Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Handbook of Strategic e-Business Management pp 889–906Cite as

eImage: Elements and Effects of Positive Organizational Online Identity

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 6467 Accesses

Part of the book series: Progress in IS ((PROIS))

Abstract

Businesses and individuals must appear both capable and trustworthy in order to be successful in the online environment, including electronic commerce transactions. This chapter presents recent findings and implications of these findings on the eImage paradigm first suggested by Gregg and Walczak (MIS Quarterly 32:653–670, 2008). Perceptions of capability and trustworthiness are formed using a variety of digital signals including the aesthetic and informational quality of an individual’s or organization’s website, third-party evaluations, and electronic communications, among others. Knowledge of the various factors that influence perceptions of capability and trustworthiness will enable individuals and businesses to improve their eImage or online identity. Suggestions are made for future research needed in this domain.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akerlof, G. (1970). The market for ‘lemons’: Quality under uncertainty and the market mechanism. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 84(3), 488–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ba, S., & Pavlou, P. A. (2002). Evidence of the effect of trust building technology in electronic markets: Price premiums and buyer behavior. MIS Quarterly, 26(3), 243–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakos, Y., & Kemerer, C. F. (1992). Recent applications of economic theory in information technology research. Decision Support Systems, 8(5), 365–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bapna, R., Goes, P., & Gupta, A. (2003). Analysis and design of business-to-consumer online auctions. Management Science, 49(1), 85–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, S. J., & Vidgen, R. T. (2001). “Assessing the quality of auction web sites”, proceedings of the 34th Hawaii international conference on systems sciences (pp. 1–10). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, K. (2011). Socially graceful CRM? Why the old rules of etiquette no longer apply. Customer Relationship Management Magazine, 15(6), 26–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belanger, F., Hiller, J. S., & Smith, W. J. (2002). Trustworthiness in electronic commerce: The Role of privacy, security, and site attributes. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 11(3/4), 245–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benn, E. S. (2010). Restaurant reviewing reaches warp speed, stltoday.com, URL. Accessed January 25, 2012, http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_23d1fdc4-5a75-5358-a159-99c94b1b0b3c.html

  • Bhattacherjee, A. (2002). Individual trust in online firms: Scale development and initial test. Journal of Management Information Systems, 19(1), 211–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • California office of privacy protection. (2012). Spring clean your online image. URL. Accessed April 17, 2012, http://www.privacyprotection.ca.gov/

  • Chen, J. V., Lin, C., Yen, D. C., & Linn, K. (2011). The interaction effects of familiarity, breadth and media usage on web browsing experience. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(6), 2141–2152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CIA. (2011). The World Factbook. URL. Accessed December 30, 2011, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2153rank.html

  • Clemons, E. K. (2007). An empirical investigation of third-party seller rating systems in e-commerce: The case of buy SAFE. Journal of Management Information Systems, 24(2), 43–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Culnan, M. J., & Armstrong, P. K. (1999). Information privacy concerns, procedural fairness and impersonal trust: An empirical investigation. Organization Science, 10(1), 105–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Figueiredo, J. M. (2000). Finding sustainable profitability in electronic commerce. Sloan Management Review, 41(4), 41–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deutsch, M. (1958). Trust and suspicion. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2(4), 265–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dinev, T. & Hart, P. (2004). Internet privacy concerns and their antecedents—measurement validity and a regression model. Behaviour & Information Technology, 23(6), 413–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ding, C. H. Q., Zha, H., He, X., Husbands, P., & Simon, H. D. (2004). Link analysis: Hubs and authorities on the World Wide Web. SIAM Review, 46(2), 256–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, R. K., & Jacobson, P. D. (1994). Costs and benefits of business information disclosure. Accounting Horizons, 8(4), 80–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fritz, M. (2007). E-commerce partnering due diligence: A methodology for trust in e-commerce in food networks. Food Economics: Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section C, 4(1), 13–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrett, J. J. (2006). Want to keep customers? Set them free. Business week online, URL. Accessed January 26 2012. http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2006/id20060414_710600.htm

  • Gefen, D., & Straub, D. W. (2003). Managing user trust in B2C e-Services. e-Service Journal, 2(2), 7–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Govers, R., Go, F. M., & Kumar, K. (2007). Promoting tourism destination image. Journal of Travel Research, 46(1), 15–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gregg, D. G., & Scott, J. (2006). The role of reputation systems in reducing online auction fraud. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 10(3), 97–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregg, D. G., & Walczak, S. (2008). Dressing your online auction business for success: An experiment comparing two e-bay businesses. MIS Quarterly, 32(3), 653–670.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregg, D. G., & Walczak, S. (2010). The relationship between website quality, trust, and price premiums at online auctions. Electronic Commerce Research, 10(1), 1–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, P. J., & Taylor, V. A. (2006). An examination of strategic practices in online retailing. Journal of Internet Commerce, 5(3), 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hernández-Borges, A. A., Macías-Cervi, P., Gaspar-Guardado, M. A., Torres-Álvarez De Arcaya, M. L., Ruíz-Rabaza, A., & Jiménez-Sosa, A. (2003). User preference as quality markers of pediatric web sites. Medical Informatics and the Internet in Medicine, 28(3), 183–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs, S. (2010). Businesses must get proactive about managing their online reputation. Search engine land, URL. Accessed January 25 2012, http://searchengineland.com/businesses-must-get-proactive-about-managing-their-online-reputation-55360

