Business Commons^™

Effects Of Website Environmental Cues On Consumers’ Response And Outcome Behaviors, Eunju Yoon

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mehrabian and Russell (1974) developed the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model in environmental psychology. This model is used to examine the effects of physical stimuli on human emotions and response behaviors. The development of the Internet and electronic commerce has spurred interest in online shopping research. The S-O-R model has been applied widely to examine consumers’ emotions and responses towards online website stimuli (Eroglu, Machleit, & Davis, 2001; Eroglu, Machleit, and Davis, 2003; Menon & Kahn, 2002; Richard, 2005).

The main objective of this study was to examine the effects of website environmental cues on the consumer’s affective (i.e., hedonic attitude) and …

Use Of Rss Feeds To Push The Online Content To Users, Dan Ma

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Many websites use Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds to actively push their online content to users rather than waiting for users to pull the content passively. In this paper, I construct a theoretical game model to study the profitability of an RSS-PUSH delivery mechanism. The model assumes a general profit structure for websites and heterogeneous users. To access valuable online content, users incur a variety of costs. They choose either to visit the website in the conventional way (the PULL model) or, if it is supported by the website, to use RSS (the PUSH model). Interestingly, I show that although …

Reputation As Public Policy For Internet Security: A Field Study, Qian Tang, Leigh L. Linden, John S. Quarterman, Andrew Whinston

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Cybersecurity is a national priority in this big data era. Because of the lack of incentives and the existence of negative externality, companies often underinvest in addressing security risks and accidents, despite government and industry recommendations. In the present article, we propose a method that utilizes reputation through information disclosure to motivate companies to behave pro-socially, improving their Internet security. Using outbound spam as a proxy for Internet security, we conducted a quasiexperimental field study for eight countries through SpamRankings.net. This outgoingspam-based study shows that information disclosure on outgoing spam can help reduce outgoing spam, approximately by 16 percent. This …

Groupon, Inc., Kevin Beiles, Trip Humphrey, Ed Solarz, Jeffrey S. Harrison

Robins Case Network

Groupon’s CEO Andrew Mason made a terrible mistake when he refused to accept Google’s $6 billion dollar offer to acquire his company. About a year after its IPO in 2011, Groupon’s market capitalization was only $2.5 billion, and its main product was coming to be thought of as junk e-mail. The company has pursued growth through expanding into new services and products, with the goal of becoming an e-commerce platform that “locks in” the business of local merchants.

A Computational Analysis Of Bundle Trading Markets Design For Distributed Resource Allocation, Zhiling Guo, Gary J. Koehler, Andrew B. Whinston

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Online auction markets play increasingly important roles for resource allocations in distributed systems. This paper builds upon a market-based framework presented by Guo et al. (Guo, Z., G. J. Koehler, A. B. Whinston. 2007. A market-based optimization algorithm for distributed systems. Management Sci. 53(8) 1345–1458), where a distributed system optimization problem is solved by self-interested agents iteratively trading bundled resources in a double auction market run by a dealer. We extend this approach to a dynamic, asynchronous Internet market environment and investigate how various market design factors including dealer inventory policies, market communication patterns, and agent learning strategies affect the …

Guest Editors’ Introduction: Poverty, Technology, Microfinance And Development, Robert J. Kauffman, Frederick J. Riggins

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A consistent expectation on the part of public policy-makers, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has been that information and communications technologies (ICTs) will be a driver of economic growth and social development for the people away from poverty in the nations that harness them effectively. As this process proceeds around the world in the presence of dramatic technical progress, poverty nevertheless continues to be a difficult and grinding social problem to combat. In spite of the promised changes, the reality is that today there are greater population pressures, continuing inertial forces for economic stagnation, unstable social conditions and regional strife, …

Niche-Seeking In Influence Maximization With Adversary, Long Foong Liow, Shih-Fen Cheng, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In hotly contested product categories dominated by a few powerful firms, it is quite common for weaker or late entrants to focus only on particular segments of the whole market. The rationale for such strategy is intuitive: to avoid direct confrontation with heavy-weight firms, and to concentrate in segments where these weaker firms have comparative advantages. In marketing, this is what people called “go niche or go home". The niche-building strategy may rely on “homophily", which implies that consumers in a particular market segment might possess certain set of attributes that cause them to appreciate certain products better (in other …

The Pricing Model Of Cloud Computing Services, Jianhui Huang, Dan Ma

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Cloud computing service providers offer computing resource as a utility and software as a service over network. Many believe that Cloud computing is making an industry-wise paradigm shift for IT use. Besides its technique issues, the business feature of Cloud computing attracts our interests. Specifically the practice of Amazon EC2 introduces an interesting pricing scheme. Amazon provides users with virtual computing instances as a combination of interruptible service (i.e., spot instance) and uninterruptible service (i.e., on-demand and reserved instance). Spot instance is charged at a per use price which is dynamically changing over time; users of spot instance face the …

Bidder Behaviors In Repeated B2b Procurement Auctions, Jong Han Park, Jae Kyu Lee, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

