Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Relationship of trustworthiness and relational benefit in electronic catalog markets

  • General Research
  • Published:
Electronic Markets Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to propose and test an integrative model of relational benefit and trustworthiness development process by conceptualizing that trustworthiness in electronic catalog markets is influenced by relational commitment and relational satisfaction. To capture the full picture of trustworthiness in electronic markets, relational benefit is divided into three main categories: trust benefit, economic benefit and social benefit. From 1762 obtained data, hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling. The results show that the three categories influence trustworthiness from different angles. Trust benefit affects the trustworthiness with both relational loyalty and relational satisfaction. Economic benefit can affect the trustworthiness directly and indirectly with relational satisfaction and relational commitment. Social benefit does not affect the trustworthiness directly, but through relational satisfaction and relational commitment ultimately. Generally, trust benefit affects the trustworthiness most in electronic markets, economic benefit in the next place and social benefit influences least.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdul-Ghani, E., Hyde, K. F., & Marshall, R. (2011). Emic and etic interpretations of engagement with a consumer-to-consumer online auction site. Journal of Business Research, 64(10), 1060–1066.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Achrol, R. S., & Gundlach, G. T. (1999). Legal and social safeguards against opportunism in exchange. Journal of Retailing, 75(1), 107–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, H., Havila, V., & Salmi, A. (2001). Can you buy a business relationship?: on the importance of customer and supplier relationships in acquisitions. Industrial Marketing Management, 30(7), 575–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andreu, L., Aldás, J., Bigné, J. E., & Mattila, A. S. (2010). An analysis of e-business adoption and its impact on relational quality in travel agency-supplier relationships. Tourism Management, 31(6), 777–787.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, P., & Ma, L. C. K. (2011). Partial assimilation of technology: prognosis and remedial measures. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 21(2), 93–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, D., & Hampson, P. J. (1997). Chapter 26 Connectionist models of arbitrarily applicable relational responding: A possible role for the hippocampal system. In Donahoe, J. W. & Dorsel, V. P. (Eds.), Advances in Psychology, 121, North-Holland, 496–521.