  • Hosmer, L. T. (1995). Trust: The connecting link between organizational theory and philosophical ethics. Academy of Management Review, 20(2), 379–403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, S., & Gilbert, D. (2006). The internet and small hospitality businesses: B&B marketing in Canada. Journal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing, 14(1), 99–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • International Telecommunications Union. (2011). The World in 2011 ICT facts and figures. URL. Accessed November 30 2011, http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/facts/2011/material/ICTFactsFigures2011.pdf

  • Internet Retailer. (2011). URL. Accessed 30 November 2011, http://www.internetretailer.com/trends/sales/

  • Jahmani, Y. (2003). The impact of segmental reporting disclosure on a firm’s perceived risk. International Journal of Commerce and Management, 13(2), 102–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jahng, J., Jain, H., & Ramamurthy, K. (2000). Effective design of electronic commerce environments: A proposed theory of congruence and an illustration. IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 30(4), 456–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvenpaa, S. L., & Leidner, D. E. (1999). Communication and trust in global virtual teams. Organization Science, 10(6), 791–815.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvenpaa, S. L., & Tractinsky, N. (1999). Consumer trust in an internet store: A cross-cultural validation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 5(2). URL. Accessed January 25 2012, http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol5/issue2/jarvenpaa.html

  • Jarvenpaa, S. L., Tractinsky, N., & Vitale, M. (2000). Consumer trust in an internet store. Information Technology and Management, 1(12), 331–336.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabani, S. (2010). The zen of social media marketing: An easier way to build credibility, generate buzz, and increase revenue. BenBella: BenBella Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kauffman, R. J., & Wood, C. A. (2000). Running up the bid: Modeling supplier opportunism in internet auctions. In M. Chung (ed.), Proceedings of the Sixth Americas Conference in Information Systems, (pp. 929–936).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S., & Stoel, L. (2004). Dimensional hierarchy of retail web quality. Information and Management, 41(5), 619–633.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Y., Sohn, D., & Choi, S. M. (2011). Cultural difference in motivations for using social network sites: A comparative study of American and Korean college students. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(1), 365–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, B., & Leffler, K. (1981). The role of market forces in assuring contractual performance. Journal of Political Economy, 89(4), 615–641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konheim-Kalkstein, Y. L., & Van den Broek, P. (2008). The effect of incentives on cognitive processing of text. Discourse Processes, 45(2), 180–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koufaris, M., & Hampton-Sosa, W. (2004). The development of initial trust in an online company by new customers. Information Management, 41(3), 377–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H. G. (1998). Do electronic marketplaces lower the price of goods? Communications of the ACM, 41(1), 73–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewicki, R. J., Mcallister, D. J., & Bies, R. J. (1998). Trust and distrust: new relationships and realities. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 438–458.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R., & Davis, J. H. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709–734.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R., Huh, J., & Cude, B. J. (2005). Cues of credibility and price performance of life insurance comparison web sites. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 39(1), 71–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKnight, D. H., Cummings, L. L., & Chervany, N. L. (1998). Initial trust formation in new organizational relationships. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 472–490.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKnight, D. H., Choudhury, V., & Kacmar, C. (2002). The impact of initial consumer trust on intentions to transact with a web site: A trust building model. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 11(3/4), 297–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKnight, D. H., Kacmar, C. J., & Choudhury, V. (2004). Dispositional trust and distrust distinctions in predicting high- and low-risk internet expert advice site perceptions. e-Service Journal, 3(2), 35–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mellinger, G. D. (1956). Interpersonal trust as a factor in communication. Journal of Abnormal Social Psychology, 52, 304–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milano, R., Baggio, R., & Piatrelli, R. (2011). The effects of online social media on tourism websites. In R. Law, M. Fuchs, & F. Ricci (Eds.), Information and communication technologies in tourism 2011 (pp. 471–484). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, J., Raffa, L., & Mizerski, R. (2003). The use of domain names in e-branding by the world’s top brands. Electronic Markets, 13(3), 222–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nandan, S. (2005). Managing successful online brands: The journal from dot com to web brand franchise. Journal of Website Promotion, 1(2), 35–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, P. (1970). Information and Consumer Behavior. Journal of Political Economy, 78(2), 311–329.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, C. S., & Srinivasan, V. (1994). A survey-based method for measuring and understanding brand equity and its extendibility. Journal of Marketing Research, 31(2), 271–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, J., Lee, Y., & Widdows, R. (2004). Empirical investigation on reputation and product information for trust formation in consumer to consumer market. Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics, 3(1), 231–239.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pavlou, P. (2003). Consumer acceptance of electronic commerce: Integrating trust and risk with the technology acceptance model. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 7(3), 101–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petre, M., Minocha, S., & Roberts, D. (2006). Usability beyond the website: An empirically-grounded e-commerce evaluation instrument for the total customer experience. Behaviour and Information Technology, 25(2), 189–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranganathan, C., & Ganapathy, S. (2002). Key dimensions of business-to-consumer web sites. Information and Management, 39(6), 457–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, A. R., & Monroe, M. (1996). Causes and consequences of price premiums. Journal of Business, 69(4), 511–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, A. R., Qu, L., & Ruekert, R. W. (1999). Signaling unobservable product quality through brand ally. Journal of Marketing Research, 36(2), 258–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Read, W. H. (1962). Upward communication in industrial hierarchies. Human Relations, 15(3), 3–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, P., & Zeckhauser, R. (2002). Trust among strangers in internet transactions: Empirical analysis of eBay’s reputation system. In M. R. Baye (ed.), The economics of the internet and e-commerce, advances in applied microeconomics (Vol. 11. pp. 127–157). Amsterdam: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, P., Zeckhauser, R., Friedman, E., & Kuwabara, K. (2000). Reputation systems. Communications of the ACM, 43(12), 45–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, W. H. (1965). The role of the consumer in image building. California Management Review, 7(3), 69–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rindova, V. P., Williamson, I. O., Petkova, A. P., & Sever, J. M. (2005). Being good or being known: An empirical examination of the dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of organizational reputation. Academy of Management Journal, 48(6), 1033–1049.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosa, J. A., Garbarino, E. C., & Malter, A. J. (2006). Keeping the body in mind: The influence of body esteem and body boundary aberration on consumer beliefs and purchase intentions. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 16(1), 79–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, J., & Gregg, D. (2004). The impact of product classification for online auctions: Proceedings of the 10th America’s Conference on Information Systems, (pp. 2376–2380). New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shih, C. (2011). The facebook era. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sidali, K. L., Schulze, H., & Spiller, A. (2009). The impact of online reviews on the choice of holiday accomodations, In W. Höpken, U. Gretzel, & R. Law (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2009: Proceedings of the International Conference in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (pp. 87–98) New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spence, M. (1973). Job market signaling. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Staff, Kiplinger’s. (2007). Walk-in critics. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, 61(1), 24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Standifird, S. S. (2001). Reputation and e-commerce: eBay auctions and the asymmetrical impact of positive and negative ratings. Journal of Management, 27(3), 279–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tellis, G. J., & Wernerfelt, B. (1987). Competitive price and quality under asymmetric information. Marketing Science, 6(3), 240–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teo, T. S. H., Lim, V. K. G., & Lai, R. Y. C. (1999). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in internet usage. Omega International Journal of Management Science, 27(1), 25–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Zimbabwean. (2011). Online sales soar in SA. URL. Accessed November 30 2011, http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/news/39694/online-sales-soar-in-sa.html

  • Thibaut, J. W., & Kelley, H. H. (1959). The social psychology of groups. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • uxmyths.com. (2010). Myth #2: All pages should be accessible in 3 clicks. URL. Accessed January 16 2012, http://uxmyths.com/post/654026581/myth-all-pages-should-be-accessible-in-3-clicks

  • Vishwanath, A., & Barnett, G. A. (2005). An empirical investigation into the structure of bidding in online auctions. Electronic Markets, 15(3), 261–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walczak, S. (2008). Knowledge management and organizational learning: An international research perspective. The Learning Organization, 15(6), 486–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walczak, S., & Gregg, D. G. (2009). Factors influencing corporate online identity: A new paradigm. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 4(3), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, M. (2004). Building an intranet: Home sweet homepage. EContent, 27(5), 41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, W. Y., & Li, C. Y. (2007). A contingency approach to incorporate human, emotional and social influence into a TAM for KM programs. Journal of Information Science, 33(3), 275–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, P., & von Dran, G. M. (2001/2002). User expectations and rankings of quality factors in different web site domains. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 6(2), 9–33.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Business School, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    Steven Walczak, Dawn G. Gregg, Gary L. Borkan & Michael A. Erskine

Authors
  1. Steven Walczak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dawn G. Gregg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gary L. Borkan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Michael A. Erskine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven Walczak .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    Francisco J. Martínez-López

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Walczak, S., Gregg, D.G., Borkan, G.L., Erskine, M.A. (2014). eImage: Elements and Effects of Positive Organizational Online Identity. In: Martínez-López, F. (eds) Handbook of Strategic e-Business Management. Progress in IS. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39747-9_37

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation