THÔNG TIN TÀI LIỆU
1444 7KH,QÀXHQFHRIWKH,QWHUQHWRQ5HODWLRQVKLSV%HWZHHQ&RQVXPHUVDQG9HQGRUV of relationship. Being aware that a plethora of GH¿QLWLRQVH[LVWIRUWKHSXUSRVHRIWKLVFKDSWHU ZHIROORZ/LXDQG6KUXPDQGGH¿QHLQ- WHUDFWLYLW\DV³WKHGHJUHHWRZKLFKWZRRUPRUH communication parties can act on each other, on the communication medium, and on the messages DQGRQWKHGHJUHHWRZKLFKVXFKLQÀXHQFHVDUH synchronized.” The need for a clear distinction between relationship and ongoing interaction is postulated by Zolkiewski (2004), for example. In summary, it can be ascertained that, while the importance of customer relationships remains unquestioned, the problem still persists as how to adequately describe the online interaction processes between a customer and a company. ,QWKHIROORZLQJVHFWLRQVZHZLOOEULHÀ\GHVFULEH how the Internet has changed those processes. By addressing the question as to how the customers themselves perceive a relationship with an orga- nization, both scholars and practitioners might gain some knowledge as to why customers react as they do, and whether the Internet can be used for creating social bonds. Furthermore, the issue of whether online data transfers can substitute for interpersonal relationships will be examined. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INTERNET FOR BUILDING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS Ever since the idea of one-to-one marketing emerged in the early ’90s (Peppers & Rogers, 1993), the Internet has been regarded as being the 7DEOH6HOHFWHGGH¿QLWLRQVRIrelationship marketing # 'H¿QLWLRQ 1 Relationship marketing (RM) is attracting, maintaining, and—in multiservice organizations—enhancing customer relationships (Berry, 1983a). 2 marketing oriented toward strong, lasting relationships with individual accounts (Jackson, 1985). 3 marketing can be viewed as the building, maintenance and liquidation of networks and interactive relationships between the supplier and the customer, often with long-term implications (Gummesson, 1990). 4 relates marketing to the development of long-term relationships with customers and other parties (Grönroos, 1990). 5 RM is not directly aimed at immediate transactions but is based on building, supporting and extending customer relationships (Matthyssens & Van Den Bulte, 1994). 6 RM is marketing seen as relationships, networks and interaction (Gummesson, 1994). 7 Consumer RM seeks to establish long-term committed, trusting and cooperative relationships with customers (Bennett, 1996). 8 Consumer RM is the organizational development and maintenance of mutually rewarding relationships with customers achieved via the total integration of information and quality management systems, service support, business strategy and RUJDQL]DWLRQDOPLVVLRQLQRUGHUWRGHOLJKWWKHFXVWRPHUDQGVHFXUHSUR¿WDEOHODVWLQJEXVLQHVV%HQQHWW 9 The core of RM is relations, a maintenance of relations between the company and the actors in its microenvironment The LGHDLV¿UVWDQGIRUHPRVWWRFUHDWHFXVWRPHUOR\DOW\VRWKDWDVWDEOHPXWXDOO\SUR¿WDEOHDQGORQJWHUPrelationship is enhanced (Ravald & Grönroos, 1996). 10 RM is to establish, nurture and enhance relationshipsZLWKFXVWRPHUVDQGRWKHUSDUWQHUVDWDSUR¿WVRWKDWWKHREMHFWLYHVRI the partners involved are met (Grönroos, 1996). 11 RM is an emergent disciplinary framework for creating, developing and sustaining exchanges of value between the parties involved, whereby exchange relationships evolve to provide continuous and stable links in the supply chain (Ballantyne, 1997). 12 the ongoing process of engaging in cooperative and collaborative activities and programs with immediate and end-user customers to create or enhance mutual economic value at reduced cost (Parvatiyar & Sheth, 2000). 13 RM is marketing based on interaction within networks of relationships (Gummesson, 2002). 