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INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
JUNE 2011
VOL 3, NO 2
Literature review
Customer value in e-Commerce
Since a customer has more than enough stores to choose from online, what are the key values an
online store in computer industry can offer to win the customer? The most relevant studies that
take customer value as one of the main concepts in the e-Commerce and online marketing
context in computer industry in Malaysia. Screening alternatives to form consideration set,
providing information for selecting from consideration set are transaction cost, entertainment,
social interaction, and personal security (Alba et al. 1997). Retailer risk (NS), product price,
valence of experience (Chen & Dubinsky, 2003) are also can include to consideration set in
online marketing in computer industry. Usefulness, ease of use, and enjoyment of the site is very
important (Childers et al. 2001, Davis et al. 1992) in online marketing in computer industry for
customer. Satisfaction, effectiveness, and efficiency are the over all value of the customer (Toe
et al. 2003).
Customer Loyalty
Zeithaml (2000) states that previous studies viewed customer loyalty as being either behavioral
or attitudinal. The behavioral approach is that customers are loyal as long as they continue to buy
and use a good or service (Woodside et al., 1989; Parasuraman et al., 1988; Zeithaml et al.,
1996). Reichheld (2003) states that the strongest evidence of customer loyalty is the percentage
of customers who were enthusiastic enough to refer a friend or colleague to a particular good or
service. The attitudinal approach is that customers feel a sense of belonging or commitment to
the good or service. Baumann et al. (2005) noted that Day (1969) four decades ago introduced
the concept that loyalty has both behavioral and attitudinal dimensions.
The behavior approach includes criteria such as repeat purchase, share-of-wallet, and word of
mouth referrals, whereas the attitudinal approach consists of criteria like commitment, trust or
emotional attachment. Baldinger and Rubinson (1996) examined the link between attitude and
behavior and found that 'the stronger the attitudinal commitment..., the more likely consumers
were to remain loyal' thus the use of an attitudinal measure would also indicate the behavioral
dimension of loyalty.
Loyal customers are undoubtedly important because they contribute to the profitability of the
service providers (Anderson and Mittal, 2000; Anderson and Sullivan, 1993). They visit a
website more frequently than a newly acquired customer and can be served at a reduced
operating cost. They provide free word-of-mouth advertising and are likely to pay regular prices.
In a recent update on e-loyalty, Reichheld and Schefter (2000, p.107) observed that contrary to
current beliefs 'price does not rule the Web; trust does. According to the authors, referrals are
extremely important in e-services and may count for half of the acquired customers for some
services. Furthermore, referred customers were found to ask for advice and guidance from the
loyal customers who recommended the service to them, thus reducing the company's costs for
providing help.
The Impact of the Internet on Marketing for the Computer Industry
It is theorized here that the internet has commenced a transformation of the global and domestic
markets and it did this by effectively shaping and reshaping relationships within the supply chain
and by creating changes that are systematic in the method by which consumers to their shopping,
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