E-Commerce Commons^™

Information Search Patterns In E-Commerce Product Comparison Services, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Weiyin Hong, Liqiang Chen, Hong-Hee Lee

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

To facilitate product selection and purchase decisions on e-commerce Web sites, the presentation of product information is very important. In this research, the authors study how disposition styles influence users’ search patterns in product comparison services of e-commerce Web sites. The results show that people use relatively more feature paths and less product paths in vertical disposition style than horizontal disposition style. The findings also indicate that there are relatively more feature paths and less product paths in the first half than second half of the information search paths. This is consistent with Gensch’s two-stage choice model which suggests that …

A Secure On-Line Credit Card Transaction Method Based On Kerberos Authentication Protocol, Jung Eun Kim

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nowadays, electronic payment system is an essential part of modern business. Credit cards or debit cards have been widely used for on-site or remote transactions, greatly reducing the need for inconvenient cash transactions. However, there have been a huge number of incidents of credit card frauds over the Internet due to the security weakness of electronic payment system. A number of solutions have been proposed in the past to prevent this problem, but most of them were inconvenient and did not satisfy the needs of cardholders and merchants at the same time.

In this thesis, we present a new secure …

Do Online Reviews Reflect A Product's True Perceived Quality? An Investigation Of Online Movie Reviews Across Cultures, Noi Sian Koh, Nan Hu, Eric K. Clemons

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

When does the reported average of online ratings match perceived average assessment? We apply behavioral theory to capture intentions in rating online movie reviews in two dissimilar countries - China and the United States. We argue that consumers' rating behaviors are affected by cultural influences. Based on data collected from imdb.com and douban.com, we found significant differences across raters from these two different cultures. Additionally, we examined how cultural elements influence rating behavior for a hybrid culture - Singapore. Under-reporting bias occurs when consumers with extreme opinions are more likely to report their opinions than consumers with moderate reviews, resulting …

The Monetary Value Of Virtual Goods: An Exploratory Study In Mmorpgs, Qiu-Hong Wang, Viktor Mayer-Schonberger

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This study investigates the monetary value of time spent in virtual worlds in the context of 24 most popular MMORPGs Building on classic economic theory, we approach this issue through a combination of theoretical modeling, experiment, and cross-sectional time series data analysis. Our findings suggest that intensive social networking and flatter social hierarchy structures are associated with lower monetary value of time spent in-game. Further, two opposite network effects on the monetary value of in-game time spent were observed. One is the positive network effect from the active user base, the other is the negative network effect from the intensity …

Why It Managers Don't Go For Cyber-Insurance Products, Tridib Bandyopadhyay, Vijay S. Mookerjee, Ram C. Rao

Faculty Articles

Despite positive expectations, cyber-insurance products have failed to take center stage in the management of IT security risk. Market inexperience, leading to conservatism in pricing cyber-insurance instruments, is often cited as the primary reason for the limited growth of the cyber-insurance market. In contrast, here we provide a demand-side explanation for why cyber-insurance products have not lived up to their initial expectations. We highlight the presence of information asymmetry between customers and providers, showing how it leads to overpricing cyber-insurance contracts and helps explain why cyber insurance might have failed to deliver its promise as a cornerstone of IT security-management …

Sharing Mobile Multimedia Annotations To Support Inquiry-Based Learning Using Mobitop, Khasfariyati Razikin, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh, Yin-Leng Theng, Quang Minh Nguyen, Thi Nhu Quynh Kim, Ee Peng Lim, Chew-Hung Chang, Kalyani Chatterjea, Aixin Sun

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Mobile devices used in educational settings are usually employed within a collaborative learning activity in which learning takes place in the form of social interactions between team members while performing a shared task. We introduce MobiTOP (Mobile Tagging of Objects and People), a geospatial digital library system which allows users to contribute and share multimedia annotations via mobile devices. A key feature of MobiTOP that is well suited for collaborative learning is that annotations are hierarchical, allowing annotations to be annotated by other users to an arbitrary depth. A group of student-teachers involved in an inquiry-based learning activity in geography …

