Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101564
Matthew O. Ayemowa , Roliana Ibrahim , Noor Hidayah Zakaria
Recommender systems often face challenges of cold start, specifically when expanding into new domains. The current research has shown the successful impact of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) on domain adaptation problems. However, the underutilization of GAN-based model needs more attention for more personalized recommendations. Domain adaptation helps to mitigate these issues by transferring knowledge from a source domain to a target domain. This paper proposes a novel approach that leverages Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) to enhance domain adaptation in Cross-domain recommender systems (CDRS). The proposed model, Domain Adaptation Cross-domain Generative Adversarial Networks (DAC-GAN) with the incorporation of auxiliary information utilized the generator to produce synthetic user-item interactions in the target domain and a discriminator to distinguish between real and generated interactions, thereby improving the performance of the recommendation. By integrating auxiliary information into GANs model, the framework bridges the domain gap, and this enables accurate predictions in the target domain. Comprehensive experiments on benchmark datasets: Amazon, Movielens, Yelp and Book-crossing demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique, by achieving significant improvements in the evaluation metrics: Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) compared to existing techniques. Experiments conducted on benchmark datasets demonstrate that DAC-GAN outperforms the existing methods in terms of recommendation accuracy and adaptability.
{"title":"Mitigating domain adaptation and cold start challenges in cross-domain recommender systems using generative adversarial network model","authors":"Matthew O. Ayemowa , Roliana Ibrahim , Noor Hidayah Zakaria","doi":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101564","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101564","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recommender systems often face challenges of cold start, specifically when expanding into new domains. The current research has shown the successful impact of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) on domain adaptation problems. However, the underutilization of GAN-based model needs more attention for more personalized recommendations. Domain adaptation helps to mitigate these issues by transferring knowledge from a source domain to a target domain. This paper proposes a novel approach that leverages Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) to enhance domain adaptation in Cross-domain recommender systems (CDRS). The proposed model, Domain Adaptation Cross-domain Generative Adversarial Networks (DAC-GAN) with the incorporation of auxiliary information utilized the generator to produce synthetic user-item interactions in the target domain and a discriminator to distinguish between real and generated interactions, thereby improving the performance of the recommendation. By integrating auxiliary information into GANs model, the framework bridges the domain gap, and this enables accurate predictions in the target domain. Comprehensive experiments on benchmark datasets: Amazon, Movielens, Yelp and Book-crossing demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique, by achieving significant improvements in the evaluation metrics: Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) compared to existing techniques. Experiments conducted on benchmark datasets demonstrate that DAC-GAN outperforms the existing methods in terms of recommendation accuracy and adaptability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50541,"journal":{"name":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101564"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145618095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101561
Jing Liu , Anqi Li , Pengwen Hou , Shuhua Chang
An increasing number of merchants sell products through dual channels on a platform, whose services (such as marketing, operations, warehousing, and payment) significantly enhance market demand. Sellers (merchants and platforms) can ride the service efforts of another channel for free, which is unexplained by existing theories. This paper develops a game to study the online channel structure on retail price and service effort. We systematically identify four strategic scenarios: single channel (resale and agency), independent dual channels, dual channels with unidirectional free-riding, and dual channels with bidirectional free-riding. Opening dual channels from a single channel can offer valuable flexibility to startups and merchants, but it can also intensify competition between channels. We emphasize the flexibility of dual channels, as a low commission allows companies to transfer sales between channels, alleviating the inefficiency of double marginalization and increasing the motivation for the platform to strive to provide diversified services. Conversely, under a high commission rate, it is not feasible to open up dual channels, whether to prevent wholesale price hikes or to suffer from the failure of service effort incentives, especially when the platform engages in free-riding. The free-riding of online dual channels has dual characteristics in terms of direction and effect. When the merchant free-rides, the level of service effort and sales improve, but the service decentralization effect is disrupted by the strategic increase in wholesale prices as the free-riding intensifies. We confirm that the direction and strength of free-riding behavior should be maintained in a non-linear relationship, benefiting both parties conditionally. Intuitively speaking, one who takes the initiative to free-ride is always better off with the service effort from another channel. The result is not so, as the loss of increased competition caused by merchants through the agency channel is much higher than the increased profits of encroaching on dual channels. The study provides insights for the platform and merchants to guide the services and pricing under the complex free-riding, further adjust channel structure for encroachment and competition.