1445 7KH,QÀXHQFHRIWKH,QWHUQHWRQ5HODWLRQVKLSV%HWZHHQ&RQVXPHUVDQG9HQGRUV ideal medium for the individualization of mass customer communication (Gillenson, Sherrell, & Chen, 1999; Mulvenna, Anand, & Büchner, 2000; Tan, Yen, & Fang, 2002). With consumers increasingly gaining access to the Internet, many companies realized that large customer databases DQGHI¿FLHQWPHWKRGVRIDQDO\VLVDOORZHGWKHP to target consumers according to their individual preferences. Interactive marketing and database marketing began to challenge the existing para- GLJPRIWUDQVDFWLRQPDUNHWLQJ=DKD\*ULI¿Q 2003). The Internet supports interaction processes be- tween customers and organizations by facilitating the collection of customer-related data, which can be gathered with or without users being aware of or H[SOLFLWO\DSSURYLQJLWHJE\ORJ¿OHDQDO\VLVRU cookies) (Berghel, 2002; Munro, 1997). In addition during recent years, the methods of data mining have been vastly improved and, in combination w i t h m o r e p o w e r f u l h a r d w a r e , a l l o w t h e e x t r a c t i o n of information out of large amount of data (Ado- mavicius & Tuzhilin, 2001). Algorithms, such as FROODERUDWLYH¿OWHULQJHYHQSHUPLWDSUHGLFWLRQRI a customer’s potential interests (Konstan, Miller, Maltz, Herlocker, Gordon, & Reidl, 1997). Besides enabling the individualization of communication, the Internet supports the whole transaction process. In the case of digital goods, all phases of the buying process, including the distribution, are conducted online without a direct interaction between human beings. Companies that supply digital goods and use the Internet as a medium for immediate delivery especially can J D L Q VLJ Q L ¿ FD Q WD G Y D QW D JH V 6 X E U D P D Q L :D OG H Q 2001). From a transaction-cost perspective, it can be argued that the ex ante costs of drafting, negotiating and safeguarding an agreement and ex post costs, such as maladaption costs, haggling costs, setup and running costs, and bonding costs of effecting secure commitments (Williamson, 1985), will decrease by the use of the Internet. This cost cutting leads, in turn, to a reduction of interpersonal social interactions, since no contacts with human beings during the entire buying cycle are needed. In order to compensate for the loss of social interactions, personal data, which is available in a company’s database, may be used to simulate a close relationship and interest. The range of individualization strategies varies from letting users customize Web site features (Lam & Lim, 2004) to personalized birthday greetings or electronic recommendation agents (Rowley & 6ODFN3UHYLRXVUHVHDUFKKDVFRQ¿UPHGWKDW customizing the content based on characteristics, behaviors and preferences of users may lead to an increase in the Web site’s overall performance (Albert, Goes, & Gupta, 2004). INTERACTION PATTERNS ,QRUGHUWRGH¿QHWKHWHUPUHODWLRQVKLSGLIIHUHQW interaction patterns between humans or humans and organizations have to be taken into account. As was mentioned before, we perceive interac- tion as a process of two-way communication and exchange (Haeckel, 1998; Pavlik, 1998), includ- ing any kind of online transactions. Information technology (IT)-enabled interaction between customers and an enterprise can be differenti- ated into IT-assisted interaction and automated LQWHUDFWLRQZKHUHE\WKH¿UVWLVSUHGRPLQDWHO\D manual process and in the second the complete control is given to the customer (Wells, Fuerst, & Choobineh, 1999). As can be seen in Figure 2, we differentiate between three types of interaction processes. ³3ULYDWH´ LQWHUSHUVRQDO LQWHUDFWLRQ WDNHV SODFH between two human beings (scenario a). During a sales process, the interaction between a buyer and a vendor (representing an organization), who DUHERWKFRQ¿QHGWRVSHFL¿FUROHVEHFRPHVPRUH formalized (scenario b). When