Managing E-Loyalty through Experience Design

E-business is a new frontier for buying and selling in the New Economy. To date, little attention has been paid to how trust and e-loyalty are developed in e-business contexts, especially with reference to cross-cultural differences. Consumer trust and loyalty have long histories as vital elements of building successful businesses. This research aims to move beyond traditional commerce theory and applications to look at conditions unique to building loyalty and trust in online environments. Trust and loyalty are complex ideas. The goal of the research is not to fully redefine these concepts, but rather to examine specific elements of trust unique to e-business, and recommend practices that enhance business success. In particular, this investigation examines the user experience and user interface in three interrelated realms: (1) Trust Development in E-business-From a social-psychological perspective, the research will examine how trust and e-loyalty are built in online environments. This includes an examination of how relationships are built with customers related to service providers, products, and the company. The goal is to build a causal model of e-loyalty where cultural differences are tested for their differential influences. (2) Culturally Sensitive Interface Design – The user experience will be examined with careful attention to trust and loyalty-building features that draw from cultural symbols and styles. Components of this design involve language translation, but go beyond this to include cultural values, symbols, aesthetics (color, patterns, shapes), icons, graphics etc. that build a familiar, supportive experience for consumers. (3) Adaptive Designs for Mobility – As e-business migrates to mobile or wireless technologies (such as cell phones, Personal Data Assistants, and wearable devices), this research will investigate how the integrated design of such products and their interface can build loyalty and trust. Personal, wireless devices commonly made to fit definite engineering limits present interface and design challenges (e.g. for space or navigation) to support the multiple needs posed by diverse cultures and consumer contexts. The research team at TechBC is uniquely positioned to undertake interdisciplinary research on these topics. Representing program areas of Management and Technology, Interactive Arts and Information Technology, the team has skills sets that are complementary and span the boundaries of integrated technology. In addition, the university has two major laboratory environments that support the research project. The Interactivity Lab at TechBC provides a backdrop for exploring man-machine interaction as an integral element of the user experience, while the EC3 Usability Lab provides a …