approachkaixin001

2011MacmillanPublishersLtd.
0967-3237JournalofTargeting,MeasurementandAnalysisforMarketingVol.
19,3/4,183–193www.
palgrave-journals.
com/jt/INTRODUCTIONOnlinedatinginWesternsocietieshasformedamatureindustryandcompetitionhasenteredastagewherermsareincreasinglytargetingevensmallernichemarketsforcustomersofspecicraces,regionsandprofessionsfordifferentiationandprotability.
1ModelledoneHarmonyandMatch.
com,datingsitesinChinahavegrownrapidlyparalleltothisglobaltrendyetonitsownlearningcurve.
Socialtrends,too,alsoprovokesuchanindustrygrowth:thereareafewextremelypopularTVshowsadaptedfromtheBritishITV's'TakeMeOut'2intoaChinesecontextforweeklytelevisiondatinggameshows.
WhileonlinedatinginWesternsocietyismerelyaprivatematter,inChinahowever,duetotheChinesetraditionalvalueoffamilylinecontinuityCorrespondence:JiyaoXunBusinessSchool,UniversityofNottingham,A74NorthBuilding,JubileeCampus,WollatonRoad,NottinghamNG81BB,UKE-mail:lixjx8@nottingham.
ac.
ukOriginalArticleMeasuringtheeffectsofdatingwebsites'investmentsinuserself-presentationandpeer-interactivityonrmperformanceReceived(inrevisedform):4thNovember2011JiyaoXunisaPhDcandidateinmarketingatNottinghamUniversityBusinessSchool,UK.
HereceivedanMAinmarketingandanMScinmanagementresearchfromNottinghamUniversityandOxfordUniversity,respectively.
HepreviouslyworkedforaleadingglobalretailerandengagedinitsinternationalisationprocessintomainlandChina.
ABSTRACTWithinternetrmsincreasinglyinvestinginnewtechnologiesandapplicationstomaketheirwebsitesattractive,socialandinteractivewithe-storecustomers,lessisknownaboutthesuccessdriversforonetypeofe-store,namelyonlinedatingsites.
Datingsitesarecharacterisedbycustomers'heavyuseofself-presentationsandhighfrequencyofpeer-to-peerinteractionswiththegoalofndingapartner.
However,theirrespectivecontributiontodatingsites'rmperformanceisunclear.
Thisarticleaimstoempiricallyexaminetheeffectsofthetwocustomer-focusedwebfunctions:customerself-presentationandpeer-interactivityonrm-performanceusingdatafromaChinesedatingwebsite.
Thendingsconrmthecrucialroleofself-presentationforadatingsite,whereitalsosignicantlyinuencesthelevelofpeer-interactivity,trafctoone'sprolepage,andrmperformance.
Yet,theeffectofpeer-interactivityisnotevidentfromthissample.
Overall,thisstudyoffersmeasuresinastructuralmodel,ndingsfromwhichwouldhelpe-marketerstostrategicallyappropriatewebinvestmentsineitherfunctionforenhancingrmperformance.
JournalofTargeting,MeasurementandAnalysisforMarketing(2011)19,183–193.
doi:10.
1057/jt.
2011.
19;publishedonline5December2011Keywords:internetmarketing;self-presentation;peer-interactivity;onlinedating;webinvestment;structuralequationmodellingXun2011MacmillanPublishersLtd.
0967-3237JournalofTargeting,MeasurementandAnalysisforMarketingVol.
19,3/4,183–193184andlialpietythroughmarriage,usingdatingsitesforseekingpotentialmarriagepartnershasbecomeasocialtrend.
Fordigitalmarketers,thismeansbigbusiness:China'sleadinginternetresearchconsultinggroupiResearch's2009internettrafcmonitoringreportonsites'pageviewsperweeksuggeststhatonlinedatingtopsthelistbyanunprecedentedadvantage(152.
77pages),followedbyonlinesearch(30.