transactions are completed online, the physical contact is lacking completely (scenario c). Users who are shopping RIÀLQHH[SHULHQFHVRFLDOLQWHUDFWLRQVZLWKVDOHV personnel, whereas in the case of buying online, no interpersonal interaction exists at all. 1446 7KH,QÀXHQFHRIWKH,QWHUQHWRQ5HODWLRQVKLSV%HWZHHQ&RQVXPHUVDQG9HQGRUV By using the framework depicted in Figure 2 as a starting point, three major research questions arise, which will be elaborated upon in more detail in the following sections. Research question 1: What are the major at- tributes that constitute a relationship in general? By taking into account which features are to be FRQVLGHUHGHVVHQWLDOIRUGH¿QLQJDUHODWLRQVKLS ZHVWULYHWRDQDO\]HZKDWPD\EHFDOOHGWKH³FRUH DWWULEXWHV´RU³GH¿QLQJDWWULEXWHV´RIDUHODWLRQVKLS in general. This allows us at least to circumscribe the perceived semantic meaning of a relationship from a consumer’s point of view. This research question is equally important for all interaction processes in Figure 2. Research question 2: When does a relationship ZLWKDQRUJDQL]DWLRQH[LVW",QFRQWUDVWWRGH¿QLQJ a relationship in general, it is essential to know what the main attributes of a relationship with an organization are. As was indicated above, the interaction process with a human being may differ from the one with an organization as an abstract entity. This research question explicitly concentrates on scenario b in Figure 2. Research question 3: What kinds of aspects are important to an online relationship with an orga- nization? By hypothesizing that the online interac- tion process with an organization may be called a relationship, we asked users what they perceive to be the most important attributes to this situation. Most of the items were derived from the literature RQ&50DQGIRFXVRQWKHVSHFL¿FDELOLWLHVRIWKH Internet to foster individualized communication and, thereby, allow for social interaction with a multitude of anonymous users. This situation is depicted as scenario c in Figure 2. SURVEY DESIGN We used Austrian Internet users as our universe to assess the importance of online relationships. The survey was supported by one of the major Austrian newspapers, der Standard, which in- cluded a link to our questionnaire in two weekly newsletters that were sent to 85,500 registered UHFLSLHQWV1RLQFHQWLYHZDVJLYHQIRU¿OOLQJ out the questionnaire. The online survey was conducted between August 25, 2004 (the day WKH¿UVWQHZVOHWWHUZDVVHQWRXWDQG6HSWHPEHU 16, 2004. We used slider bars with a range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 100 (strongly agree). In total, we gathered 385 usable results. Besides ask- ing for demographic characteristics, we included three major sections in our questionnaire, where we assessed the importance of online relation- ships and which will be discussed subsequently. Figure 2. Interaction patterns 1447 7KH,QÀXHQFHRIWKH,QWHUQHWRQ5HODWLRQVKLSV%HWZHHQ&RQVXPHUVDQG9HQGRUV Basically, in all sections, a general question was JLYHQHJ³,QJHQHUDOZKLFKPHDQLQJGR\RX associate with the term ‘relationship’?”), and the respondents were asked to assess individually the relevance of the respective items (e.g., friendship). The original questionnaire was in German. Since we did not use scales from existing literature, no translation-retranslation process was necessary. Instead, the results were translated by the authors and double-checked by a native speaker. RESULTS The respondents are 30.4% male and 69.6% fe- male, with 71.1% between 21 and 35 years old and 84.6% possess at least a high school degree. The largest group, as far as the current employment situation is concerned, works as administrative or technical employees (45.2%), while the second largest group consists of students (20.7%). Most of the users possess considerable experience with the Internet, with only 