E-commerce and the internet: a study on the impact of relationship marketing opportunities for better online consumer intentional relationship

This dissertation was an effort to integrate the two areas or research, Relationship Marketing (RM) and e-tailing by investigating online consumer RM issues. Specifically, the study examined the influencing factors that represent a significant impact for relationship marketing (RM) involving online consumers and virtual retailers through the World Wide Web. After addressing the research motivation and objectives, a hypothesized model was proposed and constructed to investigate the effects of four distinct E-market characteristics related to consumer relational intentions (perceived shopping risk, perceived consumer power, perceived interaction, and perceived relationship investment). The hypothesized model was supported. It was found that the online market characteristics and mediators incorporated in the model were critical for online consumer relationship building. The relationships among these constructs revealed important implications for e-tailers interested in RM strategies and recommendations for further research.