17pages),blogs(28.
05pages),socialnetwork(22.
48pages),nancenews(22.
24pages).
3OfcialstatisticsfromtheChinaInternetNetworkInformationCentre(CINIC)ndthatbytheendof2010,51.
4percentofChineseInternetusershadvisitedonlinedatingsites,agurethathasincreased5.
6percentsince2009andaccountedfor0.
24billionofthepopulation.
4iResearchestimatesthecompoundannualgrowthrate(CAGR)fordatingsites'singleadultuserswillbe25.
9percentfor2010–2015withtheonlinedatingmarkethavingaCAGRrateof31.
3percent,reaching17.
7millionby2015.
3Currently,thebusinessmodelforonlinedatingsitesisgenerallybasedontwokeycomponents:rst,toprovideanunchargedserviceforuserregistrationandpersonalinformationuploadingontothesite.
Thesitethenmaintainsuserdata,offerspersonalitytestsoruseridentication(forexample,ID/photo)verications;second,tomoderatebetweenpotentialdaterswhereusersarepermittedtoexchangeon-siteprivatecommunicationmessagestopotentialsforafee.
Bothcomponentsgenerateincomefordatingsitesbecauseactivepayingmembers(thatis,presentingselfandinteractingwithothers)arecrucialtoanonlinedatingbusiness'marketsurvival.
However,theoverallconversionrateforregisteredusersbecomingpaidmembersremainschallenging.
Strikinganoptimalbalanceonthetwocomponents,therefore,inarapidlygrowingmarketisextremelycostlyandchallenging.
Ontheonehand,somecustomerscaneasilybecome'freeriders'inusingtheself-presentationserviceon-sitedespitethefeeshavingbeenreducedaslowas45Chineseyuan(thatis,4.
50)fora3-monthmembership(MsLiZhu,CEOofJuedui100.
com).
5Ontheotherhand,frequentopportunisticbehaviouremergesfromsomeregistereduserswhoembedtheirinstantmessagingaccountsintotheirphotographssubmittedtotheirprolesforprivatecontactingbycircumventingthedatingsite'smanipulation.
Thesebehavioursaredetrimentaltoasite'sinvestmentonpeer-interactivitymechanisms.
Firmslosea0.
20servicefeeforanon-contractualuserforeverypotentialpieceofon-sitemessageproceeded.
Despitethemarketsizeforonlinedatingbreakingthroughtheone-billionpeoplemarkoverall,someoftheonlinedatingsiteshavenotyetbecomeprotableinChina.
5E-marketersaresearchingfortheiroptimalbusinessmodeloninvestmentinuserself-presentationfunctionalitiesanduserinteractivityfunctionalitieswhilecopingwiththeirnancialchallenges.
Asapureonlinebusiness,brandbuildingbywayofinvestmentsinwebdesignandmultimediaself-presentationmechanismsconstitutesthelargestexpenseformostsites.
However,thisdoesattractsizeablenumberofusers,someofwhombecomepayingmembersafterextensivebrowsing.
Thiscostlyprocessinevitablyreectsthersttwostages(thatis,brandbuildingconsideration)describedbyReynolds6(p.
156)inhismodelrelatinghowdigitalmarketingtools,marketingobjectivesandconsumerbehavioursarelinked.
6ManydatingsitesinChinaareevenreachingoutforoverseasventurecapitalasnance:Jiayuan.
com,forinstance,China'slargestonlinedatingservice,waslistedontheNasdaqinMay2011preparingforitsnextstagemarketexpansion.
7Othersites,however,chosetoavoiddirectcompetitiononbrandbuildingorwebgraphicdesigninvestmentasitremainsdifculttodifferentiatefromtheclustersofcompetitors.