9.1% indicating that they have been online for fewer than four years. The weekly frequency of Internet usage shows a wide range of answers with approximately one-fourth of WKHXVHUVEHLQJRQOLQHIRUXSWR¿YHKRXUV a week. About the same number of respondents (22.6%) state that they use the Internet for 6 to 10 hours a week. Included in the sample is also DODUJHQXPEHURI³KHDY\XVHUV´ZLWKPRUHWKDQ 30 hours of weekly usage (12.7%). For the following analyses the items, which were gained by literature research in IS and marketing publications dealing with relationships and e-CRM and related topics, are clustered into WKUHHPDLQVHFWLRQV7KH¿UVWFDWHJRU\LQFOXGHV attributes that could be used to describe a rela- tionship in general, while the second category focuses on the interaction between an individual Table 2. Characteristics of respondents (n = 385) Sex Occupation Experience on the Internet Male 30.4% Management, civil servant 13% less than 4 years 9.1% Female 69.6% Administrative/technical employee 45.2% 4-5 years 29.9% Self-employed 4.9% 6-7 years 24.4% Housewife or -husband 2.6% 8-9 years 17.9% Retired more than 9 years 17.1% Student 20.7% n/a 1,6% Other 11.9% Age Education Frequency of Internet use - 20 years 2.4% Secondary school 2.9% less than 5h/week 25.9% 21 – 25 years 24.9% Vocational school 10.1% 6-10 h/week 22.6% 26 – 30 years 27% High school graduation 57.5% 11-15 h/week 11.2% 31 – 35 years 19.2% Technical college 5.5% 16-20 h/week 14% 36 – 40 years 10% University 21.6% 21-25 h/week 4.2% 41 – 45 years 6% Other 2.6% 26-30 h/week 7.8% 46 – 50 years 6% 30+ h/week 12.7% 50+ 4.5% n/a 1.6% Note: Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding differences. 1448 7KH,QÀXHQFHRIWKH,QWHUQHWRQ5HODWLRQVKLSV%HWZHHQ&RQVXPHUVDQG9HQGRUV and an organization. The third pool of items con- centrates on those activities that a company can conduct only online, such as individualizing mass communication and production (Dewan, Jing, & Seidmann, 2000), or at least can be considerably supported by the use of the Internet, as is the case when offering customized pricing, such as discounts or rebates based on former purchases (Simon & Dolan, 1998). ,QWKH¿UVWVWHSDOOWKUHHDQDO\VHVZLOOEHGLV- cussed individually and then be integrated into a more comprehensive framework. For all three cases we used a principal axis factoring with Promax as the method of rotation. In contrast to the most commonly used principal component analysis, the results from principal axis factoring more accurately represent the population load- ings (Widaman, 1993). Furthermore, we strive to understand the latent structure of a set of variables instead of simply reducing them with- out interpreting the resulting variables in terms of constructs (cf., Conway & Huffcutt, 2003, p. 150f.). An oblique rotation is chosen instead of an orthogonal rotation, since we expect a correlation between the constructs. The Promax procedure ¿UVW FRQGXFWV DQ RUWKRJRQDO 9DULPD[ URWDWLRQ DQG DWWHPSWV WR LPSURYH WKH ¿W WR WKH GDWD E\ allowing correlations (Russell, 2002). Fabrigar, Wegener, MacCallum, and Strahan (1999) write WKDWEHVLGHVJHWWLQJ³FOHDQHU´VROXWLRQVE\XVLQJ REOLTXHURWDWLRQVLPSO\³UHO\LQJRQDQRUWKRJRQDO rotation would also forfeit any knowledge of the existing correlations among factors” (p. 287). In all cases the number of factors is determined by using the scree test instead of retaining all factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0, since the latter, albeit commonly used, is perceived as being less accurate and leading to overextraction (Velicer & Jackson, 1990). ,QRUGHUWR¿QGRXWZKDWFRQVWLWXWHVDJRRG relationship in general, the respondents were asked to assess the perceived importance of several items for constituting a relationship (see Table 3). All items were scrambled within the respective