A Hybrid Firm's Pricing Strategy In Electronic Commerce Under Channel Migration, Robert John Kauffman, Dongwon Lee, Jung Lee, Byungjoon Yoo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Achieving an effective business design across the Internet and the off-line channel is a critical concern for a hybrid firm's choice of pricing strategy. Two pricing models are proposed to examine how consumer channel migration (one-way channel interaction from the traditional sales channel to the Internet) affects pricing strategy. One model has no interaction between the Internet and off-line channels. The other includes the possibility of one-way migration to the Internet channel and incorporates consumers' channel-switching costs and loyalty to the firm. The two models offer interesting results for understanding traditional and Internet-based selling. A high level of channel migration …

Are Online Auction Markets Efficient? An Empirical Study Of Market Liquidity And Abnormal Returns., Robert J. Kauffman, Trent J Spaulding, Charles A. Wood

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Technological advances have facilitated investment in collectibles through online auction markets, where information regarding product characteristics, current and historical prices, and product availability is available to millions of market participants. However, market inefficiencies may still exist, where prices do not reflect market information and where savvy speculators can profit. Using unit root and variance ratio tests, we examine 8538 rare stamp and 56,997 rare coin auctions to evaluate the efficiency of online markets. In particular, we study market liquidity, abnormal returns and weak-form efficiency. We find an inverse relationship between market efficiency and liquidity. Bidder competition intrinsic to liquidity increases …

Ontology-Based Business Process Customization For Composite Web Services, Qianhui (Althea) Liang, Xindong Wu, E. K. Park, T. Khoshgoftaar, C. Chi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A key goal of the Semantic Web is to shift social interaction patterns from a producer-centric paradigm to a consumer-centric one. Treating customers as the most valuable assets and making the business models work better for them are at the core of building successful consumer-centric business models. It follows that customizing business processes constitutes a major concern in the realm of a knowledge-pull-based human semantic Web. This paper conceptualizes the customization of service-based business processes leveraging the existing knowledge of Web services and business processes. We represent this conceptualization as a new Extensible Markup Language (XML) markup language Web Ontology …

Tuning Into The Digital Channel: Evaluating Business Model Fit For Internet Firm Survival, Robert J. Kauffman, Bin Wang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

More than 5,000 Internet firms have failed since the beginning of 2000. One common perception is that the downturn in the economy drove many firms out of business. But then, why have some firms survived? In this research, we provide an empirical analysis by examining how the business model characteristics of an Internet firm affect its survival. We analyze a panel data set of 130 public Internet firms using two different techniques: non-parametric survival analysis, and the semiparametric Cox proportional hazards model. We characterize the survival rates throughout the lifetimes of the public Internet firms in our sample. Our results …

Do Online Reviews Affect Product Sales? The Role Of Reviewer Characteristics And Temporal Effects, Nan Hu, Ling Liu, Jennifer Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Online product reviews provided by consumers who previously purchased products have become a major information source for consumers and marketers regarding product quality. This study extends previous research by conducting a more compelling test of the effect of online reviews on sales. In particular, we consider both quantitative and qualitative aspects of online reviews, such as reviewer quality, reviewer exposure, product coverage, and temporal effects. Using transaction cost economics and uncertainty reduction theories, this study adopts a portfolio approach to assess the effectiveness of the online review market. We show that consumers understand the value difference between favorable news and …

Relationship Preserving Auction For Repeated E-Procurement, Park J., Lee J., Lau H.

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

While e-procurement auction has helped firms to achieve lower procurement costs, auction mechanisms that prevail at present in procurement markets need to address an important issue that concerns the ability to maintain long term relationships with the partners, especially in repeated e-procurement settings. In this paper, we propose a Relationship Preserving Auction (RPA) mechanism that augments the conventional auction mechanism with a bidder relationship scoring model. Our proposed mechanism gives increased chances of winning to the bidders who have bidden at relatively competitive price but had comparatively less wins so far. Keeping these bidders in the auction over time will …

A Growth-Theoretic Empirical Analysis Of Simultaneity In Cross-National E-Commerce Development, Shu-Chun Ho, Robert J. Kauffman, Ting-Peng Liang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The emergence of information and communication technologies infrastructure has transformed the global economy. The development of information technology infrastructure is limited to some developed countries though. This research explores the role of information technology infrastructure in B2C e-commerce growth at the country-level from the perspective of growth theory in economics. We propose a hybrid exogenous and endogenous growth model to explain e-commerce growth. We estimate a panel data model that incorporates the direct effects of e-commerce infrastructure and other key explanatory variables. We further specify a simultaneous effects model that permits the analysis of reverse causality in the association between …

Analyzing Service Usage Patterns: Methodology And Simulation, Qianhui (Althea) Liang, Jen-Yao Chung

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper proposes that service mining technology will power the construction of new business services via both intra- and inter-enterprise service assembly within the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) framework. We investigate the methodologies of service mining at the component level of service usage. We also demonstrate how mining of service usage patterns is intended to be used to improve different aspects of service composition. Simulation experiments conducted for mining at the component level are analyzed. The processing details within a general service mining deployment are demonstrated.