SiteslikeMarry5.
comaimtoenhancetheotherportionofthebusinessmodelbyconvergingvaluableresourcesinlaunchingsophisticatedrecommendationmechanisms(thatis,peoplewhoviewedCandidateAalsoviewedCandidatesX,Y,Z)toencourageuserinteractionsforafeeamongasmallerbuthighlytargetedgroupofcandidatesbasedontheirselectioncriteria.
Thepotentialproblemliesinthat,whilebothareseenascrucial,themagnitudesofMeasuringtheeffectsofdatingwebsites'investments2011MacmillanPublishersLtd.
0967-3237JournalofTargeting,MeasurementandAnalysisforMarketingVol.
19,3/4,183–193185theimpactsofthetwowebsiteinvestmentsonfunctionalities(thatis,self-presentationandpeer-interactivity)areuncleartomarketers,renderingtheirsiteinvestmentmanipulationlessoptimalandoftenineffective.
Withouttheinvestmentinwebdesign,userswilllacktrustinthesite'sability8andpotentiallyloseinterestinfurtheronlineinteractivity.
Whilecustomerpeer-to-peerinteractivitymaybeprotableforashort-termwindow,itinherentlylacksthemomentumtoreachacriticalmassoverthelongrun.
Todate,verylittleisknownabouttheextenttowhichthetwouser-initiatedactivities,thatisself-presentationandpeer-interactivity,couldcontributetodatingsitermperformance.
Inthisstudy,itdrawsononlineself-presentationliteratureanddevelopsrm-customerwebinteractivityintopeer-interactivity,toempiricallytestasetofhypothesizedrelationshipsusingrealuserdatafromaChinesesite.
Generalizedstructuredcomponentanalysis(GeSCA),9whichrepresentsacomponent-basedapproachtostructuralmodelling,isusedinthisstudytoaddressthehypothesisedrelationships.
LITERATUREREVIEWExtantinternetmarketingliteraturegenerallyexaminese-storesuccessusingrm-focusedantecedentsormanipulationsoncustomerpatronageintentions.
Forinstance,SongandZinkhan10ndwhenthelevelofmessagepersonalizationincreases,interactivityperceptionsandsiteeffectivenessareenhancedforane-storecustomer.
10LiuandShrum11arguethatdependingoncustomerinvolvement,sellers'webinteractivitymayeitherenhanceorinhibitpersuasion.
11VeryrecentresearchfromKhleretal12focusesonhowcompaniesuseonline'socializationagents'tohelpnewcustomersadjusttoandfunctionwithintheserviceenvironmentmoreeffectivelyinthebankingindustry,whichinturninuencesrm-levelperformance.
12Incomparison,however,verylittleattentionhasbeenpaidtotheeffectsoncustomer-focuseddriversofanonlinebusiness.
Whileliteratureononlinedatinggenerallyadoptsacustomer-focusedperspective,forinstance,identityconstruction,13onlineself-presentationanddeception,14theattractivenessofonlineproles,15literatureappearstobesporadicandexploresonlyasinglefactoratatime.
Withonlinedatingsitesincreasinglyinvestinginnewcombinationsoffunctionalities,aninvestigationofseveralfactorssimultaneouslymayuncoverinsightsthatwereotherwiselesslikely.
Onlinedatingisnottobeconfusedwithanotherpopulartopic,thatiselectroniccommunity,16wherethefocusisonopenlyopinionsharinganddiscussionswithoutnancialpurposes.
Forthecommercialandprivatenatureofdatingsites,thecommunicationsforonlinedaters,however,remainsagoal-directedone-on-oneactivity.
Fioreetal15suggesttherearefoursystematicpartsforonlinedatingsites:(1)personalproles(forexample,demographicandphotograph,andsoon);(2)searchingand/ormatchingmechanism;(3)onsitecommunication(forexample,privatemailsystem,orcontent-less'winks');(4)otherformsofoptionalself-description(personalitytest,audiovideoclip).
15Thiscategorisationisdenedfromaninformationsystemperspective.
