Website Loyalty Research Articles

Website loyalty: an empirical investigation of its antecedents

Recently, the notion of loyalty has become an important construct within the e-business framework because of customers' easy switching behaviour on the web. Despite the increasing importance of website loyalty, substantive research employing this construct has been constrained by various factors. In this paper, a model where individuals' website loyalty is conceptualised by both their willingness to return to a website (revisit), and their desire to spend a longer time at a website (stickiness) is presented. In this model the relationships between website trust, satisfaction, flow, and loyalty is examined. Further, the antecedents of website trust, satisfaction and flow in online environment are investigated. The proposed model is tested by two different studies. The findings support the proposed relationships in the model. Managerial implications are also discussed.

The Development of an Evaluation Model for the Acceptability of Health Information Websites

OBJECTIVE: This study suggested a newly developed research model, which is based on TAM(Technology Acceptance Model), to empirically and theoretically verify the acceptance behavior of the internet users for the health website, as the availability of health information through the Internet is rapidly increasing. In this proposed model: the Subjective Norm, the Output Quality, and the Perceived Playfulness were used as the independent variables; TAM variables, including the Perceived Usefulness, the Perceived Ease of Use, the Attitude Toward Use, and the Behavioral Intention were used as the mediator variables; and the Actual Use and the Website Loyalty were used as the dependent variables to measure the individual user's acceptance of the health website. METHOD: The members of the Health Guide(http://www.healthguide.or.kr), who received a flyer through the LISTSERV of it, were eligible to participate in this study. The proposed research model was tested employing the SEM (Structural Equation Model) to empirically verify the hypotheses. RESULTS: The results of the CFA(Confirmatory Factor Analysis) demonstrated that all the measurements fit the data well. Each of the hypotheses was also tested in the structural model. The study results were as follows: First, the subjective norm affected the continuous intention to use of the website(Website Loyalty); Second, the output quality was the significant key factor to positively affect the perceived playfulness, the perceived usefulness, the perceived ease of use, and the website loyalty perceptions. Most of the hypotheses from the original model of TAM were supported; Third, the behavioral intention significantly affected the actual use and the website loyalty; Fourth, the mediating effect of the TAM constructs was significant; Fifth, men were highly acceptable to the health information website than women. The acceptance of the health professional's acceptance of the health website were higher than that of those who in any other profession. CONCLUSION: In the healthcare area, a few studies have evaluated health consumer's information and technology acceptance within a theoretical framework. Therefore, the approach to extend TAM in healthcare is worthy of examination to evaluate health consumer's acceptance of the health website.

ABC - Anchoring the brand concept

A successful website requires the creation of new customer experience that takes advantage of the unique capabilities of the Internet. In spite of the unprecedented opportunities provided by the digital media, only a handful of organisations have achieved significant visitor conversion rates. Growth in the number of repeat visitors is the lifeline of successful Internet marketing strategy. ‘The word of mouth nature of the Internet means it's very costly if customers have a poor experience on your site’. Customer experience is the key to creating perceptions in the digitised world. From the user's first click on the website to the point when a user experiences site loyalty, customer experience changes over time. To create the desired customer experience, the need for constant quick learning at all levels of the organisation is crucial. ‘The organisations that will truly excel in future will be the organisations that discover how to tap people's commitment and capacity to learn at all levels in an organisation’.

Staging site fidelity of Greenland White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons flavirostris in Iceland

Capsule Based upon resighting histories of marked individuals, a high level of site loyalty was found for Greenland White-fronted Geese staging in Icelandic stopover areas in spring and autumn. Aims To determine levels of within- and between-season staging site fidelity, to assess whether offspring adopt the staging areas of their parents and to determine relationships between Icelandic staging areas and winter provenance of individuals. Methods Sequential resighting histories and recoveries (2658 observations) of 415 different individually marked geese were analysed from the period 1986–99. Results In spring, > 90% of goslings associated with parents and siblings and all goslings were subsequently seen <4 km from where they were first sighted with parents in spring. Ninety-six percent of all multiple within-spring resightings of 192 marked individuals were within 4 km of each other; three geese moved 88 km from the southern to the western staging areas. Four percent of the 45 marked geese seen in two consecutive springs and none of the 27 birds seen in consecutive autumns moved more than 4 km between years. By contrast, significantly more (12%) moved greater than 4 km in subsequent seasons between spring/autumn (n = 56) and autumn/spring (n = 49). All these individuals shifted to Hvanneyri Agricultural College in autumn, the only declared hunting-free area for Greenland White-fronted Geese. Based upon resighting histories and recoveries of shot birds, Scottish wintering birds were more likely to use southern staging areas, and Wexford (Ireland) wintering birds were generally more likely to be seen staging in the western lowlands in Iceland. Conclusions Given the apparent cultural reinforcement of patterns of use of staging areas in Iceland, the high levels of site loyalty and the relatively limited exchange between southern and western staging areas, we argue for strategic refuge designation throughout both staging areas to protect the population.

