J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res., Volume 7, Issue 2 (August 2012) – 10 articles

This paper compares two models predicting gender differences in information processing to determine if either of the models is more pertinent to goal-oriented Internet searches. The Selectivity Model (Meyers-Levy 1989) proposes that women make more comprehension effort than men whereas the Item-Specific/Relational Processing Model (Putrevu 2001) suggests that men and women differ primarily in their processing style, with men tending to use item-specific processing by focusing on product attributes and women tending to use relational processing by looking for interrelationships among multiple pieces of information. The study participants (106 total, 50% female) were asked to think aloud while performing one of two goal-oriented search tasks on a website. Their thoughts were then coded according to relevant categories by two independent analysts using Atlas TI software. Consistent with the Selectivity Model, women made more comprehension effort than did men. However, our hypotheses related to a difference in processing style between men and women received less support. Overall, the results help disentangle the two theories and provide website developers with a basis for creating sites that are suited to men’s and women’s distinctive information processing strategies. Full article

This paper examines the relationship between virtual identity and virtual consumption in Second Life. More specifically, we investigate the tendency to link the virtual world to reality through the concept of identity, and explore the role consumption and business endeavors play in this process. Information was obtained from comments posted on four Second Life forums, focusing on the general themes of virtual avatars, aspects of business activities, and their mutual impact on each other. Qualitative narrative research analysis was employed. From our results, three distinct categories emerged on the basis of residents’ immersion to Second Life; 1) purely virtual, 2) mixed, and 3) realist. We highlight particular characteristics associated with each of these clusters, with suggestions aiming to capture the various demands and preferences of each corresponding group. In terms of business activities, residents appeared quite demanding, identifying high quality products and professional services as the basis for business success in virtual settings. The business approaches most likely identified to lead to success or failure associated with certain businesses confirm that online environments differ substantially from physical and real world markets, with trust being a particularly sensitive issue in these anonym and fully disembodied contexts. Further implications for organizations and scholars are discussed. Full article

The increasing prominence of online focus groups in market research and the complexity that the Internet environment adds to the conduct of research with focus groups has led to a certain interest in discovering how this method can be applied effectively and to which situations or purposes it is best suited. Based on an examination of the literature and on an empirical survey of the heads of qualitative research at 112 market research companies in Spain, a basic classification of focus groups is proposed, distinguishing between the European and Anglo-Saxon approaches. Within this frame of reference, a set of factors or dimensions is identified that makes it possible to compare online and face to face groups, assess whether the former can really be considered focus groups which resemble either of the two approaches and, as a result, suggest the most appropriate uses or applications. Full article

While scholars have made an extensive research contribution on the field of customers´ online trust towards domestic retailers, customers’ international online trust has not yet attracted researchers’ attention. Following the extensive expansion of customers’ online purchasing the purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper knowledge of the multidimensionality of trust in customer international online trust. In this paper trust is discussed and explored on three analytical levels: trust towards country of origin (COO), trust towards retailers, and retailers’ website. Using data from five focus group interviews, the findings show that in an international online context the multidimensionality of trust is even more complex than previously assumed. At first sight the study reveals the importance of trust toward the COO of the retailer, the retailer´s website, and the retailer itself. But interestingly the study revealed that third parties had a significant impact on customer international online trust and decreased the impact of customers´ trust towards COO, websites, and retailers. Full article

E-service questionnaires must be content-aligned with the company or organization’s customer relationship management system (CRM). Four phases of qualitative research will ensure this alignment. The first phase is a qualitatively evaluative search of the practitioner literature on e-retailing, both B2B and B2C, and on CRM so as to capture evolving knowledge in both fields. The second phase is individual depth interviews (IDIs) with potential, current, and lapsed customers to map their e-interactive behavior and experiences. The third phase is dyadic depth interviews (DDIs) with the marketing manager and the website designer to fully understand the company’s current and potential e-service and CRM capabilities. The e-service questionnaire can then be designed according to the general guidelines presented in this article and using question-and-answer templates provided in the author’s previous article [14]. The final phase of qualitative research will consist of post-survey IDIs with a sample of the original survey respondents to clarify and elaborate on the survey’s findings, followed by a final manager-designer DDI to implement the findings. Full article

Increasingly, academic researchers and practitioners have been using online 3D virtual worlds such as Second Life (SL) to conduct focus groups. When doing so, researchers and practitioners have copied and pasted as is, in this new environment, the qualitative methodologies commonly used in real-world focus groups. However, the relevance of using standard focus group methodologies within an online virtual environment has been neither tested, nor the focus of previous research. In addition, online virtual worlds may offer new methodological opportunities that, so far, have been left unexplored. To fill in this methodological gap, the authors have moderated various focus groups in Second Life. When doing so, they tested the limitations inherent to using real-world protocols in an online virtual environment. During the course of this project, it became clear that the usual focus group protocols should be adapted to the peculiar context, if one wants to fully leverage this new medium. As a result, new online qualitative methodologies (e.g., 3D collages) were developed and tested during this research project. Full article

In this research, we extend online auction theory by considering set theory in terms of a staged buying process. Success of online auction marketplaces depends on the efficacy of individual buyers searching for and finding desired items for bidding. Searches that lead to consideration sets with too many or too few options may result in a suboptimal choice. Results from this study suggest that certain personal characteristics may impact the number of auctions considered when filtering the awareness set to the consideration set. The findings suggest that design and management of online auction marketplaces should be refined to facilitate these individual traits such that individual search strategies are maximized. Full article

This exploratory research explores the emotional perspective of online distrust, where distrust is a fear. Fear is one of the negative emotions where the situational state is motive-inconsistent and uncertainty is present. A review of literature explores distrust as a fear, emotions, emotional learning and identifies cognitive dimensions consistent with fear. These cognitive dimensions are motive-inconsistent situational state, uncertainty, goal-path obstacle, effort, and agency/control. Textual data is collected from an online auction community website to support this research. The dimensions consistent with fear are identified within the data collected and analyzed using qualitative analysis. Goal-path obstacles are identified within the data as; value incongruence, user isolation, user inefficacy, and financial. The goal-path obstacles identified are consistent with types of fear. The research findings are discussed in terms of the theory and offers suggestions to practitioners to improve the design of online auctions by reducing the effects of fear and emotional learning. Full article