Research On Network Externalities And Their Effects On User Loyalty On B2B Platform

At present, the electronic commerce industry of B2B in China is at a crucial stage that transforming from "information platform" to "transaction services platform".However,a unique phenomenon at this stage differing from traditional economy but wide spreads in e-commerce appeared:the user satisfaction is high; at the same time, the churn rate is high,too. Loyal users are vital to the future of B2B platform with rapid development and intensive competitions. For a B2B platform, how to enhance the user experience, and gradually change the user habit, enhance the user viscosity, access to new profit growth point are the problems to solve. Therefore, how to better understand network externalities and their features on B2B platform, effectively train and maintain loyal users via the network externalities, make B2B enterprises have sustainable and effective competitive advantage, is the focus of this paper.Firstly, this paper constructed a concept model showing the mechanism of network externalities on a B2B platform. With the help of a well-known domestic B2B platform and its operation data, using the method of mathematical statistics, this paper checked the existing of network externalities, and explored the direction of them and calculated the size of them. Conclusion was drawn as follows:Both cross network-externalities and self-network externalities exist on a B2B platform, and both the two kinds of network externalities have positive effects. For a B2B platform, expanding the user base one side has obvious effects on the utility of bilateral user.Secondly, using the empirical study method and questionnaire survey, this paper made a test of the mediating effect of switch costs between satisfaction and loyalty, conclusion is drawn as follows:Switch costs have a partial mediating effect between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, the total mediating effect is 21.68%.Then, based on literature study, and mathematical analysis and empirical study this paper did preliminary, this paper considered switch costs as a pre-factor affecting loyalty, and built a concept model of loyalty under the influence of network externalities. Using SEM method, this paper focused on the roles of network externalities (antecedent effecting role and the moderating role) in the process of loyalty. Conclusions were drawn as follows:Network externalities have direct effects on perceived value while they have no significant effects on satisfaction; network externalities have a moderating role between satisfaction and loyalty, higher perception of network externalities can help B2B platform make satisfied users transfer into loyal users."Network externalities" is a conception of new economics; this paper makes the theory extended to the network user behavior research category, and provides a new perspective for the study of customer loyalty to enrich the theoretical study of user satisfaction and loyalty under the environment of electronic commerce platform. We hope that this paper can propose suggestion for domestic B2B enterprise to develop and maintain loyal users.