Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research

In the context of developing the digital platform economy, trade-in programs have become an effective strategy for e-commerce platforms to stimulate consumption. Many head e-commerce platforms have launched their own trade-in programs. However, the existing research on trade-in programs is still stuck in the traditional trade-in model. The purpose of this study is to explore whether there is a new and more beneficial trade-in program. In this paper, we construct the Stackelberg game model between a brand owner and a B2C e-commerce platform under two trade-in programs and use optimization theory to obtain the equilibrium results of the model. The results indicate that the performance improvement of the new-generation product will promote the increase in two-generation products’ price under traditional trade-in programs, the price of the new-generation product will increase, and the price of the previous-generation product will decrease under new trade-in programs. The brand owner always prefers traditional trade-in to new trade-in. However, the e-commerce platform prefers traditional trade-in to new trade-in just when the previous-generation product is durable enough and the performance improvement of a new-generation product is small enough; otherwise, it prefers new trade-in to traditional trade-in. These findings are beneficial to the operational practices of e-commerce platforms and brand owners. Full article

The increasing popularity of ride-hailing applications has given rise to a new channel in which ride-hailing platforms are bundled into aggregation platforms to earn additional orders by charging commissions and slotting fees. Such bundled channels, unlike traditional reseller electronic ones, may flutter prices, service levels, market demands, and then further affect their profits. These divergent attitudes raise an interesting and key question about whether and under what conditions bundled channels should be introduced to ride-hailing platforms. In this paper, we provide an analytical framework for ride-hailing and aggregation platforms in unbundled and bundled scenarios, respectively. We build a Stackelberg game model in which ride-hailing and aggregation platforms as leaders obtain prices by constructing Nash equilibria, while drivers as followers determine service levels given to two platforms. Drivers’ best responses in terms of service levels for two platforms, as well as platforms’ optimal pricing strategies and profits are achieved. To capture access conditions of the ride-hailing platform and the profit contention between two platforms, we further conduct sensitivity analysis on cost coefficients of service levels, price and cross-price substitutions, service level and cross-service level substitutions, revenue-sharing ratio, cost, as well as commission and slotting fee. Based on numerical examples and analysis of the results, some interesting managerial insights about bundling strategies are gained for ride-hailing platforms. Full article

In an attempt to deepen how the way of working is changing due to the digital transformation, this research aims at understanding the process by which individuals adopt blockchain technology in accountancy. We conducted a meta-synthesis of the qualitative literature on the topic of blockchain technology adoption in the context of accountancy. Drawing from 10 systematically selected qualitative studies, we analyzed the process of blockchain technology adoption in accountancy, with particular reference to the impacts on accounting professionals, in terms of individual attitudes and behaviors, as well as organizations. Our findings contribute to the existing literature in at least two ways. First, our research explores the topic of blockchain adoption in the accountancy domain and stresses the relevance of the use of that emerging technology by accounting professionals and organizations, as well as the main problems that could limit its adoption and use. Second, we provide an overview of the process of blockchain technology adoption with specific reference to the questions of “why” and “how” blockchain is (or is not) adopted by accounting professionals and organizations, in an effort to shed light on a critical issue that has yet to be explored in accountancy. Full article

The development of e-commerce has formulated the hybrid platform mode for retail enterprises. We studied how the differences in product distribution cost, unit retail price, and competition conflict affect the business model decision making. The theoretical model shows the following results: (1) When the hybrid platform sells complementary products with third-party sellers, the profit of choosing the hybrid mode is always the best. (2) When the hybrid platform competes with third-party sellers, if the unit retail price is in a higher range, the merchant mode is the best choice; when the unit retail price is in the lower range, the hybrid platform mode is the best choice. (3) Competition between the hybrid platform and third-party sellers determines the profit level of the operating enterprise. The excessive price competition between the self-operated business and the third-party sellers is magnified by the existence of cross-network externalities, resulting in a strong anti-competitive effect, and affecting the profits of the hybrid platform’s two businesses. These findings guide retail enterprises to design their business model as well as address competition conflict. Full article

This paper aims to investigate how to coordinate a dual-channel supply chain composing of a manufacturer and a retailer when customers utilize the retailer’s service to conduct free-riding behavior. Specially, we consider the crucial role of service in affecting customers’ valuation for a kind of experience product and establish a channel choice model by employing utility theory. Then, we analyze the optimal pricing and service decisions under decentralized and centralized scenarios. To achieve overall optimization, we propose three contract mechanisms, namely price hike (Mechanism 1), price hike with service cost sharing (Mechanism 2) and price hike with service cost sharing and surplus compensation (Mechanism 3). We reveal the way of price difference and service provision in affecting customer free-riding behavior. Besides, we find that the three mechanisms can reduce free-riding behavior to some extent. However, the extent varies under different mechanisms and is related to the cost-sharing fraction and the degree by which the manufacturer increases his online price. Further, we find that Mechanism 3 can realize overall optimization and members’ win–win situations. Finally, we conduct numerical examples to explore how different mechanisms affect supply chain efficiency. The results also provide managerial insights for dual-channel firms in practice. Full article

