J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res., Volume 13, Issue 1 (January 2018) – 7 articles

The development of information infrastructures for international trade to improve supply chain visibility and security has gained momentum due to technological advances. An information infrastructure is a shared, open, and evolving assemblage of interlinked information systems providing distinct information technology capabilities. Examples of information infrastructures are the internet, electronic market places and music platforms. Information infrastructures can be highly beneficial as shown by the aforementioned examples, yet often fail to deliver expected benefits. This research focuses on the cultivation of information infrastructures which refers to a softer, less disruptive design approach compared to traditional design approaches in which systems are defined through specified functional requirements within strict boundaries. Drawing on different stakeholder views within a European Union project for international trade, this research provides a taxonomy of twelve cultivation challenges and four engagement reasons one can expect in the design phase of information infrastructures. Organizational theory is used to discuss underlying explanations. The paper concludes that the cultivation of an information infrastructure for international trade could be highly rewarding, yet is a challenging and long-lasting endeavor which requires multi-disciplinary expertise. Practitioners can use the insights provided by this research to increase their understanding of information infrastructure cultivation to ultimately increase adoption rates. Full article

The interest towards the concept of open data has increased during the last ten years, as governments and municipalities have decided to open their data repositories. This has led to a new generation of mobile apps, which utilize this data to improve the feature richness and the overall user experience for the customers. In this study, we interviewed representatives of five software organization and discussed their views towards opening data - private and public - and also using the open data in practice. Based on our observations, the companies see very limited scope for the use of open data as a business asset: the main applications seem to gravitate towards function as an additional feature for an existing product, not a source of new innovations or business ventures. The results also illustrate on how little benefit the organizations consider to gain from opening their private data, and what alternatives there are for sharing data in a profitable manner. Additionally, as based on the observations, a strategy classification on the different data sharing methods is formulated and presented. Full article

Mobile Technology is creating a range of tremendous opportunities and new revenue streams for businesses across industry sectors through the delivery of chargeable mobile products and services via the deployment of innovative value-added solutions that exploit the commercial benefits of mobility. To keep up with the pace of change, companies increasingly want to understand the behavioral attitude of the modern mobile consumer. The aim of this paper is to find out users’ reaction towards different parameters that would influence their intention to utilize their mobile devices in order to purchase products and services online focusing on the current Greek reality. The extant literature focuses on understanding the factors that might affect consumers’ behavior intention to adopt m-shopping; these studies are mostly based on behavioral intention theories, such as Technology Acceptance Model, Diffusion of Innovation and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. In this study, new theoretical constructs are combined with existing evidence in order to extend the Technology Acceptance Model as it was initially established by Davis and later further enriched by other researchers. The proposed model includes behavioral intention, mobile skillfulness, enjoyment, anxiety, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust, relationship drivers, and innovativeness. Full article

This article presents findings of a study that aimed to identify key factors in the adoption of e-commerce. The study involved a bibliometric analysis of statistical information from 408 scientific publications related to the theme, registered in the Scopus database, through a structured search equation. The collected records were used to calculate bibliometric indicators of quantity, quality and structure. Additionally, an analysis of increasing, decreasing, and emerging thematics was carried out to identify the topics of greatest interest on this subject. Findings indicate that this is a prolific research field, in which the fastest growing topic is the study of e-commerce adoption in small and medium sized enterprises in emerging economies. The analysis also revealed the current use of new models to evaluate adoption factors. That is the case of the Technology Organization Environment Framework used as an alternative to the Technology Acceptance Model--which remains the most widely used. Likewise, Structural Equation Analysis was found to be one of the most frequently used options for statistical analysis in the publications studied. A research agenda intending to contribute with directions for further research in the area is presented at the end of the article. Full article

Nowadays, the internet has become a suitable platform for the trade of products and services. Online shopping transactions are carried out without face-to-face contact; thus, various factors can affect customers’ purchase intentions. In addition to aesthetics and ease of use, trust is a critical factor which allows customers to choose an online store. Online merchants need to find ways to keep trusting customers satisfied and loyal. This paper investigates how customer loyalty can be created and/or enhanced in online shopping. The statistical population of the study includes the customers of several online stores in Iran. Data collection is carried out using a questionnaire. The results indicate that information security and website performance influence e-service quality both positively and directly. Also, responsiveness, compensation, and contact positively influence e-recovery. E-recovery has positive impact on e-loyalty, which in turn significantly affects online repurchase. Full article

The main purpose of this study is to examine the factors affecting the online shopping behavior of Net-generation comparing with pre Net-generation. To do so, the research develops a research model including nine independent variables that are hypothesized to predict the intention of purchase using the online shopping context and Net-geners’ characteristics. The partial least squares method of structural equation modeling was used to analyze 293 Net-geners and 246 preNet-geners. The results of the study show that the six online purchase determinants (product variety, feedback, responsiveness, personalization, acceptance of complaints, and enjoyment) are more important for Net-geners than for preNet-geners. This study contributes to the understanding of online purchasing behavior of the Net generation (Net-geners) and will help to envision new strategies for marketing to Net-geners. Previous research has focused on shifts in technology and overlooks the shift of consumer demographics as the Net-geners are the first to grow up surrounded by digital media and the Internet. Full article