  • Baron, R. A. (2002). OB and entrepreneurship: the reciprocal benefits of closer conceptual links. Research in Organizational Behavior, 24, 225–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bettencourt, L. A., & Brown, S. W. (1997). Contact employees: relationships among workplace fairness, job satisfaction and prosocial service behaviors. Journal of Retailing, 73(1), 39–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boles, J. S., Johnson, J. T., & Barksdale, H. C. (2000). How salespeople build quality relationships: a replication and extension. Journal of Business Research, 48(1), 75–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bove, L. L., & Johnson, L. W. (2006). Customer loyalty to one service worker: should it be discouraged? International Journal of Research in Marketing, 23(1), 79–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cronin, J., Baker, L., & Hawes, M. (1994). An assessment of the role performance measurement of power-dependency in marketing channels. Journal of Business Research, 30(3), 201–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, R., & Buchanan-Oliver, M. (1999). Marketing relationships in a computer-mediated environment. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 7(1), 89–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, A., & Khazanchi, D. (2008). An empirical study of online word of mouth as a predictor for multi-product category e-Commerce sales. Electronic Markets, 18(2), 130–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dwyer, P. D. (2006). People, pigs and parasites in New Guinea: relational contexts and epidemiological possibilities. Parasitology International, 55(Supplement 1), S167–S173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eggert, A., & Helm, S. (2003). Exploring the impact of relationship transparency on business relationships: a cross-sectional study among purchasing managers in Germany. Industrial Marketing Management, 32(2), 101–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flight, R. L., Henley, J. R., & Robicheaux, R. A. (2008). A market-level model of relationship regulation. Journal of Business Research, 61(8), 850–858.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fullerton, G. (2011). Creating advocates: the roles of satisfaction, trust and commitment. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 18(1), 92–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gal-Or, E., & Ghose, A. (2005). The economic incentives for sharing security information. Information Systems Research, 16(2), 186–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gwinner, K. P., Gremler, D. D., & Bitner, M. J. (1998). Relational benefits in services industries: the customer’s perspective. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 26(2), 101–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halldórsson, Á., & Aastrup, J. (2003). Quality criteria for qualitative inquiries in logistics. European Journal of Operational Research, 144(2), 321–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartman, C. L., & Price, L. L. (1995). Special issue on interpersonal buyer behavior in marketing. Journal of Business Research, 32(3), 185–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalaignanam, K., Kushwaha, T., & Varadarajan, P. (2008). Marketing operations efficiency and the internet: an organizing framework. Journal of Business Research, 61(4), 300–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang, I., Lee, K. C., Lee, S., & Choi, J. (2007). Investigation of online community voluntary behavior using cognitive map. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(1), 111–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, D. J., Ferrin, D. L., & Rao, H. R. (2008). A trust-based consumer decision-making model in electronic commerce: the role of trust, perceived risk, and their antecedents. Decision Support Systems, 4(2), 544–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kingshott, R. P. J. (2006). The impact of psychological contracts upon trust and commitment within supplier–buyer relationships: a social exchange view. Industrial Marketing Management, 35(6), 724–739.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, R. M. (1999). Trust and distrust in organizations: emerging perspective, enduring questions. Annual Review of Psychology, 50(2), 569–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lancastre, A., & Lages, L. F. (2006). The relationship between buyer and a B2B e-marketplace: cooperation determinants in an electronic market context. Industrial Marketing Management, 35(6), 774–789.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lippert, S., & Spagnolo, G. (2011). Networks of relations and Word-of-Mouth Communication. Games and Economic Behavior, 72(1), 202–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, D. (2010). Study on improvement of dynamic reputation evaluation model in C2C market. Journal of Hangzhou Dianzi University, 5(2), 11–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malone, T. W., Yates, J., & Benjamin, R. I. (1987). Electronic markets and electronic hierarchies. Communications of the ACM, 30(6), 484–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitrega, M., & Katrichis, J. M. (2010). Benefiting from dedication and constraint in buyer-seller relationships. Industrial Marketing Management, 39(4), 616–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, J. J. B., & Carrington, D. H. (1944). Graphic instruction in relational reasoning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 35(9), 536–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. (1999). Relationship-based competitive advantage: the role of relationship marketing in marketing strategy. Journal of Business Research, 46(3), 281–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, N. A., Clark, B. H., & Gooner, R. (2002). Marketing productivity, marketing audits, and systems for marketing performance assessment: integrating multiple perspectives. Journal of Business Research, 55(5), 363–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pavlou, P. A. (2003). Consumer acceptance of electronic commerce: integrating trust and risk with the technology acceptance model. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 7(3), 101–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitt, L. F., & Berthon, P. (2011). Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the Web: marketing meets Web 2.0, social media, and creative consumers. Business Horizons, 54(3), 181–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rallis, S. F., Rossman, G. B., & Gajda, R. (2007). Trustworthiness in evaluation practice: an emphasis on the relational. Evaluation and Program Planning, 30(4), 404–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rauyruen, P., & Miller, K. E. (2007). Relationship quality as a predictor of B2B customer loyalty. Journal of Business Research, 60(1), 21–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, E. P., Sahin, F., & Gao, L. L. (2005). The impact of E-replenishment strategy on make-to-order supply chain performance. Decision Sciences, 36(1), 33–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schubert, P. (2002). Extended web assessment method (EWAM) - evaluation of electronic commerce applications from the customer’s viewpoint. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 7(2), 51–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shankar, V., Urban, G. L., & Sultan, F. (2002). Online trust: a stakeholder perspective, concepts, implications, and future directions. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 11(3–4), 325–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, R., & Koshy, A. (2011). Does salesperson’s customer orientation create value in B2B relationships? Empirical evidence from India. Industrial Marketing Management, 40(1), 78–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Standing, S., Standing, C., & Love, P. E. D. (2010). A review of research on e-marketplaces 1997–2008. Decision Support Systems, 49(1), 41–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweeney, J., & Swait, J. (2008). The effects of brand credibility on customer loyalty. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 15(3), 179–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsai, S. (2011). Fostering international brand loyalty through committed and attached relationships. International Business Review, 20(5), 521–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vázquez-Carrasco, R., & Foxall, G. R. (2006). Influence of personality traits on satisfaction, perception of relational benefits, and loyalty in a personal service context. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 13(3), 205–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, M. L., Malos, S. B., & Palmer, D. K. (2002). Benefit system and benefit level satisfaction: an expanded model of antecedents and consequences. Journal of Management, 28(2), 195–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wulf, K. D., & Odekerken-Schröder, G. (2003). Assessing the impact of a retailer’s relationship efforts on consumers’ attitudes and behavior. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 10(2), 95–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, L. D., Swanson, G. A., & Samuelson, K. (2009). Analysing relational benefits in e-Business environment from behavioural perspective. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 26(2), 123–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young, J. A., Gilbert, F. W., & McIntyre, F. S. (1996). An investigation of relationalism across a range of marketing relationships and alliances. Journal of Business Research, 35(2), 139–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, M., Jansen, B., & Chowdhury, A. (2011). Business engagement on Twitter: a path analysis. Electronic Markets, 21(3), 161–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, X., Zhang, Y., & Orlowska, M. E. (1996). Parallel transitive closure computation in relational databases. Information Sciences, 92(1–4), 109–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

The research of this paper has been financially supported by Humanities and Social Science Fund of Education Department of China by Project No. 09YJC630051. We appreciate the suggestions and patience of the editor and reviewers on our paper, which make the manuscript more integrative and readable.

The research on which this paper reports has been financially supported by Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province with Project Y6110648 and Center for Research of Network Economy & Network Culture of Zhejiang Province.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hangzhou Dianzi University, School of Management, Hangzhou, Peoples Republic of China

    Haixia Gao

  2. Hangzhou Dianzi University, School of Management, No.2, 2nd Street, 310018, Hangzhou, Peoples Republic of China

    Dawei Liu

Authors
  1. Haixia Gao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dawei Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dawei Liu.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Rainer Alt

Appendix

Appendix

Table 2 Result of internal consistent reliability test
Full size table
Table 3 Result of confirmatory factor analysis
Full size table
Table 4 The result of differential validity analysis
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gao, H., Liu, D. Relationship of trustworthiness and relational benefit in electronic catalog markets. Electron Markets 24, 67–75 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-013-0142-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-013-0142-6

Keywords

JEL classification

Search

Navigation