With the continuous cross-border cooperation among industries, the concept of an industrial interconnection supply and demand network is constantly mentioned. As industry interconnectivity continues to grow, collaboration models have changed as companies work more closely with each other, and the synergy model has changed. In order to improve the efficiency of collaboration and to promote the free allocation of resources in the trading process of the industry interconnection supply and demand network, an industry interconnection supply and demand network resource matching platform based on the Alliance blockchain was built, steps for resource trading on the platform were proposed. Using blockchain technology’s smart contract technology to simplify the transaction process, the triggering mechanism and algorithm rules of smart contracts in the trading process of the platform were designed, and the smart contract code was developed, deployed, and tested using Remix IDE, and the test results showed the transaction process between the supply and demand sides. Through blockchain technology, it achieves information security and transparency in the process of resource trading in the industry interconnection supply and demand network, establishes a trust mechanism on both sides of the transaction, reduces redundant steps in the transaction and improves the operational efficiency of the industry interconnection supply and demand network by increasing the efficiency of resource allocation. Full article

We present a novel quantitative approach to assessing sensory components on e-commerce websites. The Online Sensory Marketing Index (OSMI) provides a valuable measure of the sensory output exhibited by text, images, and other media. The OSMI enables website creators and marketers to communicate about sensory marketing elements and related components. Accordingly, websites could be designed to achieve better sensory appeal and mitigate weaknesses. Our index allows for the creation of sensory templates for various industries. Utilizing a field study of 16 websites in the tech, automotive, fashion, and food industries, we present sensory measures for websites’ acoustical and visionary elements that are easy to comprehend. Additionally, we introduce a score to quantify haptic, olfactory, and gustatory components to assess the online sensory consumer experience. We conclude and propose weighting offline and online sensory parameters per industry. Accordingly, we study quantitative parameters for online sensory overload and deprivation. Our assessment offers a comfortable determination of websites’ OSMI. Full article

The growth of fintechs has exponentially modified the international financial system. These changes affect social mechanisms that regulate the performance of economic agents, generating the need to modify the current role played by institutions. Despite the clear relationship that exists between fintechs and institutions, studies exploring the details of this relationship are still scarce. The objective of this article is to propose a review and analysis of the current state of research on fintechs and institutions. To achieve this goal, a systematic literature review was conducted, with the selection and analysis of 123 documents published which were based on preestablished inclusion and exclusion criteria. The main results show the development of a framework that allows us to increase our understanding of fintechs and institutions; the identification of three propositions that serve as a guide to the institutional landscape in which fintechs operate; and finally the recognition of a research agenda. Full article

Blockchain technology is suited to the high-quality development of the digital economy in addressing privacy and data security issues. This study explores the synergistic mechanism of the following six factors from three dimensions based on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework theory with a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fs/QCA) method: technology, organization, and environment, namely, Blockchain service capability, Blockchain knowledge accumulation, government attention allocation, government funding support, industry carrying capacity and blockchain technology R&D environment, on the quality of the digital economy of 43 cities in China. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the absence of government funding regarding the blockchain domain is a condition contributing to the absence of high urban digital economy quality; (2) there are three driving configurations for the high-quality urban digital economy in the blockchain technology adoption perspective, which are as follows: knowledge-industry driven, government-service driven, and R&D-service driven; (3) there is one driving configuration for the absence of high urban digital economy quality, namely the knowledge-R&D-funding-inhibiting type. The relevant policy implications can provide theoretical references for local governments to develop the digital economy with the help of blockchain technology. Full article

Digitalization has advanced to become an opportunity to spectate sports during the pandemic and its restrictions for traveling to competitions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedents of using virtual reality technology for spectating mega sports events. Based on a literature review, the authors created a model of behavioral intention, built on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and technology acceptance model to examine the curiosity and self-construal of spectators. An online survey obtained empirical evidence from 339 sports enthusiasts. The research model was fitted using the partial least squares algorithm. The results show that all the antecedents significantly affected the intention to use a VR device to spectate mega sports events, which explains a significant variance. Surprisingly, influences arising from social norm predominated over those arising from curiosity and the hedonic exploration of VR (enjoyment, and experience). The social norm strongly influences a VR device’s perceived usefulness, implying that people believe using VR will enhance their position in society and that they will thus perceive the technology as being more beneficial. The novelty of this study arises from quantifying the importance of curiosity’s relationship to VR acceptance and pinpointing the relevance of self-construal for VR acceptance. Full article