FDWHJRULHVLH³FRQVWLWXWLYHDWWULEXWHVRIDUHOD- WLRQVKLS´³UHODWLRQVKLSZLWKDFRPSDQ\´³RQOLQH relationship with a company) and an exploratory factor analysis was used to detect underlying structures. The results of all three analyses will be discussed in the next section. The respondents were asked to assess separately the importance of a number of attributes in regard to the research questions elaborated above. It is essential to mention that this chapter FRQFHQWUDWHVH[SOLFLWO\RQVRFDOOHG³JRRGUHOD- tionships.” With the exception of the existence of a monopoly where no choice between suppliers exists, consumers will tend to change suppliers rather than maintain an unsatisfactory relation- ship. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sam- pling adequacy (MSA) provides a measure of the extent to which the variables belong together and, therefore, are appropriate for factor analy- sis (Kaiser & Rice, 1974). A MSA value of 0.89 (meritorious) for the items used to measure the attributes that constitute a relationship indicates a good eligibility of the data for factor analysis. The three-factor solution shown in Table 3, with the items being grouped by their highest primary factor loading, turned out to be the best one, according to their interpretability. Based on the analysis and conceptual congruence, we labeled the three components as emotion, communica- tion/transparency and ties to indicate that the ¿UVWRQHPDLQO\LQFOXGHVLWHPVWKDW HPSKDVL]H feelings, such as solidarity, familiarity, friendship and partnership, whereas the second one focuses on the exchange of information and communica- tion. The third component describes the existence of invisible ties, as can be seen from items such as dependence and bondage. In order to estimate the absolute valuation of the items, the means are shown in the second column of Table 3. Generally speaking, the emotional and communicational components are considered to be of greater importance than the perceived existence RIWLHV,QWHUHVWLQJO\RIDOOLWHPV³,QWHUSHUVRQDO 1449 7KH,QÀXHQFHRIWKH,QWHUQHWRQ5HODWLRQVKLSV%HWZHHQ&RQVXPHUVDQG9HQGRUV contact” achieved the highest level of agreement (84.29), which indicates the high importance of social interaction in a relationship. On the other hand, items such as trust (83.78) or satisfaction (73.60), which are also valued quite highly, do not necessarily call for human contact. In the next step we look at the most important attributes of a relationship between an individual and an organization (see Table 4). The MSA YDOXHLVDQGFDQEHLQWHUSUHWHGDV³PHUL- torious.” As can be seen from the high level of agree- ment, indicated by the value of the means, ser- vice-related activities, such as the handling of personal requests (84.82) or complaints (81.15) and the provision of competent advice (82.70), are regarded as being highly important for a rela- tionship with an organization. In addition to that, customers show a high level of agreement that regular (83.96) or frequent (76.87) purchases from a company may be called a relationship. Given WKHVWULFWFODVVL¿FDWLRQVLQPDUNHWLQJOLWHUDWXUH for example the differentiation into transaction marketing and relationship marketing (including database marketing, interaction marketing and network marketing) (Zineldin, 2000), it seems remarkable that many customers perceive exist- ing transactions as being de facto relationships, thereby blurring those distinctions. The other components that resulted from the factor analysis ZHUH ODEHOHG ³9DOXH IRUPRQH\´ LQFOXGLQJWKH offer of high-quality products (59.82) and low SULFHV DQG ³,QIRUPDWLRQ H[FKDQJH´ ,Q general, these items are valued less important than service or existing transactions. Table 3. Constitutive attributes of a relationship Mean Item F1 F2 F3 In general, which meaning do you associate with the term “relationship”? Emotion 72.66 Friendship 0.909 76.73 Solidarity 0.891 80.57 Familiarity 0.830 76.57 Partnership 0.802 62.78 Intensity 0.682 70.22 Emotion 0.660 83.78 Trust 0.540 71.52 Long-term orientation 0.482 84.29 Interpersonal contact 0.476 Communication/ 68.03 Exchange of information 0.696 transparency 61.34 Transparency 0.580 80.96 Communication 0.578 77.78 Concern 0.443 Ties 30.67 Dependence 0.708 47.28 Bondage 0.535 36.71 6HOÀHVVQHVV 0.431 Eigenvalue 6.10 1.95 0.97 Variance explained 0.32 0.10 0.5 Note: Factor loadings <0.4 are omitted for better readability. 