B2B auctions play a key role in a firm's procurement process. Even though it is known that repetition is a key characteristic of procurement auctions, traditional auctioneers typically have not put in place a suitable mechanism that supports repetitive auctions effectively. In this paper, we empirically investigate what has taken place in repeated procurement auctions based on real world data from a major outsourcing company of MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) items in Korea. From this empirical study, we discovered the followings. First, we discovered that the repeated bidders contribute majority of all bids, and that the number of new …

Investment Timing For Mobile Payment Systems, Robert J. Kauffman, Jun Liu, Dan Ma

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The recent launch of Google Wallet has brought the issue of technology solutions in the mobile payment (m-payment) area to the forefront. In deciding whether and when to adopt m-payment technology, senior managers in banks are naturally concerned about uncertainties regarding future market conditions, technology standards, and consumer and merchant responses, especially their willingness to adopt. This study applies economic theory and modeling for decision-making under uncertainty to bank investments in mobile payment technology. We assess the projected benefits and costs of investment as a continuous-time stochastic process to determine optimal investment timing. We find that the value of waiting …

Message From General Chair And Program Co-Chairs [Of Icec '12, 14th Annual International Conference On Electronic Commerce, Held In Singapore, 7-8 August 2012], Robert J. Kauffman, Martin Bichler, Hoong Chuin Lau, Christopher Yang, Yinping Yang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Singapore, a major hub in the Asia Pacific region well known for its multi-racial and multicultural society, is proud to host the 14th International Conference on Electronic Commerce. Singapore Management University (SMU), the School of Information Systems (SIS) and the Living Analytics Research Center (LARC) are also delighted to be able to support the delivery of this event.

Consumer Micro-Behavior And Tv Viewership Patterns: Data Analytics For The Two-Way Set-Top Box, Ray M. Chang, Robert J. Kauffman, Insoo Son

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Consumer behavior patterns related to home digital media use are changing due to technological innovations. We examine them in the presence of two-way cable television (CATV) settop boxes. They permit viewers to change channels, switch to the Internet, and order paid programming, among other functions. We focus on micro-level data that are generated from consumer CATV viewing behavior. We capture clickstreams of channel-changing behavior when consumer use a remote control handset to interact with the set-top box in their home. We explore a variety of data analytics results that characterize patterns of consumer channel-switching behavior, as a basis for suggesting …

The Role Of Interactivity In Interent Business On Customer Experiential Values And Behavioral Intentions, So Ra Park

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Customers’ experiential value is based on holistic experience customers would have when they interact with a product/service. Experiential value is defined as “relativistic preference characterizing a subject’s experience with some object” (Holbrook, 1994). Internet is characterized for interactivity and it should have a role in customers’ experiential value. Therefore, this research investigates the role of interactivity (e-store interaction, C2C interaction, and content interaction) and web store utility on intrinsic and extrinsic customer experiential value. The final dependent variable is behavioral intentions. To test the research model, a survey was designed to capture online consumers’ perception of interactivity within e-stores, experiential …

Vertical Differentiation And A Comparison Of Online Advertising Models, Mei Lin, Xuqing Ke, Andrew B. Whinston

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Designing business models that take into consideration the role of advertising support is critical to the success of online services. In this paper, we address the challenges of these business model strategies and compare different ad revenue models. We use game theory to model vertical differentiation in both monopoly and duopoly settings, in which online service providers may offer an ad-free service, an ad-supported service, or a combination of these services. Offering both ad-free and ad-supported services is the optimal strategy for a monopolist because ad revenues compensate for the cannibalistic effect of vertical differentiation. In a duopoly equilibrium, exactly …

Invasive Species And E-Commerce, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

ISSUE

Internet commerce (hereafter e-commerce) is a growing and vital part of the United States economy. Total e-commerce sales in the United States for 2011 totaled $194 billion, an increase of 16% over 2010. From 2002 to 2011, the proportion of reported e-commerce sales in the U. S. grew from about 1.4% to 5.5% of total retail sales (United States Census Bureau News 2012). Globally, e-commerce is expected to increase at a rate of 13.5% annually, amounting to $1.4 trillion in yearly sales by 2015 (Enright 2011). A portion of this activity includes the sale and trade of living organisms. …

The Impact Of Nationality, Gender, And Education On Students’ Buying Attitudes Towards Ethical And Socially Responsible Products, Christina Blundin, Suphamas Chatvisedphan, Siraprapa Dusadeewanich, Elena Perova, Xuebo Wang

MBA Student Scholarship

In today’s corporate climate, a company’s ethical and social responsible (ESR) involvement raises concern amongst consumers. Companies seek methods to demonstrate their high level of ESR in order to win customers’ loyalty. Prior research has been performed examining different variables with regards to the purchase of ESR products. This study utilizes empirical evidence from a private university in Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University to investigate the significance of demographic variables such as nationality, gender and educational level with regards to students' ESR buying attitude. Additionally considered and analyzed external factors are product price, advertisement and industry concern. Results indicate …

F.A.C.E.S. (Faculty Academic Community Education Showcase): Professional Growth Experiences In A Career University, Paul J. Colbert, Ph.D.