Despite the growing importance of digital transformation, empirical research on the drivers of digital transformation is still lacking, creating a knowledge gap. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of digital orientation and digital capability on digital transformation, as well as the mediating effect of digital transformation on revenues and business models of SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines a new conceptual framework designed on resource-based theory perspectives by using survey data of 246 SMEs in Latvia. To achieve the research purpose, this study used a mediation analysis to examine the direct effect of digital orientation and digital capability on digital transformation, as well as to explore the mediating effect of digital transformation on SME outcomes. Our results reveal that both digital orientation and digital capability have direct positive effects on digital transformation. We also found that digital transformation has a positive mediating effect from digital orientation on revenue and business model, as well as from digital capability on revenue. These findings could be useful for policymakers, managers and practitioners to clarify how digital orientation and digital capability intermediated through digital transformation affect the outcomes of SMEs. Full article

As e-commerce approaches 17% of total retail sales companies are looking for opportunities to increase customer purchase conversion. In a competitive marketplace it becomes increasingly important to consider the effects of display techniques on purchase intention. Limited research has been conducted into interactivity, product display and their effect on purchase intentions on real-world retail websites, predominantly choosing to use random or student samples. This study investigates whether interactivity within retail websites positively correlates with purchase intentions for both low-cost and high-cost products and whether this effect is proportionally higher in high-cost products. It considers whether this purchase intention in high-cost products is influenced by higher levels of supplementary information. 405 participants experienced a simulated environment within a real-world retail website they had previously shopped at. Questionnaire results were analysed using ANCOVA and principal components analysis with three new components (purchase intention, attitude towards products and repeat product enjoyment) emerging. Results showed a higher purchase intention for more interactive products particularly more expensive ones. Interactive products produced a 54% higher purchase intention overall. In this paper, a new three-component solution to assess purchase intention for online home décor products is presented along with results which indicate that interactivity levels positively affect purchase intention for this particular product segment, particularly higher-cost products. Full article

Forecast growth in e-commerce home-delivery demand provides retailers with opportunities for expansion and increased levels of investment. To maximise these growth opportunities, retailers face operational and logistical challenges related to order fulfilment and the last mile. In contrast to other sectors, many grocers operate a store-based delivery model rather than a separate distribution channel. Under this model, orders are picked from store shelves and store-based fleets of delivery vehicles are used for last-mile fulfilment (delivery to the consumers’ home). With very rare access to commercial data from Sainsbury’s, the second largest grocer in Great Britain, we analyse the geographical variations of online groceries fulfilment capacity at store, region, and rural–urban geography levels, exploring the interrelated impact of capacity constraints related to storage and delivery in limiting the further growth of these services. The spatial extent of delivery service areas are found to considerably vary between stores and the existing store network presents barriers to further capacity expansion in some regions. We argue factors associated with the last mile are an important capacity constraint/enabler in the e-groceries sector and suggest that the effective expansion of these services requires further research into online service area delineation to maximise delivery efficiency and capacity. The approach used here is readily transferable to other online service delivery providers in both GB and elsewhere. Full article

Since 2021, big tech companies have been interested in metaverse platforms and services. Metaverse is the permanent, immersive mixed-reality world where people and people and people and objects can synchronously interact, collaborate, and live beyond the limitations of time and space, using avatars and the immersion-supporting devices, platforms, and infrastructures. On metaverse platforms, people can merge the real world and the virtual world. Because the metaverse has only recently begun to be studied, there are only dozens of studies on the metaverse published in qualified academic journals. There are few empirical studies on the extent to which metaverse platforms will be accommodated in the lives of information system users from an integrated perspective. Therefore, this paper aimed to empirically verify user acceptance of metaverse platforms by referring the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). This study was conducted in two stages. (1) The concept and research trends of the metaverse platform were examined, and (2) the UTAUT model was introduced in “Ifland”, one of the metaverse platforms, to verify its acceptance of information system users. I conducted a laboratory experiment while complying with the quarantine rules. Participants were required to watch a 15 min lecture on artificial intelligence on the metaverse platform “Ifland” for a sufficient time, then they discussed the impacts of artificial intelligence with others in the lecture. A total of 120 valid data points, excluding insincere responses, were collected, and hypotheses were verified through PLS analysis. Results indicate that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence of the metaverse platform significantly increased satisfaction, usage intention, purchase intention, and word-of-mouth intention. Facilitating conditions had no significant impact on satisfaction. The results of this study provide implications for how the metaverse platform should be designed and what factors should be emphasized to increase user acceptance of metaverse platforms. Full article

