A model for evaluating E-commerce based on cost/benefit and customer satisfaction

Today's business managers face increased pressures to make sure that E-commerce (EC) investment has certain paybacks. They are attempting to find which investment will contribute effectively to their business benefits, thus determining whether money should be spent on these results. This paper develops a conceptual framework for evaluating web-based business-to-customer EC applications. The framework includes EC cost/benefit, EC functionality and customer satisfaction categories, each consisting of a set of factors. This paper then critically examines the inter-dependent and interrelated relationships among these factors through a group testing of hypotheses. The research is conducted based on a web exploration and two respective surveys: customer-oriented and company (supplier)-oriented. Through data analysis, findings are expressed into a factor-relationship model. The model shows how business organisations can use web-based EC applications to obtain further benefits by determining how EC investments can improve customer satisfaction in different ways.