Monle Lee

The Determinants of Email Receivers' Disseminating Behaviors on the Internet

ABSTRACT To investigate the determinants of the effects of a viral campaign, we employ the classical framework of a persuasive communication model, designated as “Who says what to whom in which channel and with what effect?” We also consider theories of consumer value, personality, word-of-mouth communication, and source credibility. On the basis of an experiment conducted in Taiwan, we find four main results. First, message recipients who receive emails from close interpersonal sources are more willing to forward them than messages from unfamiliar interpersonal or commercial sources. Second, those who receive more utilitarian or more hedonic messages are more willing to forward them. Third, those who score high on extraversion and openness and low on conscientiousness traits are more willing to forward a marketing message to others. Fourth, those who access the internet via a broadband connection are more willing to forward the message than are those who use dial-up modems.

A Cross-Cultural Application of a Theoretical Model of Business Ethics: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Data

Hunt and Vitells General Theory (1992) is used in a cross-cultural comparison of U.S. and Taiwanese business practitioners. Results indicate that Taiwanese practitioners exhibit lower perceptions of an ethical issue in a scenario based on bribery, as well as milder deontological evaluations and ethical judgments relative to their U.S. counterparts. In addition, Taiwan respondents showed higher likelihood of making the payment. Several of the paths between variables in the theory are confirmed in both U.S. and Taiwan samples, with summary data suggesting the Hunt and Vitell theory performs well in both U.S. and Taiwan. Some unanticipated linkages within the model were uncovered in the samples. Results and implications are discussed.

Individualism and collectivism in Taiwan

Individualism collectivism measures, along with decision styles, are examined in Taiwan. About 600 questionnaires were distributed directly to employees with managerial positions in private, public, and mixed enter prises in the capital, Taipei. In general, Taiwanese were found to be more collectivist than individualistic. Participants displayed a strong preference for consultative and participative styles and determined that these two styles were the most effective in practice. Further more, participants indicated that their immediate supervisors were mostly consultative and autocratic.

All for one but does one strategy work for all

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how multichannel customers evaluate overall satisfaction across distribution channels and what the antecedents are of such satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of bank customers in Taiwan was conducted. The total number of valid questionnaires was 479. Reliability and validity were tested. Maximum likelihood procedure of LISREL 8.8 was used to test the hypothesized structural equation model.Findings – The findings indicate that the overall satisfaction in the multichannel environment is a critical determinant of customer retention and participation. The present study also develops the antecedents of multichannel satisfaction. In the multichannel environment, perceived multichannel service quality is positively related to satisfaction, while perceived channel switching difficulty is negatively related to satisfaction.Originality/value – The present study employs the stimulus‐organism‐response (S‐O‐R) paradigm and the channel loyalty framework...

The joint effects of compensation frames and price levels on service recovery of online pricing error

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to explore the joint effect of compensation frames and product‐price levels on consumer attitudinal reactions and behavioral intentions after a service failure involving online pricing error.Design/methodology/approach – A 2 (compensation frames: dollar off versus percentage off) x 2 (product‐price levels: high‐price versus low‐price) between‐subjects factorial design was used to test the hypotheses.Findings – The findings indicate that consumers perceive a price reduction for compensation framed in dollar terms as more (less) fair than the same price reduction framed in percentage terms for high‐price product (low‐price product). The higher consumer perceptions of compensation fairness are, the more likely consumers are to have positive post‐recovery satisfaction and trust. Consequently, consumers who are satisfied with the compensation effort are more likely to trust the service firm, engage in positive eWOM behavior, and purchase the item.Practical implications...

Teaching Ethics in International Business Courses: The Impacts of Religions

Implicit in most comparative ethical studies is the assumption that cultural and religious differences between countries are the major reasons behind the variations in ethical beliefs and business practice across nations. This article examines research on the international ethical issues and the common moral concerns that permeate differing religious and philosophical perspectives—not only Judaism and Christianity, but also Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism with emphasis on the Golden Rule. Many commonalities were found. The authors suggest that students (and practitioners) should understand the basic tenets of the major religions and their implications on international business ethics because of the apparent failure of current philosophical approaches.

Viral Marketing: A Study of E-Mail Spreading Behavior Across Gender

ABSTRACT Businesses use viral marketing to build traffic and website awareness. Despite the fact that there are some successful examples, it is not clear how viral marketing works. This study examines the drivers of e-mail spreading behavior, such as message sources, message content, and network connection speed. Gender is used as a moderator in this study. After constructing an experimental design, 384 undergraduate students were asked to read a simulated e-mail and answer a corresponding questionnaire. The results provide evidence that partially supports the hypotheses. Managerial implications and future directions are then discussed.

Attitudes towards direct marketing, privacy, environment, and trust: Taiwan vs. U.S.

In recent years, many U.S. direct marketers have expanded their efforts into Asia. A few studies of consumers’ attitudes towards direct marketing were conducted outside of the United States in order to ascertain their attitudes towards direct marketing, privacy, environmental concerns, and trust issues. International direct marketers must take care to respect these issues before entering new countries, such as Taiwan and other emerging markets. The following article reports the results of a survey done in both the U.S. and Taiwan.

Ethical Mindsets of Christianity and Confucianism: A Comparative Study

This study investigates the application of an organizational mindset instrument to compare the ethical mindsets between Italy and Taiwan. Results suggest that there are not significant differences, but Italian business is perceived to practice some Machiavellianism that puts results ahead of ethical concerns.

Consumers’ evaluations of online reference price advertisement

The purpose of this study is to examine differences in consumers’ perceptions of an acceptable price range and their responses to the advertised reference price in terms of internal reference price, price‐search intention, and perceived value between online and offline retail channels. This research uses a 2 (plausible and implausible reference prices) x 2 (online and offline retail channels) between‐subjects experimental design. A convenient sample of 151 Taiwanese graduate students that have prior experience shopping online are recruited as subjects. Results are shown and managerial implications and directions for future research are then discussed.