{"title":"The online retail channel structure with bidirectional free-riding effect","authors":"Jing Liu , Anqi Li , Pengwen Hou , Shuhua Chang","doi":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101561","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101561","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An increasing number of merchants sell products through dual channels on a platform, whose services (such as marketing, operations, warehousing, and payment) significantly enhance market demand. Sellers (merchants and platforms) can ride the service efforts of another channel for free, which is unexplained by existing theories. This paper develops a game to study the online channel structure on retail price and service effort. We systematically identify four strategic scenarios: single channel (resale and agency), independent dual channels, dual channels with unidirectional free-riding, and dual channels with bidirectional free-riding. Opening dual channels from a single channel can offer valuable flexibility to startups and merchants, but it can also intensify competition between channels. We emphasize the flexibility of dual channels, as a low commission allows companies to transfer sales between channels, alleviating the inefficiency of double marginalization and increasing the motivation for the platform to strive to provide diversified services. Conversely, under a high commission rate, it is not feasible to open up dual channels, whether to prevent wholesale price hikes or to suffer from the failure of service effort incentives, especially when the platform engages in free-riding. The free-riding of online dual channels has dual characteristics in terms of direction and effect. When the merchant free-rides, the level of service effort and sales improve, but the service decentralization effect is disrupted by the strategic increase in wholesale prices as the free-riding intensifies. We confirm that the direction and strength of free-riding behavior should be maintained in a non-linear relationship, benefiting both parties conditionally. Intuitively speaking, one who takes the initiative to free-ride is always better off with the service effort from another channel. The result is not so, as the loss of increased competition caused by merchants through the agency channel is much higher than the increased profits of encroaching on dual channels. The study provides insights for the platform and merchants to guide the services and pricing under the complex free-riding, further adjust channel structure for encroachment and competition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50541,"journal":{"name":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101561"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145684639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101558
Xin Liu , Xiaoyan Zhu , Jiaqi Wu
Over the past decade, a plethora of academic research has investigated the diffusion of retail central bank digital currency (RCBDC). However, many of these studies have concentrated on RCBDC diffusion among consumers, leaving a significant gap in understanding RCBDC diffusion from the merchant perspective. This oversight highlights the necessity to explore the determinants of merchants’ RCBDC adoption intentions. Taking the E-CNY (Electronic Chinese Yuan) as an illustration, this study attempts to construct a holistic model that incorporates the innovation diffusion theory (IDT), two-sided market theory (TMT), and institutional theory (IIT) to fathom the determinants of merchants’ RCBDC adoption intentions. Survey data on 474 merchants from China were analyzed using a tri-level method integrating the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), artificial neural networks (ANN) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) techniques. The results demonstrate that critical mass, perceived complementarity, normative pressures, mimetic pressures, relative advantage, and compatibility are determinants regarding merchants’ E-CNY adoption intentions. Of these determinants, their relative importance toward merchants’ E-CNY adoption intentions follows a decreasing order with the determinant presented before, and with the first four being the necessary conditions for merchants’ E-CNY adoption intentions. This study advances the burgeoning knowledge on RCBDC adoption and deliberates insightful references for policymakers to foster RCBDC implementation.