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

Institutes of higher education exist for the purpose of developing, fostering, nurturing, and stimulating the intellectual growth and development of students. The core values of a college education provide students conceptual and practical educational opportunities that focus on improving their skills and knowledge. These skills and knowledge translate into purposeful, real-life learning experiences. However, in the academic community, learning is not restricted to students. Faculty, too, must be supported and provided opportunities for personal and professional growth and development. Although professional development is not a novel concept in the education profession, schools often take up the gauntlet, but fall short …

Self-Enhancement As A Motivation For Sharing Online Advertising, David G. Taylor, David Strutton, Kenneth Thompson

WCBT Faculty Publications

Marketers have long understood that consumers' self-concepts influence the products they purchase; conversely, products purchased influence people's self-concepts. Might the same self-enhancement framework apply in to shared online advertisements? Using the symbolic interactionist perspective of identity theory, this study empirically tests the proposition that online consumers use electronic word of mouth, and specifically the sharing of online advertising, to construct and express their self-concepts. The results suggest that self-brand congruity, entertainment value, and product category involvement increase the self-expressiveness of online ads, which then increase the likelihood of sharing those ads. These findings have both theoretical and managerial implications.

Manipulation Of Online Reviews: An Analysis Of Ratings, Readability, And Sentiments, Nan Hu, Indranil Bose, Noi Sian Koh, Ling Liu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

As consumers become increasingly reliant on online reviews to make purchase decisions, the sales of the product becomes dependent on the word of mouth (WOM) that it generates. As a result, there can be attempts by firms to manipulate online reviews of products to increase their sales. Despite the suspicion on the existence of such manipulation, the amount of such manipulation is unknown, and deciding which reviews to believe in is largely based on the reader's discretion and intuition. Therefore, the success of the manipulation of reviews by firms in generating sales of products is unknown. In this paper, we …

L'Embarras Du Choix: A Year Of Developments In The Laws Affecting Remittance Transfers, Credit Cards, And Certain Prepaid Cards, Sarah Jane Hughes

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Vendor Compensation As An Approach For State "Amazon" Laws: Part 2, David Gamage, Devin J. Heckman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this essay, the second of a two-part series, we propose an approach for the U.S. states to tax interstate e-commerce. If the states adequately compensate remote e-commerce vendors for all tax compliance costs, we argue that the states can constitutionally impose use tax collection obligations on the remote vendors in a manner compatible with the Quill framework.

Vendor Compensation As An Approach For State "Amazon" Laws: Part 1, David Gamage, Devin J. Heckman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this Essay, the first of a two-part series, we analyze the approaches U.S. states have been using in their attempts to tax interstate e-commerce. We argue that these existing approaches are unlikely to be effective. In our companion Essay, the second in the series, we outline a novel approach that states might employ in order to more effectively tax interstate e-commerce – based on adequately compensating remote vendors for all tax compliance costs. But before we can argue for our new approach, we must first survey the current constitutional and statutory landscape.

The Saga Of State "Amazon" Laws: Reflections On The Colorado Decision, David Gamage, Darien Shanske

Articles by Maurer Faculty

We analyze the Colorado district court’s decision in Direct Marketing Association v. Huber – a decision that permanently enjoined Colorado’s "Amazon" law. Had it not been enjoined, the Colorado law would have mandated information reporting by remote e-commerce vendors so that Colorado could levy its sales and use tax on the e-commerce purchases made by Colorado residents. We evaluate the applicability of the Tax (Anti-)Injunction Act and whether the Colorado statute and regulations should be reviewed as a tax or as a regulation. We also suggest alternative approaches that state legislatures might use in order to levy taxes on remote …

Semantic Inference On Heterogeneous E-Marketplace Activities, Jingzhi Guo, Lida Xu, Zhiguo Gong, Chin-Pang Che, Sohail S. Chaudry

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

An electronic marketplace (e-marketplace) is a common business information space populated with many entities of different system types. Each of them has its own context of how to process activities. This leads to heterogeneous e-marketplace activities, which are difficult to make interoperable and inferred from one entity to another. This study solves this problem by proposing a concept of separation strategy and implementing it through providing a semantic inference engine with a novel inference algorithm. The solution, called the RuleXPM approach, enables one to semantically infer a next e-marketplace activity across multiple contexts/domains. Experiments show that the cross-context/cross-domain semantic inference …

Optimal Decision Making For Online Referral Marketing, Zhiling Guo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Widely available web 2.0 technologies not only bring rich and interactive user experiences, but also easily help users advertise products or services on their own blogs and social network webpages. Online referral marketing, for example, is a business practice that rewards customers who successfully refer other customers to a website or upon completion of a sale usually via their own social contacts. The referral rewards come in different forms such as shopping vouchers, redeemable points, discounts, prizes, cash payments, etc. We develop an analytical model to evaluate the business potential of incorporating an online referral marketing program into the firm's …