Follow The Leader? Price Change Timing In Internet-Based Selling, R. J. Kauffman, Charles A. Wood

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Internet technologies should lessen information asymmetry, prompting competitive price reactions, but this does not seem to be happening in Internet-based selling. We study empirical regularities of price change timing for music CD vendors and booksellers to assess several theoretical explanations. Our sample includes 123, 680 daily prices for 169 products and 53 firms. Bertrand competition is insufficient to explain our observation that sellers do not shift prices this way. Tacitly collusive responses to competitors' price changes are observed rather than price changes solely in response to demand or cost shifts as would be expected with Bertrand competition. We find evidence …

An Examination Of Online Product Comparison Service: Fit Between Product Type And Disposition Style, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, W. Hong, L. Chen, H. Lee

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Horizontal and vertical disposition styles are two main formats used in product comparison service on e-commerce websites. In this research, we hypothesize that there is a fit between product type (‘think’ vs. ‘feel’ product) and disposition style (horizontal vs. vertical style), where horizontal disposition style is more appropriate for ‘feel’ products and vertical disposition style is a better fit for ‘think’ products. An experiment will be carried out to test the hypotheses.

Usage-Based Versus Flat Pricing For E-Business Services With Differentiated Qos, Zhen Liu, Laura Wynter, Cathy Xia

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Design of e-commerce services that are competitive, in such a quickly responding market, requires the analyses of prices and price structures. We present a general model of an e-commerce market that allows us to analyze optimal price structures, both flat and usage-based. Based on the price structure of a major web hosting provider, we consider both single-tier and two-tier (burst-rate) pricing, and our result suggests that the more complex two-tier structure may not be worth the marketing effort, as the firm?s equilibrium profits will not increase through the use of this structure. An essential feature of our approach is that …

Assessing Organizational Innovation Capability And Its Effect On E-Commerce Initiatives, Ann L. Fruhling, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This research uses a qualitative approach to study the innovative capability of two organizations and the effect of innovation on their E-Commerce initiatives, strategies, and outcomes. The Innovation Strategy Model is used in this research to analyze the innovative capability of two organizations. The case study research methodology was selected and two case studies are presented. The research results show that one organization is more innovative than the other in terms of its innovative capability. A post-study follow-up shows that the organization that was high on innovative capability was very successful in their E-Commerce initiative whereas the other organization was …

Online Advertising By The Comparison Challenge Approach, Jae Wong Lee, Jae Kyu Lee

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

To enhance the effectiveness of online comparisons from a manufacturer's point of view, we develop a framework for the comparison challenge approach. To develop the comparison challenge framework, we analyze 12 factors that determine the characteristics of comparison and propose models of valuable comparison challenges using the CompareMe and CompareThem strategies. We demonstrate the approaches with the example of PC selection. To help plan the comparison challenges, we formulate a mathematical programming model that maximizes the total value of comparison under the constraints of comparison opportunity and budgetary limitation. The model is applied to eight comparison scenarios, and its performance …

Service Pattern Discovery Of Web Service Mining In Web Service Registry-Repository, Qianhui Althea Liang, Jen-Yao Chung, Steven M. Miller, Yang Ouyang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper presents and elaborates the concept of Web service usage patterns and pattern discovery through service mining. We define three different levels of service usage data: i) user request level, ii) template level and iii) instance level. At each level, we investigate patterns of service usage data and the discovery of these patterns. An algorithm for service pattern discovery at the template level is presented. We show the system architecture of a service-mining enabled service registry repository. Web service patterns, pattern discovery and pattern mining supports the discovery and composition of complex services, which in turn supports the application …

Can Online Reviews Reveal A Product's True Quality? Empirical Findings Analytical Modeling Of Online Word-Of-Mouth Communication, Nan Hu, Paul Pavlou, Jennifer Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

As a digital version of word-of-mouth, online review has become a major information source for consumers and has very important implications for a wide range of management activities. While some researchers focus their studies on the impact of online product review on sales, an important assumption remains unexamined, that is, can online product review reveal the true quality of the product? To test the validity of this key assumption, this paper first empirically tests the underlying distribution of online reviews with data from Amazon. The results show that 53% of the products have a bimodal and non-normal distribution. For these …

Evaluating Microsoft .Net Technology: Implementation Online Store, Jie Dou

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to design, develop and implement an e-commerce shopping cart system based on Microsoft.NET technology and to evaluate ASP.NET technology by developing a shopping cart system.

