National and Cultural Differences in the C2C Electronic Marketplace: An Investigation into Transactional Behaviors of Chinese, American, and French Consumers on eBay

Abstract

With the Internet connecting every part of the world, electronic marketplaces provide a world-wide transaction platform for global businesses. However, consumers from different countries demonstrate distinct purchasing behaviors online. This study uses eBay as the consumer-to-consumer electronic marketplace to investigate the eBay mechanisms and purchasing habits of consumers from the United States, France, and China to evaluate the effects of cultural and national differences on purchasing habits. This study uses data on national transactions and reputation profiles of sellers gathered from eBay.com, eBay.fr, and eBay.com.cn, including both cross-sectional data and panel data to provide a comprehensive comparison of cultural behavior in the trading process as well as the influence of eBay's reputation management system on online pricing in these three countries. Significant differences confirm that purchasing behavior differs in various national consumer-to-consumer electronic marketplaces and the importance of cultural behavioral patterns.