1450 7KH,QÀXHQFHRIWKH,QWHUQHWRQ5HODWLRQVKLSV%HWZHHQ&RQVXPHUVDQG9HQGRUV The third factor analysis is intended to include the Internet as an important communication and transaction channel. Again, a MSA value of 0.855 (meritorious) indicates a good eligibility of the data for factor analysis. Service is the most important factor in the relationship with an organization. In addition to that, in the online world, transparency becomes a PDMRUFULWHULRQZKLFKLVUHÀHFWHGE\LWHPVVXFKDV ³ ,F D Q L Q V SH F W P \ S H U V RQ D O G DW D D WD Q \W L P H ´ RU³WKHJHQHUDOWHUPVDQGFRQGLWLRQVDUHFOHDUO\ GH¿QHG´6LQFHWKHIDFWRUDQDO\VLVDOORZHG no clear distinction between items pertaining to service and those belonging to transparency, all items were combined and the factor label contains both constructs. The second most important fac- tor, as indicated by the absolute means, includes the offering of presents or discounts (69.66) or aggregated rebates (75.16) and, therefore, is UHIHUHGWRDV³([WHQGHGEHQH¿WV´,QWHUHVWLQJO\ WKHLWHPVWKDWUHÀHFWWKHSRWHQWLDODGYDQWDJHVRI the Internet and were subsumed into the factors ³,QGLYLGXDOL]DWLRQ´DQG³2QOLQHHQWHUWDLQPHQW´ tend to get lower levels of agreement. Personal- ized communication, such as congratulations on important dates (38.01) or welcome greetings (44.40), receive below-average acceptance. The VDPHKROGVWUXHIRUPRVWLWHPVLQFOXGHGLQ³2QOLQH entertainment,” such as the valuation of online games (17.40), the download of software (37.08) or the participation in sweepstakes (38.54). In a last step, the combined results are visu- alized in Figure 3. The ordinate represents the unweighted mean of all items loading on a single Table 4. Relationship with a company Mean Item F1 F2 F3 A relationship with an organization exists, if Service and 84.82 personal requests are treated individually. 0.712 transactions 81.15 my complaints are handled satisfactorily. 0.637 82.70 I get competent advice. 0.560 82.50 I already have positive experiences with the company. 0.712 83.96 I buy regularly from this company. 0.816 76.87 I buy frequently from this company. 0.725 66.57 I am already a customer of this company. 0.431 77.49 I am so committed to this company that I won’t buy anywhere else. 0.404 Value for money 59.82 the company offers high-quality products. 0.766 42.65 the company offers brand products I know. 0.632 42.79 prices are low. 0.609 51.87 friends and acquaintances recommended this company to me. 0.511 65.52 additional services exist. 0.478 63.29 the corporate philosophy appeals to me. 0.409 Information exchange 46.35 I inform myself actively about the company. 0.761 48.28 I already have provided a lot of personal information. .549 Eigenvalue 4.79 1.59 1.38 Variance explained 0.24 0.80 0.70 Note: Factor loadings <0.4 are omitted for better readability. 1451 7KH,QÀXHQFHRIWKH,QWHUQHWRQ5HODWLRQVKLSV%HWZHHQ&RQVXPHUVDQG9HQGRUV factor, while on the abscissa the different types of relationships are depicted. 