Title: The causes to relative advantage in internet auctions

Authors: Bo-chiuan Su; Jengchung Victor Chen; Matthew Eric Candler; Erik Paolo S. Capistrano

Addresses: Department of Information Management, National Dong Hwa University, No. 1, Sec. 2, University Rd., Shoufeng, Hualien 97401, Taiwan ' Institute of International Management and Business Administration, College of Management, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Rd., Tainan City 701, Taiwan ' Institute of International Management and Business Administration, College of Management, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Rd., Tainan City 701, Taiwan ' Institute of International Management and Business Administration, College of Management, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Rd., Tainan City 701, Taiwan; College of Business Administration, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines

Abstract: The internet introduced a new platform for people to buy and sell products and services, becoming one of the most successful forms of electronic commerce. As these online transactions continue to grow, it becomes more important that sellers recognise how to understand what factors may influence the final outcome of an auction to realise maximum potential revenues. This experimental study identifies how trust, cost, and efficacy of information acquisition influence the relative advantage of online auction environments. The results show that trust and cost play the strongest roles in influencing relative advantage, implying that buyers have some hierarchy of priorities when it comes to evaluating the relative advantage of an online auction website. Theoretical and managerial implications suggest that managers focus on improving these two dimensions above everything else to achieve relative advantage.

Keywords: internet auctions; trust; cost; media richness; shipping; handling; relative advantage; diffusion of innovation theory; reputation scores; online auctions; information acquisition; auction websites; website evaluation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBSR.2013.056715

International Journal of Business and Systems Research, 2013 Vol.7 No.4, pp.412 - 435

Received: 06 Jul 2012
Accepted: 25 Sep 2012

Published online: 28 Nov 2013 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article