This paper investigates the antecedents and consequences of customer loyalty in an online business-to-consumer (B2C) context. We identify eight factors (the 8Cs-customization, contact interactivity, care, community, convenience, cultivation, choice, and character) that potentially impact e-loyalty and develop scales to measure these factors. Data collected from 1,211 online customers demonstrate that all these factors, except convenience, impact e-loyalty. The data also reveal that e-loyalty has an impact on two customer-related outcomes: word-of-mouth promotion and willingness to pay more.

The authors investigate the impact of satisfaction on loyalty in the context of electronic commerce. Findings of this research indicate that although e-satisfaction has an impact on e-loyalty, this relationship is moderated by (a) consumers' individual level factors and (b) firms' business level factors. Among consumer level factors, convenience motivation and purchase size were found to accentuate the impact of e-satisfaction on e-loyalty, whereas inertia suppresses the impact of e-satisfaction on e-loyalty. With respect to business level factors, both trust and perceived value, as developed by the company, significantly accentuate the impact of e-satisfaction on e-loyalty. ᭧

Multivariate Data Analysis with Readings J. F. Hair, Jr, R. E. Anderson & R. L. Tatham, 1987, 2nd edn New York, Macmillan vii+449 pp., £17.95 ISBN 0 02 348980 4

Four psychological theories are considered in determining the effects of disconfirmed expectations on perceived product performance and consumer satisfaction. Results reveal that too great a gap between high consumer expectations and actual product performance may cause a less favorable evaluation of a product than a somewhat lower level of disparity.

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