{"title":"Payment innovation diffusion among merchants: An integrated view using a tri-level hybrid method","authors":"Xin Liu , Xiaoyan Zhu , Jiaqi Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101558","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101558","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past decade, a plethora of academic research has investigated the diffusion of retail central bank digital currency (RCBDC). However, many of these studies have concentrated on RCBDC diffusion among consumers, leaving a significant gap in understanding RCBDC diffusion from the merchant perspective. This oversight highlights the necessity to explore the determinants of merchants’ RCBDC adoption intentions. Taking the E-CNY (Electronic Chinese Yuan) as an illustration, this study attempts to construct a holistic model that incorporates the innovation diffusion theory (IDT), two-sided market theory (TMT), and institutional theory (IIT) to fathom the determinants of merchants’ RCBDC adoption intentions. Survey data on 474 merchants from China were analyzed using a tri-level method integrating the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), artificial neural networks (ANN) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) techniques. The results demonstrate that critical mass, perceived complementarity, normative pressures, mimetic pressures, relative advantage, and compatibility are determinants regarding merchants’ E-CNY adoption intentions. Of these determinants, their relative importance toward merchants’ E-CNY adoption intentions follows a decreasing order with the determinant presented before, and with the first four being the necessary conditions for merchants’ E-CNY adoption intentions. This study advances the burgeoning knowledge on RCBDC adoption and deliberates insightful references for policymakers to foster RCBDC implementation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50541,"journal":{"name":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101558"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145519762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101562
Wenyan Zhuo , Qiang Yan
This study examines an e-supply chain composed of a financially distressed supplier, a platform, and a bank operating within an online marketplace. The supplier, with an imperfect credit rating, may secure financing either from the bank or the platform. The platform offers two financing schemes: direct credit and assisted loans, the latter of which involves providing transaction information to banks to facilitate supplier borrowing. We discuss how the supplier’s credit rating influences the financing preferences of all members. Equilibrium analysis reveals that the supplier consistently favors bank credit financing (BCF), whereas the platform’s preference hinges on demand variability, the supplier’s credit rating, and the production cost. Specifically, the platform favors assisted loans if either of the following conditions holds: (i) when demand variability is high, and both credit ratings and production costs are low; (ii) when both demand variability and production costs are high; (iii) when moderate demand variability coincides with high production costs and low credit ratings. In scenarios where the financing strategies of the platform and supplier are inconsistent, we derive the Pareto zone of the platform’s interest rate in which both members prefer platform credit financing (PCF). Furthermore, we extend our model to incorporate an endogenous information service fee. Interestingly, we find that given a relatively high commission rate, the platform may opt to impose a negative information service fee. This effectively acts as a financing subsidy for the supplier.
{"title":"Optimal financing strategies in a financially distressed online supply chain with an imperfect credit rating supplier","authors":"Wenyan Zhuo , Qiang Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101562","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101562","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines an e-supply chain composed of a financially distressed supplier, a platform, and a bank operating within an online marketplace. The supplier, with an imperfect credit rating, may secure financing either from the bank or the platform. The platform offers two financing schemes: direct credit and assisted loans, the latter of which involves providing transaction information to banks to facilitate supplier borrowing. We discuss how the supplier’s credit rating influences the financing preferences of all members. Equilibrium analysis reveals that the supplier consistently favors bank credit financing (BCF), whereas the platform’s preference hinges on demand variability, the supplier’s credit rating, and the production cost. Specifically, the platform favors assisted loans if either of the following conditions holds: (i) when demand variability is high, and both credit ratings and production costs are low; (ii) when both demand variability and production costs are high; (iii) when moderate demand variability coincides with high production costs and low credit ratings. In scenarios where the financing strategies of the platform and supplier are inconsistent, we derive the Pareto zone of the platform’s interest rate in which both members prefer platform credit financing (PCF). Furthermore, we extend our model to incorporate an endogenous information service fee. Interestingly, we find that given a relatively high commission rate, the platform may opt to impose a negative information service fee. This effectively acts as a financing subsidy for the supplier.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50541,"journal":{"name":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101562"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145684778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101556
He Xu , Dan Gao , Pengyu Chen , Yucui Liu
Paid content strategies in the digital content industry typically employ fixed price or pay-as-you-wish models. The pay-as-you-wish model allows consumers to choose their price and accommodates low-paying users but risks reduced revenue, while fixed pricing may lead to dissatisfaction due to consumers’ fairness concerns. This paper develops a stylized model with a monopoly provider and fair-minded consumers to identify the optimal paid content strategy, both with and without advertising revenue. Without advertising revenue, the pay-as-you-wish strategy is optimal when consumers are generous and the quality costs are high, offering higher quality only when costs are sufficiently high and consumers are generous enough. In contrast, fixed pricing consistently delivers higher quality when optimal. With advertising revenue, pay-as-you-wish becomes preferable when the quality costs are high, regardless of consumers’ generosity. However, advertising does not always encourage quality improvements compared to the no-advertising scenario. These findings offer practical insights for content pricing strategies.