Fromabusinessmodelormarketingviewpoint,thereareactuallytwowebinvestmentcomponents:self-presentationandpeer-interactivityfunctionalities.
Thenotionofself-presentationcontainspersonalprolesandoptionalrich-mediadescriptionswhilepeer-interactivityincludesinteractiveactivitieslikesearchorcommunicationwithotherusers.
THEORETICALFRAMEWORKANDHYPOTHESISMODELThefollowingrstlypresentsaresearchmodelwherethedependentvariableisrmperformanceandtheindependentvariablesareself-presentation,peer-interactivityandtrafctopage.
Therelevantliteratureinsupportingthesehypothesizedrelationshipswillbediscussed(Figure1).
TrafctoprolepageTrafctopagerelatesspecicallytothevisitstoapersonalprolepageonadatingsite.
Generally,highwebsitetrafcservesan'intermediategoal'fore-businesssuccess.
17Xun2011MacmillanPublishersLtd.
0967-3237JournalofTargeting,MeasurementandAnalysisforMarketingVol.
19,3/4,183–193186audience:inatypicallyheterosexualdatingsite,menlookforwomen,andwomenlookformen.
Thismeansonehashighercontrolofself-presentationinadecontexutalisedvirtualspace:purposefulself-presentationisforwhatoneintendsto'give'whileinformationthatcouldbe'givenout'isstrategicallyreduced.
Someresearchersrenethistypeas'selectiveself-presentation'.
21Highcontrolofone'sownonlineself-presentationcouldreducepotentialdaters'searchefforts;thustheycouldbereachedbyintendedaudiencesmoreefciently.
Hypothesis2:Onlinedatinguser'sself-presentationpositivelyrelatestotrafctotheirprolepage.
Itisworthnotingthatrecentresearchonself-presentationondatingsitesfocusespredominatelyonphotographswhileneglectingtextualself-presentations.
15Asdatingsitesarebecomingsophisticatedwithvariationsforpresentingselfon-site,amultidimensionalmeasureofself-presentationisexpectedtobemorereliableandrealistic.
Thisincludesuploadingone'sphotos,providingpersonalinformation(forexample,age,ethnicity,education),physicalappearance(bodytype,height,andweight),lifestyle(smoking,alcohol),relationshipstatus(haskids,maritalstatus)andotherextendedinformationsuchashobbies,politicalviews,TVwatchinghabits,andsoondependingondifferentsitedesign.
Sociallydesirableandlatestupdatesonself-presentationaremorelikelytobefeaturedonthedatingsitehomepagebythemanagementinordertoincreaseitsexposuretovisitorsandencouragememberregistration.
Indeed,Ellisonetal22ndthatonlinedatingusersstrategicallypresenttheir'idealself'tondapartner.
22Asallthisself-presentationtakesupauser'svaluabletime,deliberationandresourcestosociallyconstructanidealself,themorecustomersimmersethemselvesinself-presentation,themorelikelytheyaretobecomepayingmemberstofullyutilisetheironlinedatingactivitieswhichisinlinewithprospecttheoryonlossaversionbias.
23Onthecontrary,customerswithfewself-presentationefforts,thatisfewphotos,Self-PresentationPeer-InteractivityTraffictopageMatchmaking(firmperformance)H2H3H4H5H6H1ControlvariablesAge,gender,relationshipstatusOnlinedatingexperienceJustlikewebsitetrafc,trafctoone'sdatingprolepageisonlyanecessarybutnotsufcientconditionforsuccessinndingapartner.
18Visitorsprobefurtherbybrowsingpotentialcandidates'personalattributessuchasphysicalappearance,lifestyle,andsoonbeforemakinganapproachoravoidancedecision.
FirmperformanceFirmperformanceforadatingsiteismeasuredbythenumberoffriendsonehasacceptedwhichservesasaproxyforthesite'snancialperformance.
Adatingsiteusuallyhasamechanismofrecordingthenumberoffriendsonehasaccepted.
