Differential Impact of Web and Mobile Interactivity on E-Retailers' Performance

Abstract

This study investigates the differential impact of machine and person interactivity on both Web and mobile interfaces on e-retailers' operational and financial performance. Based on data from 463 large e-retailers in the United States and Canada, interesting findings are obtained indicating that Web machine interactivity and mobile person interactivity have significantly positive impacts on e-retailers' operational performance, whereas Web person interactivity and mobile machine interactivity do not. Furthermore, machine interactivity on a Web interface (i.e., Web machine interactivity) has a stronger impact than machine interactivity on mobile interfaces (i.e., mobile machine interactivity), and person interactivity is more influential on mobile interfaces (i.e., mobile person interactivity) than on Web interfaces (i.e., Web person interactivity). E-retailers' operational performance is found to have a significantly positive impact on e-retailers' financial performance. Overall, this study provides in-depth insights into the differential roles of machine and person interactivity on Web and mobile interfaces in affecting e-retailers' performance. Implications for research and practice as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.

Keywords:

• electronic commerce
• mobile commerce
• multichannel retailing
• machine interactivity
• person interactivity

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank the editor, associate editor, and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions during the review process. This research was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC Grant No. 70890081, Grant No. 70971107, and Grant No. 71172188).

Notes

¹Although the mobile version interface of an e-retailer's Web site can be accessed via other mobile devices, including tablet PCs such as iPad, the mobile interactivity that this study examines is the interactivity that occurs on traditional mobile devices, such as cell phones, PDAs, and smart phones. Hereinafter, mobile interactivity, unless otherwise noted, only refers to the interactivity that occurs on the aforementioned three types of mobile devices.

²It is noteworthy that, because the two versions of an e-retailer's Web site interface are both accessed via a Web-based browser installed on a terminal device, mobile interactivity is essentially Web-based interactivity occurring on mobile devices. However, in this study, we use the terms Web interactivity and mobile interactivity to distinguish between them. The use of Web interface and mobile interface follows the same logic.

³ Web (mobile) interactivity refers to the interactivity that occurs on Web (mobile) interfaces in general. That is, the meaning of the term Web (mobile) interactivity incorporates both Web (mobile) machine interactivity and Web (mobile) person interactivity.