E-Commerce Adoption in Saudi Arabia: an Assessment of International, Regional and Domestic Web Presence

Abstract

Electronic Co mmerce (E-Co mmerce) has a growing potential in Saudi A rabia, due to widespread use of the internet and the maturity of the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. The purpose of this paper is to assess the quality of E-Co mmerce websites in Saudi Arabia, using a proposed evaluation instrument. To achieve this aim, six E-Co mmerce websites were selected for evaluation and then categorized into three categories: domestic, reg ional and international. Each category consisted of two E-Co mmerce websites, with the international website category considered as a benchmark. The six websites were evaluated by sixty participants (n=60) with good web design experience, following a set of guidelines offered by the evaluation instrument. The evaluation instrument described six key evaluation factors: appearance, content, organization, interaction, customer-focus and assurance. Each factor was evaluated by several indicators using a five-point scale ranging fro m not applicab le (0) to very strong (4). To unify the views of all evaluators, a technique was introduced which would show the way in wh ich each indicator was assessed based on several checklists (questions). The results therein revealed that international websites were of h igher quality than regional and domestic websites with regard to all aspects of web evaluation. In addition, the quality of regional websites outweighed that of domestic websites with regard to appearance, content, organization, customer-focus and assurance, but not interaction.

Evaluating M?Commerce Systems Success: Measurement and Validation of the DeLone and McLean Model of IS Success in Arabic Society (GCC Case Study)

“…These requirements are already covered in some previous constructs in this chapter (Alotaibi, 2013;Hasan & Abuelrub, 2011). For instance, it has already been discussed that it is important to take advantage of communication channels with customers regularly to provide user feedback, which can significantly help in determining elements that consumers require (Alba et al, 2013;AlGhaith et al, 2010).…”

“…Follow-up could also include the transmission of a text message on a mobile phone to request an evaluation score from 1 to 10 to evaluate service level (this could also be done via a telephone call); or a service evaluation provided by the application if the service is provided via chat. Furthermore, additional and different evaluation mechanisms that can assess the level of service professionalism could be provided to customers (Alotaibi, 2013;Cui et al, 2014;Wang, 2008). The results of this indicator noted that 93.5%…”

“…Research has also focused on Net Benefit as one result of US and IU (Caruana & Fenech, 2005;Lam et al, 2004;Legner, 2011;Wang et al, 2011;Yang et al, 2004). From this, the following hypotheses can be developed: , 2013;Bernroider, 2008;Eid, 2011;Wang & Liao, 2007). With their purpose being to simplify the close relationship between US and IU and NB, H7, H8, and H9…”

Fundamental Requirements for Smartphone Commercial Applications Development for Arabic Societies: Evidence from Three Gulf Cooperation Council States

“… The expected impact on the initiatives for quality improvement affects Customer Satisfaction. It is important to consider the improvement aspects that result from customer feedback, because they are helpful in the development of m-commerce systems and operating systems on which smartphones are dependent (Alotaibi, 2013;Piao, Wang, Wan, & Luo, 2012). They assist the diffuse e-commerce transformation approach to m-commerce environments.…”

“…In this study, the number of indicators collected is seven, with the indicators being divided into six main groups. These groups are the: Appearance (AP), Content (CO), Organisation (OR), Interaction (IN), Customer Focus (CF) and Assurance (AS) (See Figure 1) (Alotaibi, 2013;Barnes & Vidgen, 2002;Büyüközkan, 2009). Each group includes a variety of indicators that help determine community requirements for commercial applications according to the views of the main stakeholders, namely, consumers, vendors and application developers.…”