[AISWorld] Publication of Vol.12, No.4, 2011 issue of Journal of Electronic Commerce Research

[Melody Kiang]

Dear Colleagues,
     On behalf of the Journal of Electronic Commerce Research (JECR), 
I am pleased to announce that Vol. 12, Number 4, 2011 issue of JECR is 
now available at the journal web site: 
"http://www.csulb.edu/journals/jecr/c_i.htm". This is a hybrid issue 
that contains a special section on Cloud Service and Electronic 
Commerce, guest edited by Dr. Dr. William Yu Chung Wang, Auckland 
University of Technology (AUT), New Zealand
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Special Section on Cloud Service and Electronic Commerce:

Toward the Trend of Cloud Computing
William Yu Chung Wang	Department of Business Information Systems, AUT 
University
                         42 Wakefield St, Auckland, 1142 New Zealand
Ammar Rashid	        Department of Business Information Systems, AUT 
University
                         42 Wakefield St, Auckland, 1142 New Zealand
Huan-Ming Chuang	Department of Information Management, National Yunlin 
University of Science and Technology,
                         123 University Road, Section 3, Douliou, 
Yunlin 64002, Taiwan												238-242
ABSTRACT
Cloud Computing has recently been recognized as one of the most 
emerging technology. A considerable amount of research has been 
carried out to explore different areas in Cloud Computing. 
Nevertheless, few areas including reliability, security and business 
value of Cloud Computing are yet to be explored. This paper presents a 
brief summary on the analysis of current gaps and new trends in cloud 
computing research based on extant information systems literature, 
industry reports, and practical experience reflections. Additionally, 
it highlights the significance of cloud computing and its implications 
for practitioner and academics.  We conclude by outlining the 
opportunities associated with the development of Cloud Computing and 
noting future research directions.

Keywords: cloud computing, service utilization, cloud services
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The Impact of Security and Scalability of Cloud Service on Supply 
Chain Performance
Olatunde A. Durowoju	Norwich Business School, University of East 
Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7JT, UK
Hing Kai Chan	        Norwich Business School, University of East 
Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7JT, UK
Xiaojun Wang	        School of Economics, Finance and Management, 
University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TN, UK										243-256
ABSTRACT
Cloud computing introduces flexibility in the way an organization 
conducts its business. On the other hand, it is advisable for 
organizations to select cloud service partners based on how prepared 
they are owing to the uncertainties present in the cloud. This study 
is a conceptual research which investigates the impact of some of 
these uncertainties and flexibilities embellished in the cloud. First, 
we look at the assessment of security and how it can impact the supply 
chain operations using entropy as an assessment tool. Based on queuing 
theory, we look at how scalability can moderate the relationship 
between cloud service and the purported benefits. We aim to show that 
cloud service can only prove beneficial to supply partners under a 
highly secured, highly scalable computing environment and hope to lend 
credence to the need for system thinking as well as strategic thinking 
when making cloud service adoption decisions.

Keywords: cloud service, security concerns, scalability, supply chain 
management
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The Organizing Vision for Cloud Computing in Taiwan
Shirley Ou Yang			Information Management, National Taiwan University,
                            No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei City 
106, Taiwan
Carol Hsu	        Information Management, National Taiwan University,
                         No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei City 106, 
Taiwan				257-271
ABSTRACT
Cloud Computing has attracted increasing attention from both 
researchers and practitioners as a new paradigm of information 
technology. Many recent studies on technological innovation have 
focused on two confronting models: rational-actor decision and social 
construction. However, both models are rarely used at the industry 
level of analysis. This paper adopts the lens of organizing vision, 
and presents a secondary analysis on the institutional processes of 
the forming of the Cloud Computing industry in Taiwan. In doing so it 
examines several key institutional forces, including (1) community 
discourse, structure, and commerce; (2) IS practitioner subculture; 
(3) adoption of core technology; and (4) adoption and diffusion. Our 
findings suggest that the dynamics of institutionalization of society 
and technology in the collective sense better explain the formation of 
the Cloud Computing industry embedded in a large community network 
than the linear rational choice paradigm. These findings also suggest 
that decision makers in both the private and public sector should be 
more aware of the institutional forces that motivate them to adopt IT 
innovation.

Keywords: cloud computing, organizing vision, innovation 
transformation, innovation adoption and diffusion
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Regular Section:

The Effect of Website Design Dimensions on Initial Trust: A Synthesis 
of the Empirical Literature
Farhod P. Karimov	Department of Business (BUSI), Vrije Universiteit 
Brussel, Pleinlaan 2 1050, Brussels, Belgium
Malaika Brengman	Department of Business (BUSI), Vrije Universiteit 
Brussel, Pleinlaan 2 1050, Brussels, Belgium			
Leo Van Hove	        Department of Applied Economics (APEC), Vrije 
Universiteit Brussel,
                         Pleinlaan 2 1050, Brussels, 
Belgium						272-301
ABSTRACT
This paper aims to provide an integrative review of the 
experiment-based literature on the antecedents of initial trust in a 
business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce setting. To that end, we present 
a framework that classifies trust-inducing website features according 
to three broad dimensions, namely visual design, social cue design and 
content design, because comparing studies with different empirical 
set-ups requires conceptual clarity. To synthesize the literature we 
use an advanced vote-count procedure combined with a sign test. We 
find that the literature provides sound empirical support for our 
general hypothesis that web design cues effectively enhance consumers’ 
initial trust towards unfamiliar online vendors. E-tailers should thus 
consider embedding human-like cues (i.e., facial photos, video 
streams) into their interfaces, as well as integrating assistive web 
applications (i.e., avatars, recommendation agents). Interestingly, we 
also find that internally provided e-assurance structures (such as 
privacy/security policies and vendor-specific guarantees) can be as 
effective as paid e-assurance mechanisms (such as third-party trust 
endorsements). Our overview also reveals that the effectiveness of 
certain trust-signalling features within the visual and social cue 
design dimensions is still under-researched. The support for the 
positive effect of such website atmospheric cues is therefore still 
weak.

Keywords: initial online trust, website design, B2C e-commerce, 
literature review, vote-count method
*********************************************************************************************************************

Impact of Virtual Brand Experience on Purchase Intentions: the Role of 
Multichannel Congruence
Jason A. Gabisch			Department of Marketing, School of Business, 
Providence College,
                         1 Cunningham Square, Providence RI 02918, USA
Kholekile L. Gwebu		Department of Decision Sciences, Whittemore School 
of Business and Economics,
                         University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 
03801, USA 			302-319
ABSTRACT
Online virtual environments have been identified as emerging marketing 
channels, whereby consumers can learn about brands through experiences 
that involve both functional and social interaction. This research 
examines the impact of virtual experiences on attitude formation, and 
offline purchase intentions, and identifies three types of channel 
congruence (perceived diagnosticity, self-image congruence, and 
behavioral consistency) that help explain the cross-channel effects. 
The findings from this study indicate that multichannel effects exist 
between virtual brand experiences and real-world purchasing decisions. 
These effects depend on the extent to which the virtual shopping 
experience is believed to be accurate and useful for evaluation, 
shared self-concept with other users of the brand, and perceived 
behavioral consistency across marketing channels.

Keywords: multichannel marketing, brand experience; virtual worlds; 
Second Life; channel congruency
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Shopping in Virtual Worlds: Perceptions, Motivations, and Behavior
Diana Hassouneh			Faculty of Economics, Social and Political Science, 
Solvay Business School,
                          Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 
B-1050 Brussel, Belgium
Malaika Brengman	Faculty of Economics, Social and Political Science, 
Solvay Business School,
                         Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 
B-1050 Brussel, Belgium		320-335

ABSTRACT
Avatars are spending millions of dollars yearly on shopping for 
virtual items in free-form Virtual Worlds (VWs), such as Second Life. 
Some studies explaining Virtual World users’ motivations to spend real 
money on virtual items from a consumer point of view are only 
available for game-oriented VWs and not for the free-form type. By 
means of conducting in-depth interviews with Second Life shoppers, the 
current paper: (1) explores the added value perceived from shopping in 
free-form VWs, (2) discusses free-form VW shopping motivations in 
relation to those in game-oriented VWs as well as to traditional and 
online shopping motivations, (3) reveals users’ motivations to 
‘reside’ in VWs, and finally (4) classifies and profiles VW shoppers 
into distinct VW shopper types considering their shopping behavior and 
store preferences.

Keywords: shopping motivations, Virtual Worlds, virtual items, shopper 
typology, Second Life.
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Best Regards,
Dr. Melody Kiang
Professor,
Information Systems Department
College of Business Administration
California State University at Long Beach
Long Beach, CA 90840
Tel: 562-985-8944
Fax: 562-985-5478