Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce has been rapidly changing the competitive landscape of the retailing and service industries. Despite its claimed benefits, this innovative mode of retailing has not yet been accepted by every buyer and seller. An interesting question is why some consumers accept the idea of online shopping more readily than others. At the organizational level, a similar question is why some sellers have stronger intention to develop (B2C) e-commerce than others. This attitudinal and behavioral difference among individuals and organizations in the face of innovation has been widely studied in various disciplines such as innovation adoption, technology acceptance, marketing, and strategic management. The current research consists of two separate yet intellectually correlated empirical studies. Study 1 investigated how potential online consumers' individual characteristics affected their attitude and intention toward online shopping in a sample of 474 students. It was found that cognitive and psychological characteristics more than demographic characteristics were associated with a consumer's online shopping attitude and purchasing intention. Study 2 proposed and tested a multi-level theoretical model about the factors influencing a firm's intention to develop e-commerce. Travel agencies in Taiwan were selected as research subjects. Interviews were conducted with one government official of the Tourism Bureau and ten travel agency CEOs. Survey data were collected from a sample of 137 travel agencies. Positive and statistically significant relationships were found between perceived competitive pressure, market-driving orientation, IT resource base and e-commerce intention. By contrast, customer-led orientation was negatively associated with e-commerce intention. Implications of these findings for academic research and e-commerce practices are also discussed. / Wang, Shu-chuan. / Adviser: Waiman Cheung. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 62-09, Section: A, page: 3111. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-195). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

by Ngai Wing-piu, Horace, Pok Tak-fai, Wilson. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1991. / Bibliography: leaves 118-120. / Chapter 1.0 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Motivation of Study --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Study Objective --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Method --- p.4 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Phase One --- p.4 / Chapter 1.3.1.1 --- Questionnaire Design / Chapter 1.3.1.2 --- Sample Design / Chapter 1.3.1.3 --- Data Gathering / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Phase Two --- p.7 / Chapter 1.3.2.1 --- Focus Group Sessions / Chapter 1.3.2.2 --- Questionnaire Design / Chapter 1.3.2.3 --- Sample Design / Chapter 1.3.2.4 --- Data Gathering / Chapter 1.4 --- Limitations of the Study --- p.10 / Chapter 2.0 --- Overview of the cosmetics industry in the People's Republic of China --- p.12 / Chapter 2.1 --- History of cosmetic industry in PRC --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2 --- Environmental Analysis for the Cosmetics industry in Shanghai and Guangzhou --- p.13 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Cultural & Economic Factors --- p.13 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Government --- p.16 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Customers --- p.19 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Competitors --- p.21 / Chapter 3.0 --- Preliminary Study --- p.23 / Chapter 3.1 --- Literature Review --- p.23 / Chapter 3.2 --- Profile of the First Survey from Shanghai and Guangzhou --- p.26 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Data Gathering --- p.26 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Summary of the First Survey --- p.26 / Chapter 3.2.2.1 --- Demographic Summary / Chapter 3.2.2.2 --- Monthly Expenses on Cosmetic / Chapter 3.2.2.3 --- Overall Brand Awareness of Import & Joint-Venture-Made Cosmetics / Chapter 3.2.2.4 --- Media Effectiveness / Chapter 3.2.2.5 --- Categorization of the Cosmetic Products / Chapter 3.2.2.6 --- Consumption Level of Each Product Category / Chapter 3.2.2.7 --- Distribution Channel / Chapter 3.2.2.8 --- Brand Break-down of Skin Cream/Lotion Category Consumption / Chapter 3.2.2.9 --- Crosstabulation of Cosmetic Expenses by Occupation / Chapter 3.3 --- Conclusions --- p.40 / Chapter 4.0 --- In-depth Study --- p.42 / Chapter 4.1 --- Focus Group Session Summary --- p.44 / Chapter 4.2 --- Result of the Second Survey --- p.47 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Survey Profile --- p.47 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Consumer Awareness on Various Brands --- p.47 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Consumption Pattern and Shopping Behavior --- p.51 / Chapter 4.2.3.1 --- Skin Cream/ Lotion Users and Non Users / Chapter 4.2.3.2 --- Consumption Pattern of Skin Cream/ Lotion / Chapter 4.2.3.3 --- Shopping Behavior / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Psychological Set of the Skin Cream/ Lotion Users --- p.59 / Chapter 4.2.4.1 --- Brand Loyalty and Brand Switching / Chapter 4.2.4.2 --- Communication within Groups / Chapter 4.2.4.3 --- Influence of Salesladies / Chapter 4.2.4.4 --- Effectiveness of Various Promotional Methods / Chapter 4.2.4.5 --- Relative Importance on Various Product Attributes / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Consumer Attitudes on Selected Brands --- p.69 / Chapter 4.2.5.1 --- Multiattribute Model for Brand Evaluation / Chapter 4.2.5.2 --- Products Positioning / Chapter 4.2.5.3 --- Intention to Buy / Chapter 4.2.6 --- Media Habits and Share of Voices for Various Brands --- p.77 / Chapter 4.2.6.1 --- Broadcasting Media / Chapter 4.2.6.2 --- Printed Media / Chapter 4.2.7 --- Conclusion --- p.83 / Chapter 5.0 --- Marketing Guidelines for Skin Cream/Lotion in PRC / Chapter 5.1 --- Market Segmentation and Product Positioning --- p.85 / Chapter 5.2 --- Pricing --- p.87 / Chapter 5.3 --- Promotion --- p.87 / Chapter 5.4 --- Distribution --- p.88 / Chapter 5.5 --- Optimal Mix --- p.88 / Chapter Appendix I --- Questionnaire of First Survey --- p.89 / Chapter Appendix IIA --- Questionnaire of Second Survey (English) --- p.95 / Chapter Appendix IIB --- Questionnaire of Second Survey (Chinese) --- p.106 / Chapter Appendix III --- Break Down of Other 8 Category Consumption --- p.113 / Chapter Appendix IVA --- Summary of Demographic Data of Participants --- p.115 / Chapter Appendix IVB --- Demographic Summary of Respondents --- p.116 / Chapter Appendix IVC --- Crosstubalation Industry by Nature of Job --- p.117 / Chapter Appendix V --- Bibliography --- p.118

謝佼杏. / "2003年12月". / 論文(哲學碩士)--香港中文大學, 2003. / 參考文獻 (leaves 96-100). / 附中英文摘要. / "2003 nian 12 yue". / Xie Jiaoxing. / Lun wen (zhe xue shuo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2003. / Can kao wen xian (leaves 96-100). / Fu Zhong Ying wen zhai yao. / Chapter ´ؤ. --- 導論 --- p.5頁 / Chapter 二. --- 消費社會的身份建構 --- p.11頁 / Chapter 三. --- 中國的現代生活方式與白領人士 --- p.33頁 / Chapter 四. --- 硏究背景與硏究問題 --- p.38頁 / Chapter 五. --- 分析部分 --- p.45頁 / Chapter 六. --- 結論 --- p.88頁 / 附錄1被訪者的基本資料 --- p.92頁 / 附錄2 ELLE的讀者基本情況 --- p.95頁 / 參考書目 --- p.96頁

by Lam King Chuen Christianne, Lee Sze Yan Jane. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-53). / ABSTRACT --- p.i / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF EXHIBITS --- p.v / ACKNOWLEDGMENT --- p.vii / Chapter / Chapter 1. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- BACKGROUND --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2 --- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONALITY AND BEHAVIOUR --- p.4 / Chapter 1.3 --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.6 / Chapter 2. --- CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND DATA --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1 --- THE MODELS --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2 --- METHODOLOGY --- p.15 / Chapter 2.3 --- DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF RESPONDENTS --- p.17 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Demographic Characteristics --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Self Perception of Internet Knowledge --- p.20 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Online Shopping Experience --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Online Shopping Concerns --- p.23 / Chapter 3 . --- EMPIRICAL RESULTS --- p.27 / Chapter 3.1 --- RELIABILITY TESTS --- p.27 / Chapter 3.2 --- REGRESSION ANALYSES --- p.29 / Chapter 4. --- IMPLICATIONS TO ONLINE SELLERS --- p.35 / Chapter 5. --- CONCLUSIONS --- p.37 / APPENDIX --- p.41 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.52

