With the development of electronic commerce and online group-buying, many studies tried to explore theories about online group-buying. Following the recent development of online group-buying, this research tries to provide a comprehensive framework to study online group-buying by proposing five different dimensions as a basis to develop various group-buying models. The five dimensions are initiator, price variety, bargain power, reservation price, and number of negotiators. The developed group-buying models are categorized into two categories, negotiating price before forming coaliation and negotiation price after forming coaliation. In addition, we also tried to analyze online group-buying model or behavior based on microeconomic theory. Hopefully, it can open a new research area in online group-buying models.

In the group-buying transaction, consumers will not know the final price until the transaction is closed. It means that there are uncertainties of the final price and time to reach a desired price. In other words, consumers have financial risk and time risk in group-buying transactions. In addition, different pricing strategies of group-buying may result in different risks. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the perceived risks of consumers affect their intentions to participate the online group-buying with different pricing mechanisms, i.e. decreasing, neutral and increasing. The result shows that because group-buying models with different pricing mechanisms have different initial prices, final prices and discounts, the risks perceived by consumers are different and then, affect consumers¡¦ intention to participate the online group-buying. Among these three pricing mechanisms, decreasing pricing mechanism makes consumers perceive higher risk than other pricing mechanisms because its initial price is higher. The more the consumers¡¦ perceived risks are, the lower the consumers¡¦ intentions to participate the online group-buying are. Therefore, group-buying with decreasing pricing mechanism can not attract consumers to join the online group-buying efficiently. Furthermore, this study finds that perceived usefulness and satisfaction affect consumers¡¦ intentions to participate the online group-buying significantly. In addition, all consumers¡¦ perceived risks, perceived usefulness and intentions to participate online group-buying influence consumers¡¦ actual participating behavior significantly.

In recent years, many virtual communities have thrived with the rapid development of Internet. In the environment of virtual community, through the information exchange, members realize that they often have similar demands. In the case of online group-buying, buyers who have a common interest in a certain product group together to collect their collective power and thus get price discounts from suppliers. Hence online group-buying comprehends the need of interest, relationship, and transaction of virtual community. We are questioning whether the group-buying have invisible community relationships embedded in members¡¦ transaction activities. The purpose of this study is by the use of social network analysis to investigate the relationships of the network between initiators and participants and between co-participants. In particular we propose some measures based on social network analysis to help us understand the meanings of relationships of online group-buying network. According to the result of this study, we find the initiators have more power or resources to influence other members of the network between initiators and participants. And some active participants also have more power or resources to influence other participants of the network between co-participants. We also find the active initiators and participants would have more probability to occupy key positions of information flow.

Online group-buying is one of the popular online business models recently. Both the initiator and participants hope to recruit more consumers to join order to aggregate larger orders and thus get cheaper price. Traditionally, consumers always invite their friends or families to join group-buying in order to collect more orders. Hope the relationship could affect their behavior. As the communication and coordination through the Internet are getting more convenient, it is easy and popular to recruit friends in larger range to join group-buying via e-mail. Further, the increasing virtual communities result from that, members have same interest, concern, and needs. It is quite possible that the members have same needs and therefore initiate a group-buying activity to fulfill many members¡¦ needs. Since information sharing is a major activity between members of virtual communities, the degree of the interactions will impact the tie strength between them. If members can send peer-to-peer recommendation email to other members who may be interested in the group-buying transaction, it may improve the group-buying performance. In addition, marketing via e-mail is getting common. The different marketing appeal results in different effect. Rational appeals focus on product itself while emotional appeal makes consumer¡¦s feeling change. The purpose of this research is to explore the difference in advertisement attitude between consumers clicking the peer-to-peer recommendation e-mail and consumers not clicking it. We also examined if these two groups have different cognition of tie strength with the e-mail sender. The result shows the group clicking the recommendation mail has better advertisement attitude than the group not clicking. Further, emotional appeal induces the subjects¡¦ better cognition of reliability of the appeal

Recently, a new e-commerce business model is booming. It is an electronic-coupon based group-buying model. Its prosperous development has formed a big online group-buying market in which many new websites run similar electronic-coupon based group-buying models. This new electronic-coupon based group-buying model is very different from the traditional one. It is not only that the main type of the products is service-oriented, but also that the object of transaction is electronic coupons which provide the consumers privileges of getting the services in a limited time period. It completely changes consumer behaviors. For these reasons, this study explores how the electronic-coupon based group-buying model succeeds by reviewing the literature and analyzing the data collected from the online website. The results show that both the promotion price and discount rate impact the group-buying performance but the discount rate will have more impact than the promotion price. Further, the limited sale is a good strategy to improve the group-buying performance. Overall, the electronic-coupon based group-buying model performs well in restaurants, cinemas and entertainment industries.