6WDUWLQJZLWKWKHGH¿QLWLRQRIDUHODWLRQVKLSLQ general, it can be seen that involuntary interactions usually are not perceived as being a relationship, DVLQGLFDWHGE\WKHSRVLWLRQRIWKHIDFWRU³7LHV´ in the lower left corner of the framework. On the RWKHUKDQGWKRVHLWHPVWKDWUHIHUWR³(PRWLRQ´ DQG³&RPPXQLFDWLRQWUDQVSDUHQF\´DUHIURPD consumer’s point of view, much better suited to characterizing the essence of a relationship. By having a look at the relationship with an organiza- tion, one can see that especially good service and existing transactions are associated with a rela- WLRQVKLS,QFRQWUDVW³,QIRUPDWLRQH[FKDQJH´RU ³9DOXHIRUPRQH\´DUHUDWHGPXFKORZHU7KHODVW section describes the relationship with an online organization and again good service is seen as being essential. In addition to that, transparency is considered being quite important. Measures of individualization or online entertainment are regarded as being of comparatively less impor- tance for building relationships online. While in interpersonal interactions hedonic or social mo- tives (e.g., familiarity or emotion) are seen as being very important for constituting a relationship, the Table 5. Online relationship with a company Mean Item F1 F2 F3 F4 In an online relationship, it is important for me that Service and 90.91 I receive the ordered products and services on time. 0.825 transparency 85.74 I can inspect my personal data at any time. 0.778 82.84 the Web site is clearly arranged. 0.764 88.82 I get answers for my requests quickly. 0.719 80.18 data can be encoded transmitted. 0.676 84.58 ,FDQ¿QGDFRQWDFWSHUVRQDWDQ\WLPH 0.619 73.34 WKHJHQHUDOWHUPVDQGFRQGLWLRQVDUHFOHDUO\GH¿QHG 0.557 78.82 I can check my delivery status at anytime. 0.545 71.56 I have the opportunity to give feedback. 0.477 0.448 Individualization 55.64 I regularly receive individualized newsletters. 0.788 62.30 I receive individualized offers. 0.607 38.01 I receive congratulations on important dates (e.g., birthday). 0.569 44.40 I am personally welcomed. 0.536 56.27 I can express my opinions in forums. 0.441 Online 17.40 the Web site offers online games. .650 entertainment 37.08 I can download software. .587 43.89 ,¿QGWKH:HEVLWHHQWHUWDLQLQJ .559 41.08 I can send SMS free of charge. .546 38.54 I can participate in sweepstakes. .501 63.14 I like the Web site. .422 Extended 69.66 I get presents or discounts. 0.805 %HQH¿WV 75.16 I get aggregated rebates. 0.753 Eigenvalue 6.39 2.68 1.16 1.06 Variance explained 0.26 0.11 0.50 0.40 Note: Factor loadings <0.4 are omitted for better readability. 1452 7KH,QÀXHQFHRIWKH,QWHUQHWRQ5HODWLRQVKLSV%HWZHHQ&RQVXPHUVDQG9HQGRUV opposite holds true for online organizations. For the majority of users of an entertaining Web site, the ability to customize it or the participation in sweepstakes are not adequate instruments for producing a perceived relationship, as indicated by the below average grading for the latter. CONCLUSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH When RM emerged, the Internet was seen by many researchers as the ideal medium for creating and maintaining long-lasting relationships with customers. Due to the increased capacity to gather, store and process vast amounts of information about customers’ attributes, behaviors, needs and wishes, companies hoped to be able to mimic so- cial relationships. In this chapter, we took a closer ORRNDWKRZFXVWRPHUVWKHPVHOYHVZRXOGGH¿QH DUHODWLRQVKLSHLWKHURIIRURQOLQH7KH¿QGLQJV suggest that the term relationship (in the sense of a social relationship) might be misleading, since customers tend to emphasize different focuses, depending on the situation and their interaction partner (human vs. organization and online vs. RIÀLQH:KLOHLQDQRQFRPPHUFLDOLQWHUSHUVRQDO interaction, emotional values are still of preemi- nent importance; in a selling situation, the level of service determines the perceived existence of a relationship. In addition, transparency is consid- ered to be important when conducting business online. Our results indicate that in a business con- text, especially when conducting business online, FXVWRPHUVSUHIHUVHUYLFHDQG³WDQJLEOH´EHQH¿WV