The Indian economy has grown over the last 10 years with new jobs created in the ITES sector, Biomedical, Automotive engineering, Apparel manufacturing and Civil engineering. The growth is strongly led by Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES); this is supported by the education sector with increase in the number of students enrolling for higher education and large numbers of students graduating every year thus creating a large pool of technical and managerial manpower. The working class people segment has grown since the economic growth and it has benefited middle class and upper middle class people. Due to the increase in the number of working people and substantial raise in income, spending power has increased over the years, and particularly the young Indians in the age of 15 – 25 like to shop more. The Government of India has laid down strict rules to protect the environment and avoiding child labor but there is no legality followed by companies in providing an ethical environment in means of working time and salary. The increase in food, energy and real estate costs makes people’s lives more difficult at this time. Are we going to follow the western countries and repeat the same mistake leading to a standstill? As resources are getting to near exhaustion, now is the time to think and ask ourselves question of what we are doing and justify ensuring that we buy only for our needs. This study focuses on the consumer behavior of young Indians in the age of 15 – 25 to understand and know their perception towards spending and to show a new path for the society and the industry for a sustainable environment. / Program: Master programme in Applied Textile Management

The desire for social connectedness affects the way consumers live and make decisions. While social media has expanded the size and reach of social networks, people paradoxically feel less connected with the friends and acquaintances they communicate with online. This occurs because compared to face-to-face communication, digital communication is relatively impoverished and lacks the same level of richness, immediacy, and feeling of presence. Although social media platforms have sought technological solutions to enrich interpersonal communication, I propose and find that without having to transmit more and richer content, virtual relationships can be managed and strengthened through different presentation format (i.e., ephemeral communication vs. permanent communication) and channels of communication (i.e., public messaging vs. private messaging). First, under settings that are disruptive to communication, ephemerality, which is the quality of transience and disappearance causes consumers become more immersed and in the (“present”) moment, which produces interrelated consequences of being present that are beneficial to virtual relationship management. Second, when their behaviors are publically observable, consumers strategically signal information about their relationship in order to strengthen their tie with close others. Although abundant research has focused on consumers’ individual behaviors on social media, an understanding of the antecedents and consequences of interpersonal behaviors is lacking. To fill this gap, my dissertation introduces and investigates the implications of virtual relationship management in social media.

Nowadays consumers can easily access to vast amounts of product information before making a purchase. Yet, limitations on the ability to process information force consumers to make choices regarding the subjects to which they pay more or less attention. In this dissertation, I study how a consumer optimally allocates attention to various product information before making a purchase decision and how a seller should design the marketing strategies taking into account the consumer's attention allocation decision. I find that either a consumer engages in “confirmatory” search under which she searches more information that favors her prior belief or the consumer engages in “disconfirmatory” search under which she searches more information that disfavors her prior belief. In particular, the consumer conducts more disconfirmatory search when the information processing cost is low, while she conducts more confirmatory search when the cost is high. This suggests that “confirmatory bias” widely studied in psychology literature could be optimal behavior coming out of people optimizing attention to different types of information, especially when people has high information processing costs. Furthermore, a consumer's purchase likelihood may vary with her information processing cost in a non-monotonic way, depending on the consumer's prior belief and the utilities of buying a matched product and a mismatched product. Moreover, I show that when more information becomes available or credible, the consumer would increase attention to negative information when the prior utility of the product is high but she would increase attention to positive information when the prior utility is low. In terms of seller's strategies, I find that when the consumer has a low information processing cost, the seller would charge a relatively high price such that consumers always process information; but when the consumer has a high information processing cost, the seller would charge a relatively low price such that consumers purchase the product without any learning. The optimal price and profit would first decrease and then increase in consumer's information processing cost. In addition, offering the return policy induces the consumer to pay more attention to positive information and less attention to negative information, and the seller would offer the return policy except when the consumer has a very high information processing cost. Finally, when a seller can influence the information environment, he would have a lower incentive to suppress the negative information when the consumer has a lower prior belief about product fit. Moreover, a higher information processing cost for a consumer would increase or decrease a seller's incentive to suppress the negative information in the environment, depending on whether the seller can adjust the product price and whether the consumer has a high or low prior belief. Interestingly, the seller may charge a lower price when he can fully control the information environment than when he can not.