Wintering Status &amp; Site Loyalty of Barheaded Goose, Anser Indicus, in areas of Dharwad District, Karnataka, India.

The article discusses the migration and behaviour of the Bar headed Goose, Anser indicus, a winter visitor to the Indian sub-continent. It arrives from its breeding grounds in Central Asia to the Irrigation Tanks of Dharwad District in Southern India. The goose's population peaks in January, and it leaves its feeding grounds in March or April. A ring recovery study revealed the goose's homing ability and site loyalty to specific Irrigation Tanks. The author surveyed 54 Irrigation Tanks in Dharwad District as stopover sites for migratory waterfowl, with results from this survey and Asian mid-winter counts from 1987-1996 examined. The study observed the distribution, abundance, site loyalty, disturbances, and threats to habitats of the Bar headed Goose. The bird's adaptation to feeding situations, feeding ecology, social behaviour, and more detailed aspects require further study. The District of Dharwad, with its unique geography, serves as a crucial wintering habitat for the goose due to the availability of suitable water bodies for roosting and agricultural fields for feeding. The article highlights the importance of these man-made Irrigation Tanks as natural wetlands decline. The Bar headed Goose relies on roosting sites to conduct flights for foraging, making water bodies crucial for its feeding and breeding success. The study identified disturbances and threats to the Bar headed Goose, including human activities, fisheries, encroachment, and habitat degradation. The conservation measures proposed include separating washing and bathing areas for villagers and cattle, allocating protected feeding areas, stopping fisheries activities at roosting sites, implementing wildlife protection measures, preventing encroachment, using colour banding for identification, and ensuring collaborative conservation efforts. In summary, the article provides insights into the migration, behaviour, and conservation needs of the Bar headed Goose in Dharwad District. It emphasizes the importance of Irrigation Tanks as vital habitats for this species and proposes various measures to ensure its conservation.

Internal Dosimetry for Uranium Fuel Manufacture at BNFL

At its Springfields Works, near Preston, UK, BNFL manufactures uranium fuels and fuel intermediates, in a range of chemical and metallurgical processes. Uranium ore concentrate is converted to uranium metal for the Magnox reactors, uranium hexafluoride (UF6) to uranium dioxide (UO2) for AGR and other oxide reactors, and various intermediate products are produced to meet customer requirements. Thus, uranium compounds with biological retention periods ranging from days (UF6) to years (UO2) are handled on multi-hundred, or thousand, tonne per year scales. Control and minimisation of workforce exposure is exercised primarily by engineered methods (e.g. total enclosures and high integrity plant), backed up by use of respiratory and other protective equipment. A high profile is given to good standards of housekeeping. Assessment of intake is by methods approved by HSE (NII) in the Approved Laboratory Statement on internal dosimetry. The principal method is assessment by use of continuous air sampling combined with occupancy. This is backed up by routine personal air sampling (PAS) in selected relevant areas in which ceramic UO2 is handled. Further assurance is provided by programmed PAS in other areas and by systematic, and routine, urinalysis and whole-body monitoring of all relevant members of the workforce. The results of the above are presented in detail. In summary, average internal dose for 1992 was 1.4 mSv compared with 2.3 mSv in 1986. Additionally, in the areas of highest dose (the oxide plants) average internal doses now range from 4.6 to 5.8 mSv (1992), compared with 6.8 to 10.6 mSv (1986). Reductions of a similar order have been made in the Uranium Casting Plant which, in former years, was another area of relatively high dose. These results demonstrate the Site's commitment to dose reduction wherever it is justifiable on ALARA principle.

Lobster (Homarus Gammarus) Movement On an Artificial Reef: the Potential Use of Artificial Reefs for Stock Enhancement

In 1989 an experimental artificial reef, constructed with blocks made from stabilized coal-fired power station waste materials, was deployed in Poole Bay on the English south coast. A site was chosen on flat sandy seabed at a depth approximately 10 m below chart datum. Within a few weeks, research divers had observed lobsters on the reef, even though the reef blocks had been deposited on flat sand some distance (3 km) from the nearest natural reefs. Conventional tags were used in studies to investigate lobster movement around the reef structure between 1989 and 1992: 48% of the 114 individuals tagged have been recaptured at least once on the reef. Although a number of lobsters appear to have moved away from the reef altogether (16 of the reef-tagged lobsters have now been recaptured at a maximum of 15.7 km away from the artificial reef), one individual has now been observed on the reef for over 800 days. Lobsters colonized the new man-made structures quickly and many individuals have exhibited considerable long-term site loyalty. Artificial reefs may provide a method for long term lobster stock enhancement at specific sites, assuming habitat to be a major limiting factor on population size and structure.