B2C Transactions Research Articles

Predicting the organisational adoption of B2C e‐commerce: an empirical study

PurposeUsing the literature on innovation research, this paper proposes to establish and empirically test a prediction model which consists of four major factors in the adoption of online retailing by organisations, namely relative advantage, competitive pressure, channel conflict and technical resource competence.Design/methodology/approachData collected from 140 different companies indicate strong empirical support for the model. Relevant hypotheses were derived and tested by logistic regression analysis.FindingsThe results revealed that relative advantage, competitive pressure and technical resource competence have positive effects on the adoption of online retailing.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was conducted in Hong Kong, which may limit the generalisability of the findings.Practical implicationsWhile many studies contribute to an understanding of behaviours of the online market from a consumer perspective, there are few concrete investigations of the organisational viewpoint. With data obtained from practitioners in 140 companies, the major factors of online retailing adoption are addressed, providing strategic directions for managers to evaluate its adoption.Originality/valueAlthough many conceptual papers and case studies have identified different potential factors affecting the adoption of online retailing, there are few empirical studies which establish prediction models for its adoption. In fact, during the past decade, in spite of growing interest in B2C transactions, organisations have not necessarily rushed towards adopting online sales. It is critical to have more empirical evidence of the factors affecting the adoption of online sales to help managers further access the benefits of its continuous and potential development. This study attempts to fill the research gap.

Taxing Services under the EU VAT and Japanese Consumption Tax: A Comparative Assessment of New EU Place of Taxation Rules for Services and Intangibles

Place of taxation rules are the seminal cross-jurisdictional provisions of any consumption tax regime. They determine where among competing jurisdictions a particular service is taxed. They are not important for transactions that are restricted to a single jurisdiction and to businesses or individuals belonging to that jurisdiction. However, when two or more jurisdictions are involved, these are the essential tools for revenue allocation and avoidance of double taxation. It is therefore of considerable importance to Japanese businesses and consumers when the European Union (EU) undertakes a wholesale revision of the place of supply rules for services and intangibles. The European Commission has advanced two sets of proposals for reform of these rules. If adopted, these changes will be comprehensive, covering business-to-business (B2B) as well as business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions, effective July 1, 2006. The importance of these proposed changes is amplified by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD's) recent assessment of global place of taxation rules. Examining the taxation of services and intangibles in the world's consumption tax regimes the Committee of Fiscal Affairs (CFA) concluded that these rules exhibit a general of international consistency and coherence. According to the OECD, this lack of consistency and coherence has erected global trade barriers (double taxation), and provided opportunities for global tax avoidance. This article first considers the proposed changes in the EU place of taxation rules for services and intangibles from the historical context of their development. It then takes up the companion rules under the Japanese Consumption Tax (CT). Less historical context is presented because these rules have a more limited history. A final section offers a comparative assessment that seeks to answer two questions. First, is there a lack of consistency and coherence between the Japanese and EU rules as currently constituted? Secondly, have the proposed changes in the EU place of taxation rules minimized or exacerbated differences? Although the EU Commission is contemplating major changes in the place of taxation rules for services and intangibles, at least with respect to transactions between the EU and Japan these changes will do nothing to eliminate the double taxation or double non-taxation in B2B transactions that currently exist. These reforms do however reinforce earlier efforts of the EU to impose the VAT on sales to EU final consumers from businesses not established in the EU. This area has been problematical for Japan. If Japan wishes to impose its CT on similar B2C transaction it should consider reforming its place of taxation rules for these transactions in a manner similar to that of the EU. However, the EU experience is that this change should not be just one of changing the place of taxation. In conjunction with this change Japan should consider adopting the electronic filing and reporting procedures adopted by the EU in its one-stop shop efforts under Article 26c and proposed Article 22b. Moving in this direction would also be in harmony with OECD recommendations.

