality in terms of user satisfaction and loyalty.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test a research model of consumer consequences of e‐service quality (e‐SQ) perceptions of general web site users.

The dimensions of e‐SQ are extracted and validated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The uni‐dimensional model of e‐SQ, consisting of web site attributes of ease of access, flexibility, and reliability, is then tested by structural equation modelling using AMOS 4.0 for its linkages with e‐satisfaction (e‐SAT), perceived value, and e‐loyalty‐linked behavioral intentions, i.e. repurchase and recommendation intentions.

It was found that e‐SQ is a direct antecedent of perceived value, perceived value in turn significantly affects e‐loyalty‐related consumer intentions of repurchase and positive recommendations. e‐SAT is a direct antecedent of positive recommendation intentions. However, e‐SQ was not found to have any consequential relationship with e‐SAT or direct links with behavioral intentions of e‐loyalty.

The proposed model is empirically validated with self‐selected participants and therefore the results need to be further supported through replication with varied consumer and cultural contexts.

The model of e‐SQ and its consequences would help practitioners frame marketing strategies for web sites of e‐services, which are content rich in India, to enhance consumer loyalty and other favorable behavioral intentions.

The multi‐variate comprehensive model of e‐SQ and its consequences has not been tested earlier in the e‐services context. The research extends the modelling of service quality and its consequences into the e‐services context.

The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the effects of web site extension on the parent‐magazine brand in the context of experiential goods, and to identify factors that are related to success.

The paper focuses on the relationship between consumers' experiences on magazine web sites and their loyalty towards the print magazine.

There are different ways in which the web site can complement the print version. The first mechanism is related to engaging in more frequent communication with the magazine's readers, and the second is related to consumer‐initiated interaction between other readers. In both cases something is offered that cannot be obtained from the print magazine, but is assumed to complement it.

The paper increases understanding of brand extensions with regard to experiential goods, but more research is needed on the factors that are related to extension success.

The purpose of this paper is to study the service-profit chain (SPC) on e-service quality dimensions, online customer value (CV) dimensions, e-satisfaction, and e-loyalty in an e-commerce context.

A total of 2,813 internet customers filled in an online questionnaire after completing a specified task on one of 28 wine web sites from seven countries.

The results highlight the impact of the dimensions of e-service quality (information, aesthetics, ease of use, security/privacy, and reliability) on the dimensions of online CV (functional, economic, and social value) as they affect e-satisfaction, which in turn influences e-loyalty. The results validate the SPC in an e-commerce context and also stress the partial mediating role of the dimensions of online CV between the dimensions of e-service quality and e-satisfaction.

The sample may not exactly match the customer profile of the web sites analyzed. In order to generalize the results, future research should replicate this study with a customer sample from each web site. Future research could also take into account other variables that may have an influence on the relationships identified. Additionally it would be interesting to replicate the study in other industries and undertake longitudinal studies in one or more industries.

From a managerial point of view, online retailers, especially in the wine sector, can positively affect CV, satisfaction, and loyalty by focussing on information, aesthetics, ease of use, security/privacy, and reliability.

This paper is the first to study the SPC by examining service quality dimensions, CV dimensions, satisfaction, and loyalty in an online context. It extends the knowledge of online retailing by validating the SPC on the dimensions of traditional service concepts, such as service quality and CV. The findings can assist online retailers to better understand the dynamics of online customer relationships and the implications for customer satisfaction and ultimately loyalty.

The purpose of this paper is to explore e‐commerce development strategy from the consumer loyalty perspective in a Chinese context and to examine the impact of some key factors that affect e‐commerce development in China. The policy implications are also presented.

Data were collected by the wide surveying of trained MBAs with different professional backgrounds. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis were then used to explore whether the “7C” model of consumer loyalty in electronic commerce is acceptable.

The results show that security and reputation have the most positive impact on consumer loyalty, and playfulness is not significantly related to the potential variable it belongs to. To those enterprises planning to implement e‐business in China, some advice is given; such as increasing the security and reputation of web sites and enhancing communications between buyers and sellers.

The paper gives directions to the e‐commerce enterprises in developing countries about how to improve consumer loyalty and enhance business competence. Online enterprises can build consumer loyalty by improving their web sites and learning about consumers' behaviors to provide customized products and services. The specific policy measures in China are suggested.

While it is known that consumer loyalty is critical to online enterprises' success, little is known about how to build and improve e‐loyalty in the emerging markets. This paper tries to bridge this gap by examining what affects e‐loyalty, to help better understand consumer loyalty in the emerging markets like China.