{"title":"Monetizing digital content: fixed price or pay-as-you-wish?","authors":"He Xu , Dan Gao , Pengyu Chen , Yucui Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101556","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101556","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Paid content strategies in the digital content industry typically employ fixed price or pay-as-you-wish models. The pay-as-you-wish model allows consumers to choose their price and accommodates low-paying users but risks reduced revenue, while fixed pricing may lead to dissatisfaction due to consumers’ fairness concerns. This paper develops a stylized model with a monopoly provider and fair-minded consumers to identify the optimal paid content strategy, both with and without advertising revenue. Without advertising revenue, the pay-as-you-wish strategy is optimal when consumers are generous and the quality costs are high, offering higher quality only when costs are sufficiently high and consumers are generous enough. In contrast, fixed pricing consistently delivers higher quality when optimal. With advertising revenue, pay-as-you-wish becomes preferable when the quality costs are high, regardless of consumers’ generosity. However, advertising does not always encourage quality improvements compared to the no-advertising scenario. These findings offer practical insights for content pricing strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50541,"journal":{"name":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101556"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145571233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101559
Pengcheng Liu, Jian Liu, Chunlin Luo
This study investigates an ex-post regulation policy to curb deceptive advertising in live-streaming selling. We develop a two-period game model incorporating post-purchase returns () and customer churn () to evaluate three advertising strategies: normal advertising in both periods without deception (); deception occurred in the second period (); and deception occurred in both periods (). We assess the efficacy of e-platform’s “Triple Compensation for Counterfeits” (TCC) policy to curb deceptive advertising. Furthermore, we examined the impact of shared liability on the efficacy of the “TCC” policy. The findings reveal that: (1) deceptive advertising increases with streamers’ influence, but decreases with commission rates. External penalties proved relatively inefficient. (2) The “TCC” policy eliminates , reduces ’s prevalence, yet fails to eradicate . (3) Shared liability weakens TCC’s efficacy, allowing to reemerge in equilibrium—though deceptive advertising remains less frequent than benchmark. The results provide a more reasonable plan for the platform to select regulatory objects.
{"title":"Evaluating the triple compensation for counterfeits policy: mitigating deceptive advertising in live-streaming selling","authors":"Pengcheng Liu, Jian Liu, Chunlin Luo","doi":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101559","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101559","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates an ex-post regulation policy to curb deceptive advertising in live-streaming selling. We develop a two-period game model incorporating post-purchase returns (<span><math><mi>r</mi></math></span>) and customer churn (<span><math><mi>k</mi></math></span>) to evaluate three advertising strategies: normal advertising in both periods without deception (<span><math><mrow><mi>NN</mi></mrow></math></span>); deception occurred in the second period (<span><math><mrow><mi>NF</mi></mrow></math></span>); and deception occurred in both periods (<span><math><mrow><mi>FF</mi></mrow></math></span>). We assess the efficacy of e-platform’s “Triple Compensation for Counterfeits” (TCC) policy to curb deceptive advertising. Furthermore, we examined the impact of shared liability on the efficacy of the “TCC” policy. The findings reveal that: (1) deceptive advertising increases with streamers’ influence, but decreases with commission rates. External penalties proved relatively inefficient. (2) The “TCC” policy eliminates <span><math><mrow><mi>FF</mi></mrow></math></span>, reduces <span><math><mrow><mi>NF</mi></mrow></math></span>’s prevalence, yet fails to eradicate <span><math><mrow><mi>NF</mi></mrow></math></span>. (3) Shared liability weakens TCC’s efficacy, allowing <span><math><mrow><mi>FF</mi></mrow></math></span> to reemerge in equilibrium—though deceptive advertising remains less frequent than benchmark. The results provide a more reasonable plan for the platform to select regulatory objects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50541,"journal":{"name":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101559"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145571234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101566
Mingfei Li, Shanshan Huang
Customer value cocreation is essential for the successful implementation of service robotization. However, our knowledge of what drives customer value cocreation behaviors in the robotic service context remains limited. Drawing on trust transfer theory, this study presents a research framework to investigate the driving effects of customer trust on customer value cocreation behaviors in the robotic service context. Using the survey data collected from 593 Mechanical Turk workers with actual robotic service experience, the proposed model is examined via partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM). Our findings show that customer trust in a service provider drives customer value cocreation behavior (i.e., customer participation and customer citizenship behavior). The trust transfer process from a service provider to its service robots occurs as expected; furthermore, this process encourages customer participation behavior rather than customer citizenship behavior. In addition, robot–brand fit moderates the trust transfer mechanism, such that higher levels of robot–brand fit enhance the strength of the trust transfer effect. This study concludes by discussing the research and practical implications and highlighting the avenues for future service robotization studies.
{"title":"Drivers of customer value cocreation behaviors in robotic service contexts: A trust transfer theory perspective","authors":"Mingfei Li, Shanshan Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101566","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101566","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Customer value cocreation is essential for the successful implementation of service robotization. However, our knowledge of what drives customer value cocreation behaviors in the robotic service context remains limited. Drawing on trust transfer theory, this study presents a research framework to investigate the driving effects of customer trust on customer value cocreation behaviors in the robotic service context. Using the survey data collected from 593 Mechanical Turk workers with actual robotic service experience, the proposed model is examined via partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM). Our findings show that customer trust in a service provider drives customer value cocreation behavior (i.e., customer participation and customer citizenship behavior). The trust transfer process from a service provider to its service robots occurs as expected; furthermore, this process encourages customer participation behavior rather than customer citizenship behavior. In addition, robot–brand fit moderates the trust transfer mechanism, such that higher levels of robot–brand fit enhance the strength of the trust transfer effect. This study concludes by discussing the research and practical implications and highlighting the avenues for future service robotization studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50541,"journal":{"name":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101566"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145684776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E-commerce businesses nowadays frequently employ managerial responses to online reviews as a strategy to cultivate relationships with consumers. However, the specific mechanism underlying how different motivational managerial response strategies affect the perceived review helpfulness remains unclear. This study develops a research model to reflect the influences of two managerial response strategies (accommodative vs. defensive response) on the perceived review helpfulness under different conditions of service failure severity (ordinary negative vs. core failure reviews) and review format (text-only vs. hybrid format reviews). Through a between-group experiment, the study found that employing a defensive response strategy to text-only ordinary negative reviews and core failure reviews is effective in reducing the perceived helpfulness of such negative reviews. In addition, an accommodative response strategy is more appropriate for hybrid core service failure reviews, while for hybrid ordinary negative reviews, both defensive and accommodative response strategies are more effective than no response strategy. These findings provide important insights for managers to respond to negative reviews and help them to develop effective intervention strategies to meet the interests of the business.
{"title":"Accommodative or defensive? Understanding impacts of differentiated managerial response strategies on online review helpfulness","authors":"Chuanmei Zhou , Jingyi Zheng , Wangyue Zhou , Miao Zhang , Shuiqing Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101555","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101555","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>E-commerce businesses nowadays frequently employ managerial responses to online reviews as a strategy to cultivate relationships with consumers. However, the specific mechanism underlying how different motivational managerial response strategies affect the perceived review helpfulness remains unclear. This study develops a research model to reflect the influences of two managerial response strategies (accommodative vs. defensive response) on the perceived review helpfulness under different conditions of service failure severity (ordinary negative vs. core failure reviews) and review format (text-only vs. hybrid format reviews). Through a between-group experiment, the study found that employing a defensive response strategy to text-only ordinary negative reviews and core failure reviews is effective in reducing the perceived helpfulness of such negative reviews. In addition, an accommodative response strategy is more appropriate for hybrid core service failure reviews, while for hybrid ordinary negative reviews, both defensive and accommodative response strategies are more effective than no response strategy. These findings provide important insights for managers to respond to negative reviews and help them to develop effective intervention strategies to meet the interests of the business.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50541,"journal":{"name":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101555"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145325264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-12DOI: 10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101552
Dervis Ozay, Mohammad Jahanbakht, Shouyi Wang
In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has created new opportunities and challenges across numerous business applications. While AI has been adopted in enterprise systems such as customer relationship management (CRM), further research is needed to evaluate its effectiveness. This study examines the influence of AI on CRM systems, using the Resource-Based View (RBV) to explore whether companies need skilled human resources (HR), advanced IT infrastructure (ITI), and adaptable business architecture (BA) for successful AI implementation in CRM (AI-i-CRM), while the CRM Scorecard framework is used to measure AI’s impact on CRM performance across process, customer, and infrastructure perspectives. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this study combines quantitative analysis to assess the relationship between resources, AI implementation, and AI impacts on CRM outcomes, followed by qualitative interviews with industry experts to further explore findings. Results reveal that (BA), a strategic and hard-to-imitate resource, significantly influences AI-i-CRM, providing empirical support for the RBV. While HR and ITI did not show significant effects in this context—possibly due to the increasing reliance on external SaaS providers—our findings suggest a selective but meaningful validation of RBV in modern CRM environments.
{"title":"What resources are needed for effective AI implementation in CRM, and does it actually enhance performance?","authors":"Dervis Ozay, Mohammad Jahanbakht, Shouyi Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101552","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101552","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has created new opportunities and challenges across numerous business applications. While AI has been adopted in enterprise systems such as customer relationship management (CRM), further research is needed to evaluate its effectiveness. This study examines the influence of AI on CRM systems, using the Resource-Based View (RBV) to explore whether companies need skilled human resources (HR), advanced IT infrastructure (ITI), and adaptable business architecture (BA) for successful AI implementation in CRM (AI-i-CRM), while the CRM Scorecard framework is used to measure AI’s impact on CRM performance across process, customer, and infrastructure perspectives. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this study combines quantitative analysis to assess the relationship between resources, AI implementation, and AI impacts on CRM outcomes, followed by qualitative interviews with industry experts to further explore findings. Results reveal that (BA), a strategic and hard-to-imitate resource, significantly influences AI-i-CRM, providing empirical support for the RBV. While HR and ITI did not show significant effects in this context—possibly due to the increasing reliance on external SaaS providers—our findings suggest a selective but meaningful validation of RBV in modern CRM environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50541,"journal":{"name":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101552"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145325263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study introduces a novel gamified nudging method to encourage social network users to personalize their privacy settings. Analyzing behavioral data from 19,123 active users, we found that 60 % of users exposed to the gamified nudge used it to adjust their privacy settings. In total, 16,035 users (84 %) personalized their settings via the gamified nudge or the options menu. Users who personalized their privacy settings exhibited significantly higher engagement, viewing more pages and sending more messages, likes, and friend requests compared to those who did not respond to the nudge, while non-personalizing users showed baseline engagement levels. Statistical analyses confirmed these differences across all interaction metrics (p < 0.001). Notably, 84.24 % of privacy-personalizing users chose to remain open for communication while selectively restricting more sensitive information, supporting that privacy personalization does not hinder social interaction. Survey data (n = 60) further revealed that users who personalized their privacy settings reported significantly lower experiences of online hostility and more satisfaction (p = 0.002). Demographic analysis showed that the gamified nudge was more effective among men and middle-aged users, while education showed mixed effects. A chi-square analysis confirmed that users applied different privacy preferences based on content type, such as being open to messages but limiting who can see personal or sensitive information. These findings suggest that while nudging users to personalize their privacy settings may seem to limit communication and engagement between them, it conversely increases user engagement and satisfaction.
{"title":"A gamified nudging method for privacy personalization in social networks and its effects on online hostility and user engagement","authors":"Mohammad Hajarian , Paloma Diaz , Ignacio Aedo , Behrouz Minaei-Bidgoli","doi":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101554","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.elerap.2025.101554","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study introduces a novel gamified nudging method to encourage social network users to personalize their privacy settings. Analyzing behavioral data from 19,123 active users, we found that 60 % of users exposed to the gamified nudge used it to adjust their privacy settings. In total, 16,035 users (84 %) personalized their settings via the gamified nudge or the options menu. Users who personalized their privacy settings exhibited significantly higher engagement, viewing more pages and sending more messages, likes, and friend requests compared to those who did not respond to the nudge, while non-personalizing users showed baseline engagement levels. Statistical analyses confirmed these differences across all interaction metrics (p < 0.001). Notably, 84.24 % of privacy-personalizing users chose to remain open for communication while selectively restricting more sensitive information, supporting that privacy personalization does not hinder social interaction. Survey data (n = 60) further revealed that users who personalized their privacy settings reported significantly lower experiences of online hostility and more satisfaction (p = 0.002). Demographic analysis showed that the gamified nudge was more effective among men and middle-aged users, while education showed mixed effects. A chi-square analysis confirmed that users applied different privacy preferences based on content type, such as being open to messages but limiting who can see personal or sensitive information. These findings suggest that while nudging users to personalize their privacy settings may seem to limit communication and engagement between them, it conversely increases user engagement and satisfaction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50541,"journal":{"name":"Electronic Commerce Research and Applications","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101554"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145325265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}