Trust transfer theory posits that trust can be transferred from the selling platform to the sellers and has been widely applied in the e-commerce environment. However, prior research has overlooked the boundary conditions under which trust can be transferred. Understanding of the general institutional mechanisms is necessary to ensure the trust environment underlying e-commerce. The present study identifies two key moderators that affect the relationships between trust-in-platform, trust-in-seller, and purchase intention in consumer to consumer (C2C) online shopping contexts: perceived effectiveness of e-commerce institutional mechanisms (PEEIM) and perceived website quality of the seller (PWQS). Using a sample of 294 online buyers from TaoBao (a major Chinese C2C portal), we find that trust-in-platform positively affects trust-in-seller; meanwhile, trust-in-seller positively influences purchase intention. In addition, PEEIM negatively moderates the relationship between trust-in-platform and trust-in-seller, whereas it positively moderates the relationship between trust-in-seller and purchase intention. PWQS positively moderates the relationship between trust-in-platform and trust-in-seller but negatively moderates the relationship between trust-in-seller and purchase intention. Our findings complement trust transfer theory by demonstrating how PEEIM and PWQS have different moderating effects on the trust transfer process. For C2C platform providers and sellers, the findings suggest that they should strategically build buyers’ trust according to different levels of PEEIM and PWQS in order to promote buyers’ purchasing behavior.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how the shoppers’ social value perception affects their purchase intention in online shopping context through its distinct role and relationships with other value dimensions. The moderating effect of the characteristics of other members on the relationship among value dimensions and the difference of value perception between experienced and inexperienced members were also tested to identify the boundary conditions of the proposed model. Design/methodology/approach: The survey included 272 consumers from a well-known social shopping website in China to test the hypotheses. Findings: The results indicate that hedonic and utilitarian value fully mediate the relationship between social value and purchase intention. Perceived expertise positively moderates the relationship between social value and the other two values. In particular, the results found that while inexperienced members can acquire both higher utilitarian and hedonic value from social value and their purchase intention relies more on the hedonic value, experienced members place greater emphasis on the utilitarian value. Practical implications: The results may help vendors regain confidence in the social shopping business mode and offer specific policy implications on how to leverage shoppers’ social value perception to generate their purchase intention in a social shopping context. Originality/value: This study focuses on the legitimacy of the independent role of social value and sheds light on the relationships among social value and other value dimensions based on social capital theory, which was under-explored by previous studies. Besides, this study clarifies the moderating role of experience, which highlights the previously unnoticed changing role of consumers’ value perception.

We study a periodic-review multi-technology production-inventory problem of a single product with emissions trading over a planning horizon consisting of multiple periods. A manufacturer selects among multiple technologies with different unit production costs and emissions allowance consumption rates to produce the product to meet independently distributed random market demands. The manufacturer receives an emissions allowance at the beginning of the planning horizon and is allowed to trade allowances through an outside market in each of the following periods. To solve the dynamic multi-technology production-inventory problem, we virtually separate the problem into an inner layer and an outer layer. Based on the structural properties of the two layers, we find that the optimal emissions trading policy follows a target interval policy with two thresholds, whereas the optimal production policy has a composite base-stock structure. Our theoretical results show that no more than two technologies should be selected simultaneously at any state. However, different groups of technologies may be selected at different states. Our numerical tests confirm that it can be economically beneficial for a manufacturer to maintain multiple available technologies.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate effects of two integrative mechanisms of third-party logistics (3PL) integration (i.e. information sharing and process coordination) between users and providers on relationship satisfaction, and further explores how partnership-surrounding (e.g. legal unprotectability) and partnership-specific barriers (e.g. measurement difficulty and cooperation difficulty) influence 3PL integration in the context of Chinese 3PL practices.Design/methodology/approach: Using data collected from 247 3PL users in China, this study uses the structural equation modeling method to empirically examine the relationship among partnership-surrounding/specific barriers, 3PL integration and relationship satisfaction.Findings: The results show that information sharing has no significant effect on relationship satisfaction, while process coordination has a positive effect on relationship satisfaction and partially mediates the relationship between information sharing and relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, as partnership-specific barrier, measurement difficulty and cooperation difficulty are negatively related to information sharing and process coordination. Surprisingly, as partnership-surrounding barrier, legal unprotectability is not significantly related to information sharing but is positively related to process coordination.Originality/value: As a comprehensive study on 3PL user-provider relationship in China, this study extends existing 3PL literature by providing evidence about the importance of 3PL integration and different types of barriers to 3PL integration, also providing managerial implications for 3PL users, providers, law and regulation makers about how to better implement 3PL integration in China.