My dissertation is based on the premise that possessions are an extension of the self. Beyond simple functional benefits that possessions provide us, I question whether possessions affect our self-perception and behavior. Specifically, I focus on two aspects of possessions: Ownership (Essay 1) and Sharing (Essay 2). In Essay 1, I find that feeling a sense of product ownership has downstream consequences in one’s representation of who s/he is. Here I reveal that salient feelings of product ownership activate a product-related self in one’s mind, but more importantly deactivate product-unrelated self. By identifying simultaneous identity activation and deactivation, I show that an individual can only hold a limited number of salient selves, and activating one’s self aspect requires a trade-off. This finding updates the prior assumption in the literature that an individual can hold an unlimited number of selves, and further suggests that there is still a finite limit to what can be salient at a given time. My interest in ownership extends to Essay 2, where I examine another behavioral aspect of consumers: sharing. Sharing behavior has received much attention lately due to the rise of sharing economy platforms, which provide new opportunities for consumers to share personal belongings with others. In Essay 2, I mine people’s latent motivation behind sharing by using a transaction dataset from one of the largest sharing economy platforms, Airbnb. Here I find that people are driven by not only monetary, but also non-monetary reasons, such as desires to meet others and share the beauty of their homes. Then I explore how each motivation affects people’s engagement on the sharing economy platform and their continued effort to share. This second essay highlights individuals’ new role as micro-entrepreneurs in this new era of the 21st century.

本論文發現了一個有趣的实证现象。在涉及假设的产品选择和实际的捐赠行为的四个实验中，我們發現從事一項協同的行为可以增加人們在后续的一項无关的消费决策中的趨同性，但是观察協同的行為卻降低了這種趨同性。本研究還闡明了这些效應的两个边界条件，第一，當旁觀者與當事人共享行為的結果時，旁觀者的趨同性傾向會提高 ；第二，與實際參與某項協同性的活動不同，當當事人只是預期一項將要發生的協同行為時，他們在後續無關的消費決策中 趨同性下降。这些結果適用于在认知与动机的相互作用下的某行為對其他、 無關的情况下行为的影响。而且，这项研究發現了一個新的當事人－旁觀者差異的方面，即當事人和旁觀者在進行協同性的行為時注意力的不同并導致後續行為上的不一樣，因此對這方面的文獻也有所貢獻。 / This research documents an intriguing empirical phenomenon. That is, acting synchrony behavior increases individuals’ tendency to conform in subsequent unrelated consumer decisions whereas observing it reduces this tendency. This phenomenon is demonstrated in four experiments involving both hypothetic product choice and real donation behavior measures. The present research also identifies two boundary conditions of these effects. First, when observers’ outcomes are tied to actors’ success in performing synchronous behavior, their conformity tendency increases. Second, anticipated synchrony decreases, whereas actual synchrony increases it. These effects have general implications for the interplay of both cognition and motivation in determining the effects of behavior in one situation on the behavior in other, unrelated situations. Also, this research contributes to the actor-observer difference literature by identifying a new effect of the different focus of actors and observers on consumer decisions. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Dong, Ping. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 31-35). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / ABSTRACT (ENGLISH) --- p.i / ABSTRACT (CHINESE) --- p.ii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / Chapter LIST OF TABLES --- p.v / Chapter 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 2 --- THEORETICAL BACKGROUND --- p.3 / Chapter 2.1 --- Cognitive Responses to Interpersonal Synchrony --- p.3 / Chapter 2.2 --- The Role of Mindset and Production in Information Processing --- p.4 / Chapter 2.3 --- Effects of Psychological Reactance --- p.6 / Chapter 2.4 --- Actor-Observer Differences in Reactions to Behavior --- p.7 / Chapter 2.5 --- Qualifications --- p.9 / Chapter 2.6 --- Overview of Experiments --- p.10 / Chapter 3 --- EXPERIMENT 1 --- p.11 / Chapter 3.1 --- Method --- p.12 / Chapter 3.2 --- Results and Discussion --- p.13 / Chapter 4 --- EXPERIMENT 2 --- p.15 / Chapter 4.1 --- Method --- p.15 / Chapter 4.2 --- Results and Discussion --- p.16 / Chapter 5 --- EXPERIMENT 3 --- p.19 / Chapter 5.1 --- Method --- p.20 / Chapter 5.2 --- Results and Discussion --- p.22 / Chapter 6 --- EXPERIMENT 4 --- p.24 / Chapter 6.1 --- Method --- p.25 / Chapter 6.2 --- Results and Discussion --- p.26 / Chapter 7 --- GENERAL DISCUSSION --- p.27 / REFERENCES --- p.31 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.40