With the development of financial technology (referred to as fintech), the risks faced by fintech companies have received increasing attention. This paper uses the Sentence Latent Dirichlet Allocation (Sent-LDA) topic model to comprehensively identify risk factors in the fintech industry based on textual risk factors disclosed in Form 10-K. Furthermore, this paper analyzes the importance of risk factors and the similarities of the risk factors for the whole fintech industry and different fintech sub-sectors from the perspectives of risk factor types and risk factor contents. In the empirical analysis, 53,452 risk factor headings of 34 fintech companies included in the KBW Nasdaq Financial Technology Index (KFTX) over the period 2015–2019 are collected. The empirical results show that 20 risk factors of the fintech industry are identified. However, the important risk factors vary differently among different fintech sub-sectors. For the analysis of risk factor similarity, mean values of similarity of risk factor types and the similarity of risk factor contents both increased from 2015 to 2019, which indicates that the risks faced by fintech companies are becoming increasingly similar. The mean value of similarity of risk factor contents is 42.13%, while the mean value of similarity of risk factor types is 80.93%. Thus, although the types of risk factors faced by different fintech companies are similar, the contents of risk factors disclosed by different companies are still quite different. The comprehensive identification of fintech risk factors lays an important foundation for the further measurement and management of risks in the fintech industry. In the feature, we will further make effective risk estimations of the fintech industry based on the identified fintech risk factors. Full article

The behavior-based discrimination price model (BBPD) needs to collect a large amount of user information, which would spark user privacy concerns. However, the literature on BBPD typically overlooks consumer privacy concerns. Additionally, most of the existing research provides some insights from the perspective of traditional privacy protection measures, but seldom discusses the role of quality discrimination in alleviating users’ privacy concerns. By establishing a Hotelling duopoly model of two-period price-quality competition, this paper explores the impact of quality discrimination on industry profits, user surplus, and social welfare under user privacy concerns. The results show that, with the increase of user privacy cost, given weak market competition intensity, quality discrimination can increase users’ surplus and social welfare, thereby alleviating users’ privacy concerns. We then discuss the managerial implications for alleviating consumer privacy concerns. In addition, we take Airbnb as an example to provide practical implications. Full article

Engagement represents the commitment and bond between a brand and its customers, and achieving high levels of engagement is now a competitive advantage for companies. Determining the engagement index was a high-cost activity for organizations and consumers in the past decade due to the time and cost of data collection. The massive use of social networks such as Twitter allows organizations and consumers to collect data without large costs, and determining the engagement rate is more feasible today. This research determines the effect of different interactions on Twitter on engagement in the consumer electronics industry. The methodology used is a mixed qualitative and quantitative, descriptive approach by analyzing (by regressions) 95,000 tweets from the 30 companies at the Consumer Electronics Show 2020. The main results show that Twitter mentions represent a relevant factor in determining engagement. The contribution of this research lies in the generation of empirical evidence on engagement in the consumer electronics industry and the identification of the key variable of mentions and their effects on Twitter. Full article

Inspired by the ongoing disruption to businesses across the world, this research focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the contribution of eCommerce to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Our study seeks to establish an eCommerce-driven response to this natural disruption, by asking the questions; How do eCommerce platforms impact SMEs? How does eCommerce affect an SME’s three major business functions during a global disruption? We employ a qualitative case study method, using interviews as our primary data source, along with secondary data from industry and company records. We discuss these case studies through the framework of the actor network theory (ANT), identifying eCommerce and other platforms that SMEs use as actors in their network. We interviewed eight SMEs involved in the physical sale and distribution of consumer goods, each of which had been operating for at least two years and had a maximum of 70 employees. On average, we found that 44% of the SMEs in this study benefitted from using eCommerce in key business areas, with 46% improving their operations, 47% improving sales and marketing, and 39% improving finance. We also found that SME adoption of eCommerce during the pandemic grew in response to these benefits. Of the eight companies we studied, four had begun developing full eCommerce operations and three more planned to develop them as the global situation further normalizes. Full article

The rapid rise of electronic commerce has entailed an increase in logistic complexity, with last-mile logistics being the most critical element in deliveries. Since users prefer goods to be delivered at home, one of the biggest challenges faced by e-commerce is to reduce the number of incidents that occur in the delivery of goods to the homes of customers. In many cases, these deliveries cannot take place because recipients are not at the agreed delivery point, leading to a decrease in the quality of service and an increase in distribution costs. Furthermore, sometimes the delivery policies are not in tune with the customers’ expectations. This work presents a new perspective of the last-mile logistics in the context of multichannel retail, asking customers to provide several delivery locations (at home, at work, at a familiar home, in a shop, in a locker, etc.) associated with different time windows. In addition, the customer could state their preferences about these locations. This work formulates the problem and develops different approaches to solve it. A benchmark is proposed to analyze the performance and limitations. The results reveal that a distribution policy with several locations can improve the efficiency of electronic commerce by reducing delivery costs. The findings of this study have several implications for distribution companies. Full article