such as discounts and rebates, to individualiza- tion measures. Therefore it comes as no surprise WKDWLWHPVVXFKDV³,QDQRQOLQHUHODWLRQVKLSLWLV important for me that I receive congratulations RQLPSRUWDQWGDWHV´HJELUWKGD\RU³LWLVLP- portant for me that I am personally welcomed,” were considered to be of minor importance for most respondents. Simply mimicking human behavior with technological means does not seem to be enough to create emotional bonds. However, this emotional component seems to be quite important for characterizing relationships, as indicated by the prevalent importance of items like trust or interpersonal contact for describing general relationships. Figure 3. A framework for categorizing the constituents of relationships 1453 7KH,QÀXHQFHRIWKH,QWHUQHWRQ5HODWLRQVKLSV%HWZHHQ&RQVXPHUVDQG9HQGRUV However, certain limitations must be taken into account when interpreting the results of this survey. First and foremost, it should be mentioned that some factors include a multitude of items, ZKLFK PDNHV LW KDUG WR ¿QG D FRPPRQ QDPH Further research has to concentrate on the valida- tion of the factors. The low response rate, which is typical for e-mail surveys, requires further research in order to ensure the generalizability of the results. Nonetheless, even imperfect samples allow for important insights (Blair & Zinkhan, HVSHFLDOO\ ZKHQ WKH\ DUH FRQ¿UPHG E\ replication studies. Furthermore, the factor loadings of some items fall below the commonly accepted thresh- old of 0.5 (Kaiser & Rice, 1974). For the sake of completeness, we included them in this explor- atory study but recommend follow-up studies to improve the validity. While we did not explicitly concentrate on the development of scales for mea- suring antecedents of relationships, this chapter could nonetheless be used as a starting point for the development of a measurement instrument. 3UDFWLWLRQHUV HVSHFLDOO\ PLJKW ¿QG LW XVHIXO WR see how customers perceive ongoing interaction processes with a company. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to thank Martina Lausmann for her support in collecting the empirical data. An earlier version of this research was presented at the Fourth Annual Workshop on Human Com- puter Interaction Research in MIS, December 10, 2005, Las Vegas, USA. REFERENCES Adomavicius, G., & Tuzhilin, A. (2001). Using GDWDPLQLQJPHWKRGVWREXLOGFXVWRPHUSUR¿OHV IEEE Computer, 34(2), 74-82. Albert, T. C., Goes, P. B., & Gupta, A. (2004). GIST: A model for design and management of content and interactivity of customer-centric Web sites. MIS Quarterly, 28(2), 161-182. Ballantyne, D. (1997). Internal networks for internal marketing. 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Organizational Research Methods, 6(2), 147-168. Dewan, R., Jing, B., & Seidmann, A. (2000). Adoption of Internet-based product customization and pricing strategies. Journal of Management Information Systems, 17(2), 9-28. Fabrigar, L. R., Wegener, D. T., MacCallum, R. C., & Strahan, E. J. (1999). Evaluating the use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological re- search. Psychological Methods, 4(3), 272-299. Ganapathy, S., Ranganathan, C., & Sankaranaray- . ante costs of drafting, negotiating and safeguarding an agreement and ex post costs, such as maladaption costs, haggling costs, setup and running costs, and bonding costs of effecting secure. translated by the authors and double-checked by a native speaker. RESULTS The respondents are 30.4% male and 69.6% fe- male, with 71.1% between 21 and 35 years old and 84.6% possess at least. (Ballantyne, 1997). 12 the ongoing process of engaging in cooperative and collaborative activities and programs with immediate and end-user customers to create or enhance mutual economic value
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