Abstract
This study explores buyers' search and purchase behavior in an information-overloaded retail Electronic Marketplace (EMP). Two instrumental variables, i.e. number of visitors and number of sales for an item, are used to represent buyers' search and purchase behavior. Price and reputation, two of the most frequently researched independent variables in EMP studies, are considered. The relationships between the two IVs and the two DVs are verified when transaction items are Of search-type and of experience-type. This study is conducted using field data collected from Taobao (the most dominant retail EMP in China). It is found that reputation has consistent positive relationships with two DVs. Price has negative effects on two DVs. However, it might have no impacts in the case of experience-type items. Conclusively, in information overloaded EMP, reputation always matters in influencing buyers' search and purchase behavior, while price only matters in the case of search-type items.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages | 985-997 |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Jul 2008 |
| Event | Proceedings of the12th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS 2008) - Suzhou, China Duration: 3 Jul 2008 → 7 Jul 2008 |
Conference
| Conference | Proceedings of the12th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS 2008) |
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| Place | China |
| City | Suzhou |
| Period | 3/07/08 → 7/07/08 |