DRESSING YOUR ONLINE AUCTION BUSINESS FOR SUCCESS: AN EXPERIMENT COMPARING TWO EBAY BUSINESSES.

Author List: Gregg, Dawn G.; Walczak, Steven;
MIS Quarterly, 2008, Volume 32, Issue 3, Page 653-670.
Businesses can choose who they want to be online. Product and company attributes that are directly perceivable in the real world can be manipulated to make a favorable impression on online buyers. This study examines whether creating a more professional online e-image can signal consumers about unobservable product or company quality, and whether this signal influences their willingness to transact with the company, and ultimately the prices they are willing to pay for the company's goods and services. An empirical study is presented that examines two online auction businesses utilizing different company names and auction listing styles to sell items in parallel over the course of one year. The findings suggest that increasing the quality of an auction business's e-image does increase consumers' willingness to transact with the business, and increases prices received at auction. The study also demonstrates the ability to use eBay as an experimental laboratory for testing a variety of hypotheses about purchasing behavior online.
Keywords: e-image
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List of Topics

#118 0.186 online consumers consumer product purchase shopping e-commerce products commerce website electronic results study behavior experience b2c impact internet purchases websites
#182 0.140 percent sales average economic growth increasing total using number million percentage evidence analyze approximately does business flow annual book daily
#13 0.134 personalization content personalized willingness web pay online likelihood information consumers cues customers consumer services elaboration preference experiment framing customized timing
#91 0.116 auctions auction bidding bidders bid combinatorial bids online bidder strategies sequential prices design price using outcomes behavior theoretical computational efficiency
#9 0.082 using subjects results study experiment did conducted task time used experienced use preference experimental presented decision-making empirical significantly effects better
#202 0.077 online uncertainty reputation sellers buyers seller marketplaces markets marketplace buyer price signaling auctions market premiums ebay transaction reverse literature comments
#115 0.059 quality different servqual service high-quality difference used quantity importance use measure framework impact assurance better include means van dimensions assessing
#83 0.052 personal computers use lead order using users pcs innovativeness understanding professional help forces gained usage increase trends parallel introduced expressed