Online Business - Free Essay Example

2.4.4 Navigation For the online store layout design, character organization and ease of use or accessibility, navigation is an important aspect to the userà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s interface. Nielsen and Norman(2000) state that consumer cognition of the trust of e-vendors and attitude is highly influenced by the website interface design. The interaction of products or service information between clients and e-vendors will be influenced by user interface of e-store in website. a well-designed user interface could minimise cost of searching to clients and reduce the used time for online shopping. When the internet is fast, online shopping is fun and pleasurable, unmixed easy to follow steps by clients, will reduce time spend on shopping and clients find out how to purchase better according to their needs, Li Zhang (2002). Also, the help function should be put in navigation, which will assist clientsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to deal accordingly with the problems they face. Serial nav igation applications such as search engine and site maps are made available to clients to assist them in choosing and purchasing products online by many e-stores. 2.4.5 Online security In e-commerce the security of online transaction is seen as the key factor which is repeatedly debated on, Elliot Fewell (2000). Furnell Karweni (1999) expressed that due to lack of faith in online marketers, clients tend to be more concerned with their personal information all these due to the insecurity brought about by the online market. Financial statements and privacy is seen as the most important to clients compared to other things. The well being of a clientà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s personal information is not well explained and the procedure of how it is done not elaborated on even as the online stores sites give policies for protection of customer personal information and claim secure online transaction. Gaining the faith of clients by online marketers is still a big problem even though inf ormation technology has highly evolved to insure high security levels, Roy et al (2001). Online clients are afraid of the security system of third party cheating characters, especially when they are not assured of their credit cards information safety, observed Miyazaki Fernadez (2001). Clientsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ financial information and identity codes may be leaked during a transaction, and this is a scenario that really exists in online transaction environment. Even when online shopping has many advantages such as relatively low prices and a variety of products to choose from, customers may opt for traditional purchase of goods just because of their information insecurity, Brown Muchira (2004). 2.5 Information risks E-commerce in the 21st century is an unavoidable trend; the biggest hindrance to influence its development being the risk, China is still in its starting stage in the development of electronic trade and has a clear understanding that to take the risk is esse ntial. From the characteristics of e-commerce, the risk can be divided into internal risk and external risk, the risk of information belongs to the external risk. Information risk is seen as in the information sharing process, the accuracy of the information, hysteresis or other hard result from information in-division and the severity of information pollution phenomenon according to Chen Qin (2008). Generally, information risk is from information asymmetry and information insecurity. 2.5.1 Information Asymmetry The problem in controlling the outcome that causes evasion of risk by a business partner is known as information asymmetry, Kumar van Dissel (1996). Moreover, it can be elucidated as where different business parties dealing with each other understand the information differently; the vendor is more enlightened while the client is less informed. Briefly, information asymmetry is that in market transaction, when one party of the transaction cannot observe or supervise t he act of the other party, or the observation and supervision are expensive, the information gotten may also be incomplete, hence, both parties of the transaction will understand asymmetrical information differently. In information asymmetry in the market there are generally two kinds: the vendors have more information than the clients, and the buyers are more enlightened than the vendors, Salam et al (2003). The first one is the main form in many goods market. In the process of online purchase, customers need to research for many goods information to decide, add the accurate products function description, the best price information, the trustworthy commodity information from website forum, credit card information security on the website etc. The Internet just like an information hodgepodge, many e-marketers give invalid information driven by selfishness and inconsideration to the clientsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ interests. The result of information asymmetry includes adverse selection ris k and moral risk. 2.5.1.1 Adverse selection risk Theoretically, one of merits of online transaction is through many of network technology clients are enable to get all the needed information conveniently and within very limited period of time, hence enable information sharing, Chen Qin (2008). However, the business enterprises often from their selfishness end up hiding important product information like commercial secret from clients. Consequently, the vendor has more product information but the customer has only limited information, this makes the client to lack to make accurate evaluation of the quality and cost of products, with this average kind of market, the outcome is vendors being left with the high quality products. 2.5.1.2 Moral risk Moral risk is mostly done as a cheating character. Like the behaviours of the internet, the clients get information that is posted and broadcasted by vendors, and then decide on the costs, use of products which may include incorre ct information based on that information. For example, clients cannot receive the goods after payment, or the vendors provide the poor quality products to customers and they keep changing the description and also do not carry out their parts after the purchase according to the deal. Miyazaki and Fernandez (2001) reported that 56.4% of consumers have met the unauthenticated information when shopping online, 40.9% customers had encountered the commitment of online service but the e-vendors failed to fulfil their end of the bargain, and 36.1% online customers stated that it was impossible to contact the customer care centre or their complaint via the phone or email was ignored point blank. More so, some fraudsters use non trustable emails or false website to cheat shoppers, then victimsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ financial information such as credit card number, account detail is usually shared. The scammers usually hide their identities as bank staff, online retailers or credit card companies to attract users to give personal information, once they key in the information; it is stolen by disguised viruses. Research indicates that more than 5% of people who see the scams will respond to them among them being some who have already being cheated before, Contantinide (2004). Clients tend to lose trust in online shopping due to all these cheating characters. Hence, e-marketers should provide trustworthy and secure information environment to minimize the situation of information asymmetry. 2.5.2 Information security risk Recently, scholars have not come to an agreement on how to generally explain online shopping risk but the security of information security is mostly known as field of e-commerce risk, Ngai Wat (2005). Greenstein (2000) views risk as risk information linked with possible physical, mental or financial lose of confidential data or its destruction, generation or making use of data or programs that can harm the other party. Information insecurity may cause c lient indecision, when dealing with online purchase especially. Information security and privacy are important to the indecision linked with how personal information is dealt with by e-vendors and who is allowed to access it, Tsai Yeh (2010). Personal information in a numerical form can be easily duplicated, shared, and used, which enable e-marketers to establish and be more enlightened about clients. Hence, this information could bring about serious insecurity of inappropriate clients with personalized services and other merits, Malhotra (2004) It is through open network of online purchase that, the computer system is widely used to store, transmit and transact information like statement information, invoice information, information to negotiate and personal business documents. The threats of information security are mostly usually from a variety of things that keep evolving. Forsythe et al (2006) stated that the most common threats are hacking, malicious attacks and computer v irus; other aspects are like physical damage, personal destruction and natural calamities. Hence, client information security needs to be guaranteed as the information security technology of network system is very important in the e-purchase environment.