After a negative consumption experience, consumers often like to muse about how their consumption might have turned out better. For example, a traveler who missed a flight may imagine that "if I had taken another transport to the airport, I might have caught the flight," or "I would have been enjoying my vacation if I had caught the flight." These imaginations, called counterfactual thoughts, have been documented to pose two effects on responses to negative consumptions. On one hand, they are functional because they provide corrective information that helps consumers solve problems associated with the consumption (Markman et al. 1993; Roese 1994). On the other hand, they are painful because they accentuate negative feelings about the consumption when they highlight the possibility that the consumption might have turned out better (Gleicher et al. 1990; Markman et al. 1993). Existing understanding on these two effects suggests that while people may learn a good lesson from their counterfactual thoughts, they have to contain the negative feelings induced by these thoughts. / In addition, this research also identifies the situational factors that promote the generation of process- and outcome-focused counterfactuals. Consumers are more likely to generate process-focused (versus outcome-focused) counterfactuals when they expect that the consumption is more likely to repeat. They are more likely to generate outcome-focused (versus process-focused) counterfactuals the closer they had missed a better-off consumption outcome. / In summary, this research contributes to the counterfactual literature by proposing thought focus as a new dimension to classify counterfactuals into process- and outcome-focused counterfactuals. It also advances existing understanding on the two effects of counterfactual generation and demonstrates that consumers may enjoy the problem-solving function of counterfactual generation without paying a psychological cost. Finally, this research provides managers insights into when promoting counterfactual generation is beneficial and when it is undesirable. / This research is motivated to tease out the problem-solving and affect accentuation effects of counterfactual generation, such that people may learn a lesson from counterfactual generation without paying incremental psychological cost. To start with, this research proposes thought focus as a new dimension to classify counterfactual thoughts into process- and outcome-focused counterfactuals. This classification is then used as a means to tease out the two effects of counterfactual generation. Specifically, it is argued that process- and outcome-focused counterfactuals pose differential consequences to consumers who experienced negative consumptions. Process-focused counterfactuals, which focus on the process leading to a better-off imagined outcome (e.g., taking another transport to airport), promote corrective behaviors in subsequent consumptions and reduce the chance of having negative experiences in the future. Outcome-focused counterfactuals, which focus on the benefits brought by a better-off outcome (e.g., enjoying the vacation), intensify the negative feelings (such as disappointment and unhappiness) about the current consumption. / Ho, Ka Yan. / Adviser: Jessica Y. Y. Kwong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-11, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-73). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.