Ethics of Retailers and Consumer Behavior in E-Commerce

Zhi Yang,Quang Van Ngo,Chung Xuan Thi Nguyen

doi:10.4018/ijabim.2020010107

Zhi Yang, Quang Van Ngo + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4018/ijabim.2020010107

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Abstract

In the era of the information-communication technology with the development of electronic commerce, consumers can buy almost everything anywhere and at any time. One of the greatest benefits of e-commerce has been the convenience and the vast choices which consumers get online. However, some serious issues exist that impede consumers from transaction online. These issues have attracted the attention of many marketing researchers in recent years. In this research, the authors focus on the impact of consumers' ethics perception of e-retailer on their purchase intention and satisfaction. The authors also try to clarify the roles of trust and commitment in the relationship of ethics on consumers purchase decision and satisfaction because of their importance in e-commerce but also the privation in the research of previous studies. The data collected from a survey of 390 online consumers in Vietnam. Results reveal that there are significant relationships between online retailers' ethics and consumers' purchase intention and satisfaction via the mediation of trust and commitment.

Highlights

Internet that is one of the most remarkable inventions of 20th century; it has been extensively applied in several fields in business and in our daily lives
The authors try to clarify the roles of trust and commitment in the relationship of ethics on consumers purchase decision and satisfaction because of their importance in e-commerce and the privation in the research of previous studies
The purpose of this study is to develop and empirically test a framework that explains the following hypothesis in the context of Vietnam: That, trust and commitment from e-retailers are essential enablers or the key measurements of e-retailers’ ethics

Summary

Introduction

Internet that is one of the most remarkable inventions of 20th century; it has been extensively applied in several fields in business and in our daily lives. The internet with over 3.4 billion users worldwide in 2016, compared to 2 billion in 2010, 1 billion in 2005 and 0.414 billion in 2000 (Internet world stats, 2016). 31% of the population is online, compared with 77% in the developed ones (Internet world stats, 2016). Volume 11 Issue 1 January-March 2020 poses new challenges – the issue of ethics being one of most severe. Internet is a new environment for unethical behavior (Freestone & Mitchell, 2004). Ethical issues about Internet usage have provoked critical problems to consumers and created new issues for practitioners (Román & Cuestas, 2008). Un-ethical behavior of e-retailers has restrained consumers to transact online. As more and more e-retailers enter into e-commerce, and increasingly offer more alternatives to consumers, competition intensifies. The ability to retain consumers has become more important a success requirement than ever (Reichheld & Schefter, 2000)

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