Geographical considerations in electronic commerce

This paper examines the influences of geographically related variables on business-to-consumer e-commerce in the competitive market environment. Empirical analysis shows that virtual storefront design, product information, product selection, transaction security, consumer privacy, the reliability of service providers and after-sales services are critical to consumer acceptance and adoption of e-commerce. However, geographical and related supply considerations would explicitly appear as additional explanatory variables. Therefore, a theoretically and empirically grounded reference position should be identified in order to facilitate the analysis of consumer behavior and examine the change of market environment. The findings should have a practically useful implication for managing and developing e-commerce in different contexts.