The Internet alters the traditional business environment. Due to the convenience of the Internet, consumers are able to acquire both tangible goods and intangible services. With the advent of the internet and its related technologies, the emerging online shopping a distinctively new business transaction format becomes the trendiest activity in these days. The spirit of online group buying is to exercise the buy¡¦s bargaining power by amassing number of people interested in the same goods and their money in order to achieve the goal of having desirable prices. Besides the financial motive, what are the other incentives driving consumers to join online group buying is another interesting subject discussed in the paper. When shopping online, consumers can obtain product information only by pictures and depictions posted by sellers. Therefore, the credibility of the group-buying initiator is very important because of the fictitious shopping environment. The goal of the research is to comprehend the correlation between consumers¡¦ online group-buying motivations and customer satisfaction. According to the above, the research model is consisted of the following factors: (1) motivation of online group-buying participation; (2) customer relationship; (3) product involvement; (4) customer satisfaction. The research sample group is targeted at the southern residences with online group-buying experiences. There are total 849 questionnaires performed face-to-face and on the Internet retrieved during the sample period from February 25, 2012 to March 25, 2012. All of this data will be used to explain the correlation between online group-buying motivations and customer satisfaction. After calculating and analyzing all data, there is a positive relationship between online group-buying motivations and the customer satisfaction. Besides, trust categorized in the customer relationship acts as an intermediary in the relationship between online group-buying motivations and the customer satisfaction. Moreover, the product involvement also interferes in the relationship between online group-buying motivations and the customer satisfaction. In order to stand out and be successful in the overcrowded and competitive e-commerce market, there are several suggestions about online group-buying activities based on the results of above. Online group-buying initiators can use promotions to attraction consumers¡¦ attentions. Furthermore, a user-friendly website can also increase the level of the consumer satisfaction due to its simplicity and accessibility. Based on all information collected, the product quality and the seller¡¦s credibility are the most crucial elements affecting consumers¡¦ purchase inclinations.

The essence of online group-buying is to lower the price by gathering orders However, the process is filled with uncertainty and risks, such as the number of joining members, the final price, the quality of products, and even the trustworthiness of the initiators. Generally speaking, consumers tend to reduce risks by searching more information. The more uncertainties there are, the more information seeking should be. Online feedback mechanism is often adopted as a strategy to lower risks and uncertainties. Both e-Bay and Yahoo provide such feedback mechanisms. In addition, the larger the number of accumulated orders is, the higher possibilities to lower the price and risk will be. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore how the online feedback mechanism and the number of accumulated orders impact consumers¡¦ perceived risk and trust in the initiator and furthermore, how the perceived risk and trust impact consumers¡¦ behavior in online group buying. The study shows that the content of the online feedback mechanism has significant impact on consumers¡¦ perceived financial risk, performance risk, total risk and the trust in initiator as well. The more negative the content is, the more risks the consumers perceive and the less trust in the initiators the consumers have. Furthermore, different contents will result in different kinds of risks perceived by consumers. With larger number of accumulated orders, consumers have more trust in initiators. Additionally, consumers have higher intentions to join group-buying when they perceive lower risk and more trust in initiators. Therefore, consumers¡¦ intentions to join group-buying have significant impact on their actual behavior.

Online shopping involves more uncertainty and risk than traditional shopping. These phenomena are even obvious in online group-buying. One of the main factors causing the uncertainty and risk is the role of the initiator. Since it is quite often that the initiators themselves are consumers, the initiators are not as huge and professional as the sellers. Clearly the trust in initiator becomes a major concern when joining the online group-buying. Based on the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this research is to understand how initiator¡¦s reputation, interactions with initiator, consumers¡¦ perceived risk and personal characteristics impact consumers¡¦ trust in the initiators and then how the consumers¡¦ perceived trust in the initiators, subjective norm and familiarity with online group-buying together impact the consumers¡¦ behavior in group-buying. The study result indicates that the perceived initiator¡¦s reputation, interaction with initiator, perceived risks in online group-buying, and subjective norm impact the trust in initiator. Moreover, based on TPB, the trust has significant effects on consumer¡¦s intention to join online group-buying. Subjective norm has impacted the consumer¡¦s intention to join online group-buying not only directly but also through the trust in initiator indirectly. However, the familiarity with online group-buying has no significant effects on consumer¡¦s intention to join online group-buying.

With the rapid growth of virtual communities, more and more group-buying are now held within the communities. However, no study discusses the effect of virtual communities on group-buying. Comparing to other transaction modes, it is easier for consumers to aggregate their demands in virtual communities. The coherence and trust among community members, at the same time, further reduce potential risks in transactions. This study aims to understand factors that affect consumer intentions to join group-buying within the virtual communities and to develop a comprehensive framework. The results indicate that perceived trust in group-buying initiator and perceived trust in other community members are the main factors that influence consumers¡¦ intention to join. Their perceived risk, at the same, has no significant effect. Furthermore, consumers¡¦ involvement in the virtual community has the most effect on their perceived trust in initiators while their perceived trust in other members and the perceived expertise of the initiator are also critical factors. The results implies that the trust among members, which is resulted from their intense interactions, is the key factor of group-buying. The expertise of initiator, meanwhile, is not the critical determinant of group-buying.

Research Question: What factors influence customers’ online group buying decision-making in emerging market? Research Purpose: To explore whether the factors of the Social Exchange Theory, market stimuli and e-commerce systems affect customers’ online group buying decision-making in emerging market Method: This research is a quantitative study by using survey as a research strategy. A questionnaire which designed according to theory framework is used to collect data for analysis. The questionnaires are posted in Chinese Baidu PostBar. Conclusion: In the end of data collection, 375 questionnaires have been analyzed. After analyzing empirical data, results for research questions have been answered. According to the analysis and theoretical framework, "reciprocity", "trust", "price", "word of mouth" and "website design" are attributes which have been detected to influence customers ‘online group buying decision-making in China. However, "loyalty "and "logistic services" are not attributes to influence customers ‘online group buying decision-making. / <p>8</p>