Information Search Patterns In E-Commerce Product Comparison Services, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Hong-Hee Lee, Liqiang Chen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The presentation of product information is very important in e-commerce websites. In this research, we study how disposition styles can influence users‟ search patterns in product comparison services of e-commerce websites. Our results show that people are inclined to use feature information paths in vertical disposition style and product information paths in horizontal disposition style. The results also indicate that there are more feature paths than product paths in the earlier stage of product comparison, and more product paths than feature paths in the latter stage of product comparison. Based on Gensch‟s two-stage choice model and the results of our …

Privacy Issues In The Era Of Ubiquitous Commerce, Holtjona Galanxhi, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The vision of ubiquitous commerce (u-commerce) is realized through the convergence of electronic, mobile, television, voice and silent commerce applications. The ubiquity, universality, uniqueness, and unison of u-commerce will provide two principal benefits for individual users and companies: increased convenience as well as more personalized and customized services. However, u-commerce will also bring new issues such as a greater degree of privacy concerns that will impact individual users, companies, and the society at large. This paper proposes and elaborates on a conceptual framework for privacy in the u-commerce era. It combines Lessig’s macro-level perspective – the four-factor model of privacy …

Privacy Issues In The Era Of Ubiquitous Commerce, Holtjona Galanxhi, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The vision of ubiquitous commerce (u‐commerce) is realized through the convergence of electronic, mobile, television, voice and silent commerce applications. The ubiquity, universality, uniqueness and unison of u‐commerce will provide two principal benefits for individual users and businesses: increased convenience as well as more personalized and customized services. However, u‐commerce will also bring emerging issues such as a greater degree of privacy concerns that will impact individual users, companies and society at large. This paper proposes and elaborates on a conceptual framework for privacy in the u‐commerce era. This framework is developed based on Lessig's macro‐level perspective and Adams' micro‐level …

How Much You Watch, How Much You Pay, Yongdong Wu, Hwee Hwa Pang, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper presents a pay-video scheme that manages video stream, key stream and payment stream efficiently. In our scheme, the owner segments a video into fragments and encrypts them with independent keys. The keys are generated with a novel concept called as hash interval, where each hash interval discloses a range of numbers without disclosing any information on numbers outside of the range. The video fragments are then broadcast on one or more channels. A buyer can purchase the keys to decrypt any fragments and, within each fragment, any desired quality level. The accompanying payment protocol is integrated with the …

Micro-Payment Exchange System, Yiyao Hao

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to investigate the infrastructure requirements for a currency exchange market for holders of currencies issued through the Lightweight Currency Protocol. The Lightweight Currency Protocol was designed as a means for entities to issue currencies for the purpose of cultivating low value business transactions between collaborating nodes in a peer-to-peer market.

Pdf Shopping System With The Lightweight Currency Protocol, Yingzhuo Wang

Theses Digitization Project

This project is a web application for two types of bookstores an E-Bookstore and a PDF-Bookstore. Both are document sellers, however, The E-Bookstore is not a currency user. The PDF-Bookstore sells PDF documents and issues a lightweight currency called Scart. Customers can sell their PDF documents to earn Scart currency and buy PDF documents by paying with Scart.

A Secure, Payment-Based Email Delivery System, Ni Deng

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to design, build and implement a secure, payment-based email delivery system that provides privacy and reduces spam.

Disintermediation In The United States Air Travel Industry Who Hold The Power Of Booking Strength, Preenida Gajaseni

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation of U.S. domestic air travelers and patterns of air travel purchase within the U.S. air travel industry. Influences on the patterns of air travel purchase involved 1) demographic characteristics of travelers 2) benefits to the customer 3) customer attitude toward service providers' (defined as airlines, web-based travel agents, and traditional travel agents and 4) information sources used to select and book a flight for business and leisure trips.