Building Lucrative Online Store in Indonesia: An Information Systems Approach

Technology has influenced the way people sell and purchase. Since the conventional markets have been saturated, technology has generated a breakthrough-electronic commerce. E-commerce is associated with selling and buying by using the internet (Rodgers, Yen & Cou, 2002, p.186). Obviously, online trade grows rapidly in line with the growth of technology. Indonesia has experienced online commerce booming as well. According to Indonesia Internet Service Provider Association (2012), Indonesian internet users reached 63 million in 2012 and it will probably increase gradually to 82 million users by 2013. As a result, it is such an enormous opportunity to establish profitable ventures (Jennex, Amoroso & Adelakun, 2004, p.263). Therefore, we should address the key factors of establishing favorable online store system. It is my belief that maintaining consumers’ trust is indispensable in e-commerce and this paper considers previous empirical researchers. 

First of all, McKnight, Choudhury and Kacmar (2002, p.334) claim that the consumers’ trust is a significant factor to overcome perceived risk and uncertainty. Without physical contact, consumers may hesitate to buy commodities from virtual stores (Flavian & Guinaliu, 2006). For instance, internet users who do not have any experience engaging with online transactions may be reluctant to purchase from e-commerce web sites. This is because they are afraid of being exploited in terms of privacy and finance. Therefore, there is no doubt that a company which maintains its consumers’ trust will be more competitive in terms of profitability. 

To establish trust, there are three factors to consider. Firstly, according to Wiedmann, Hennigs, Varelmann and Reeh (2010, p.138-140), technology significantly determines the trust. Moreover, technology element is associated with security and privacy foundation. A secure e-commerce application protects its systems and data from threats or exploitation. This means that an e-commerce system should be prudently designed to become reliable and trustworthy in order to maintain consumers’ trust. The application should be equipped with a secure encryption system and an antivirus to avoid failure. 

Furthermore, Wiedmann et al. (2010, p.142) describe that usability plays a crucial role to maintain trust. The usability is closely related to usefulness, ease of use and good information quality. This means that online stores should be useful, easy and informative in order to eliminate the hesitation of consumers. For example, a catalogue located on a company’s web site should be easy to access and it should state clearly important information, such as price, terms and conditions, delivery methods, payment methods and discounts. Furthermore, Nicolaou and McKnight (2006, p.334-335) examine that perceived information quality influences trusting belief and intention to use e-commerce application as well. In addition, the e-commerce portal can be emphasised with attractive design without omitting usability concepts. 

Finally, Dillon and Reif (2004) point out that customer service positively influences purchase decisions in e-commerce. Customer service consists of vendor knowledge, delivery time, and responsiveness, form of payment, vendor reliability and return convenience. Since customer service can propagate trust and it maintains buyer loyalty as well. Therefore, online stores should establish outstanding customer service in order to enhance its outcome. 

In conclusion, maintaining customers’ trust is the key factor of e-commerce success. Consequently, online businesses should build their system by considering security and privacy concepts, reliable information quality and customer care in order to maintain consumers’ trust.

*) "Copy Paste" without acknowledging the initial author is considered to be academic theft

==========================================================================

REFERENCES

Chen, J., & McQueen, R.J. (2008). Factors affecting e-commerce stages of growth in small Chinese firms in New Zealand: An analysis of adoption motivators and inhibitors. Journal of Global Information Management , 16(1), pp. 26-60.

Dillon, T.W., & Reif, H.L. (2004). Factors influencing consumers' e-commerce commodity purchases. Information Technology, Learning, and Performance Journal , 22(2), pp. 1-12.

Flavian, C., & Guinaliu, M. (2006). Consumer trust, perceived security and privacy policy: Three basic elements of loyalty to a web site. Industrial Management & Data , 106(5), pp. 601-620.

Indonesia Internet Service Provider Association. (2012). 2013, pengguna internet Indonesia bisa tembus 82 juta. Retrieved from http://www.apjii.or.id.

Jennex, M.E., Amoroso, D., & Adelakun, O. (2004). E-Commerce infrastructure success factors for Small companies in developing economies. Electronic Commerce Research , 4(3), pp. 263-286.

McKnight, D.H., Choudhury, V., & Kacmar, C. (2002). Developing and validating trust measures for e-commerce: An integrative typology. Information Systems Research , 13(3), pp. 334-359.

Nicolaou, A.I., & McKnight, D.H. (2006). Perceived information quality in data exchanges: Effects on risk, trust, and intention to use. Information Systems Research , 17(4), pp. 332-351.

Rodgers, J.A., Yen, D.C., & Cou, D.C. (2002). Developing e-business: A strategic approach. Information Management & Computer Security , 10(4), pp. 184-192.

Wiedmann, K.P., Hennigs, N., Varelmann, D., & Reeh, M.O. (2010). Determinants of consumers' perceived trust in IT-ecosystems. Journal of Theoritical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research , 5(2), pp. 137-154.