The Lion, the Dragon and the Wardrobe Guarding the Doorway to Information and Communications Privacy on the Internet: A Comparative Case Study of Hong Kong and Singapore - Two Differing Asian Approaches

Almost a decade ago, the electronic commerce revolution began, led by such companies as Amazon.com and Ebay.com. These companies have grown into the internet business giants they are today, diversifying in the products they sell, the services they provide and the jurisdictions they conduct business in. However, aside from these rare examples, most medium and small internet-based business enterprises have grown with the dot.com bubble and dissolved when it burst mid-way through the decade. Now, at the 10th Anniversary of Electronic Commerce, after we have seen the dot.com way of doing business launch like a rocket and plunge like a comet, subsequently emerging into a more cautious, but no less potential, avenue of doing business, other challenges now face the industry as a whole to retain and obtain customers. Internet users are becoming increasingly wary of online transactions.2 The irony is that as internet users become technologically savvy, they also become more aware of the dangers which connectivity entails and this inhibits their online behaviour. Chief among these concerns, and second only to cybercrimes, is the maintenance of privacy in the context of the protection of personal information, particularly from the unsavory elements trawling the cyberworld. For cyber-trade and the e-commerce market to grow, and for the continued efficiency and utility of the internet for G2C and B2C transactions,3 governments and industries must re-instill the trust and confidence of internet users both in commercial and non-commercial interaction.4

Do consumers understand the role of privacy seals in e-commerce?

E-Commerce sales in the U.S. totaled $56.0 billion in 2003, an increase of 26.4% over the 2002 total of $44.3 billion [7]. This increase was achieved at a time when the U.S. economy teetered in and out of recession. While e-commerce sales are expected to grow rapidly, Jupiter Research speculates that privacy concerns will cause billions in lost sales for Internet-related businesses [2]. Although all commercial and business transactions require an element of trust, the amount of data required to complete an online B2C transaction and the potential for fraud has continually raised privacy concerns [1, 9].

Gauging acceptability of governmental intervention in terms of smart card technology

Authentication and security safeguards within the auto identification industry provide the basic background for identification and successful authentication in B2B, B2C, and G2B transactions. The four hypotheses were generated from a review of the literature and derived from the model presented in the paper using linear regression techniques to test hypotheses using factor score-based constructs, with the dependent variable, Do you feel that the government should mandate smart cards? These hypotheses are to be tested through an application of PCA (principal component analysis) and factor analyses techniques. In essence, the results also suggest that, although there were three statistically significant independent constructs or groupings via the factor analyses, there was no evidence that the participants surveyed were willing to endorse governmental monitoring or invention in terms of mandating smart card-related technologies, regardless of their intended CRM benefits to the consumer.

Customer satisfaction with order fulfillment in retail supply chains: implications of product type in electronic B2C transactions

This paper focuses on the proverbial “last mile” of the retail supply chain – i.e., delivering products to the end-customer – and highlights the need for recognizing product type differences in configuring order fulfillment processes in electronic business-to-customer (B2C) transactions. The following two questions serve as the motivation for the study: Do customer expectations of order fulfillment processes vary across product types? Should the product type matter in configuring order fulfillment processes? From the studies in the marketing literature, we infer that customer satisfaction assessments are based on customer expectations of order fulfillment processes, and that these expectations systematically vary across the three product types: convenience goods (e.g., groceries, home and office supplies), shopping goods (e.g., ready-to-wear men, women, and kids’ apparel), and specialty goods (e.g., desktop and notebook computers, and wedding dresses). In particular, we posit that ceteris paribus, customer satisfaction with order fulfillment will decrease moving along a continuum of product types, from convenience goods to specialty goods. The empirical analysis for this study is based on data collected on dimensions of customer satisfaction with order fulfillment from a sample of 256 firms engaged in electronic B2C transactions. Firms included in our study sample are such that their products can be classified into only one of three product types: convenience, shopping, or specialty goods. In essence, each firm in the study sample is a proxy for one of three product types. The results of the empirical analysis indicate that, on average, customers tend to have higher satisfaction levels with the order fulfillment process of convenience and shopping goods than with the order fulfillment process of specialty goods. We discuss the managerial implications of our results, contributions of the paper to the literature, limitations, and directions for future research.