The online marketplace is growing every year. As it continues to grow it is important to understand the interactions between online consumers and online merchants. This study examines the relationship between online merchants and online consumers focusing on how information is passed between the two. With consumers able to search and view dozens of stores in the time it used to take for many of them to drive to one, why are consumers not able to find the best price for the good they hope to buy? By examining past literature on information theory and consumer behavior, combined with considering a 3 x 3 sample of online consumers actually finding items in an online environment, this study will serve as a base for further research on what drives consumer interaction with electronic markets.

When the generation of experience economy coming, customers are becoming care if the products or services which are company provide is what they need. Customers want what let them feel dizzy, what is able to touch their mind, stimulate their think, what is related to them, and also the product or marketing activities is connected to their life style(Pine II & Gilmore, 1999¡FSchmitt, 1999), it means that experience economy is becoming a trend of product consuming. Therefore, this study attempt to quote the Comprehensive model raised by Cronin, Brady and Hult (2000) and the Cognitive Model raised by Oliver(1980) as basic research frames, to prove the following goals of this study. After consumers which have been shopping in IKEA cognize the experiential value, whether their cognition will affect consumers¡¦ satisfaction or not. In addition, consumers will have the brand loyalty to IKEA. According to the result, it provides some suggestions to their experiential marketing. According to the results, consumers¡¦ experiential value will affect consumer satisfaction positively. When consumers¡¦ satisfaction becomes higher, and their brand loyalty becomes higher. In addition, when consumers¡¦ experiential value of playfulness becomes higher, and their brand loyalty becomes higher. However, some kinds of experiential value including aesthetics, service excellence and customer ROI have to let consumer have consumer satisfaction, then it can make consumers have loyalty to the brand.

Recently, tourism has become one of the most potential industries in the world. According to preliminary results presented by the United Nations specialized agency, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) the number of international tourist arrivals recorded worldwide grew by 5.5% and exceeded 800 million for the first time ever. However, under the competitive environment, the best way to keep competitiveness is to make customer satisfaction and loyalty. This study focuses on the relationships among self-congruity, functional congruity, customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, different from past researches which collect data only after actual travel without considering other possible factors, present study incorporated the concept of ¡§ex-ante¡¨ and ¡§ex-post¡¨ self-image congruity and probed their effects on tourism satisfaction. Ex-ante self-image congruity are formed before actual travel; and after travel, tourist¡¦s perception will become ex-post self-image congruity. The author applied a two-stage research design collecting relevant data before and after travel. The empirical results showed that both ex-post self-image congruity and functional congruity have direct positive effect on satisfaction, and functional congruity also partially mediated self-image congruity¡¦s effect. The author also found multiple roles of ex-ante self-image congruity on satisfaction. As a kind of expectation, ex-ante self-image congruity has negative relationship with satisfaction; and possesses moderating effect as a possible motivation driver. Theoretical discussion and managerial implications are supplied.

Abstract The main idea of group buying is to recruit larger number of orders in order to cut down price. In order words, the larger the number of orders is, the more consumers will join due to the resulted lower price. This positive feedback is as the phenomenon of demand externalities found by Kauffman and Wand (2001, 2002). However, from the other viewpoint, there is a phenomenon of death spiral at the beginning of group buying. It indicates that, due to the few orders in the beginning of group buying, consumers are inclined to wait until the price is acceptable. Unfortunately, it results in that consumers will wait for each other¡¦s joining and therefore, the orders will not increase quickly. In order to solve the problem of death spiral, Lai and Zhuang (2004) proposed three incentive mechanisms, sequential-based, time-based and quantity-based models, on purpose of encouraging consumer to participate in group-buying. The experimental result demonstrated the expected performance of the three incentive mechanisms in terms of removing the phenomenon of death spiral. However, we find these incentive mechanisms didn¡¦t stimulate the phenomenon of demand externalities. Based on previous literature and practical experience, price differentiation usually causes customers¡¦ negative emotion and unfairness cognition. The incentive mechanisms designed for solving the problem of death spiral make consumers pay different price. We wonder if it causes unfairness cognition and therefore could not result in the phenomenon of demand externality. The purpose of this research is to understand whether the incentive mechanisms cause consumers unfairness cognition via experiment. The result shows consumers having opportunity to have extra discounts have higher cognition of price fairness than the consumers without chance to have extra discounts. Further, compared with other incentive mechanisms, sequential-based incentive mechanism makes consumers perceive lower cognition of procedural fairness. Finally, we also found that consumers¡¦ fairness cognition has positive effect on their price satisfaction and purchase intention as well. Keywords: Group buying, Fairness cognition, Consumer behavior, Consumer satisfaction

ABSTRACT Under the dramatic competition of all kinds of hospital and the raising of consumer awareness, it is becoming important issues for a hospital manager to improve the service quality of health care, further to enhance patient¡¦s satisfaction & loyalty. Many articles & papers discuss the outpatient service quality and patient¡¦s satisfaction with many single items of service process. In fact, the outpatient service is composed of a series of service process. So, I evaluate and predict the patient¡¦s satisfaction & loyalty under the term of outpatient service process. This study took the example of the outpatient of a provincial community hospital. We use the convenient sample method, and totally got the 222 efficient questionnaires. We do verity the seven outpatient service process with factor analysis. This study has several following remarkable results. The demographic factors have no statistical difference with outpatient service process quality, total satisfaction and consumer loyalty. There is positive correlation between quality of outpatient service process and customer satisfaction. The quality of outpatient service process has a positive impact on consumer loyalty. And the consumer satisfaction exerts a positive influence on the consumer loyalty. With the application of multiple regression analysis, the outpatient service process can efficiently predict consumer satisfaction & loyalty.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 257-273). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 296-306). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2009. / Advisers: Raj Echambadi, Jai Ganesh. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-102).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-117).

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management