19Sendingfriends'requests,communicatingwithon-sitemessagingservicesandvirtualgiftslikeowersrepresentactiveusersandissimilartocourtingbehaviourintheofineworld.
Currentindustrystatisticsshow15percentoftheseactiveusersinthecourtingprocesswillconvertintopaidmemberswithanaveragespendof20perpersonannually.
19Hypothesis1:Trafctoonlinedatinguser'sprolepagepositivelyrelatestodatingsite'srmperformance.
Onlineself-presentationFirst,onlinedatingtypicallyconstitutesagoal-directedbehaviour,inwhichonlinedatingusershavecleargoalstoachieve,forexamplendingromanticorsimplysexualpartners.
20Unlikeself-presentationinanonlinespaceorsocialnetworksite,theintrinsicmotivationinrelationshipbuildingismuchhigherfordatingsites.
TheypresentthemselvestoanintendedFigure1:Researchmodel.
Source:author.
Measuringtheeffectsofdatingwebsites'investments2011MacmillanPublishersLtd.
0967-3237JournalofTargeting,MeasurementandAnalysisforMarketingVol.
19,3/4,183–193187inadequateordiscretepersonalproles,aremorelikelytoabandonthesiteorswitch.
Hypothesis3:Onlinedatingusers'self-presentationpositivelyrelatestodatingsites'rmperformance.
Peer–interactivityonlineTheinteractivenatureoftheinternetandtypicallythesecond-generationtechnologicalcompetences6alsofosterinteractionsamongsiteusers.
Yet,literatureonwebinteractivityinmarketingstudiesgenerallyfocusesonuser-to-systemoruser-to-rminteractivitybutlessonuser-to-userinteractivityor,putdifferently,thepeer-interactivity.
Thenotionofpeer-interactivityonlinehasreceivedcomparativelylittletheoreticalandempiricalattention.
Peer-interactivitycanbedenedastheactivelycontrolledtwo-waycommunicationamongpeeractors(users)inasynchronisedway.
Thisdenitiondrawsonconventionalconceptsofinteractivitythathasthreekeyfactors:activecontrol,two-waycommunicationandsynchronicity.
24Interactionsamongpeershavebeensuggestedtoinitiatesocialexchangeprocess,promotingreciprocalbehaviour,andthesocialexchangerelationshippositivelyrelatestotaskperformance.
25Virtualpeerinteractionplaysanimportantroleincreatingahealthyself-identityforyoungmenandwomen.
13Itisvitaltousers'onlinedatingexperienceandeventuallyconvertsregisteredusersintopaid-subscribers/members.
Thiswouldbemoretrueofadatingsitecomparedwithmorestandardisede-shoppingsitesbecauseonlinedatingisarguedasan'experiencegood'wherepeopleusepeer-interactionasanalogoustorealrstdates.
26Managoetal,13forinstance,explainthatyoungmenandwomen'sburgeoningsexualityandrelationshipgoalsdriveavarietyofromanticpartner-seekingbehaviour,thatisbrowsingpotentialpartners'prolepages.
13Hypothesis4:Onlinedatingusers'peer-interactivitypositivelyrelatestotrafctotheirprolepage.
Fordigitalmarketers,peer-interactivityisanintegralpartofthedatingsitebusinessmodel.
Anon-siteself-presentationserviceisprimarilyusedasabrand-buildingandconsideration-setconstructionstrategy.
6Itisusedtocultivatecustomers'usagepreferencesandtosubscribetothesite.
Peerinteractivityinparalleltoself-presentationfunctionsisalsoaccountableforasubstantialcontributiontoonlinedatingsites'nancialperformance.
CurrentdatingsitesinChinachargeasmallfee(about0.
20)for'payasyougo'customersforexchanginganon-siteprivatemessage.
Amembercouldalsochoosetosubscribeto1-month,3-monthor6-monthcontractsorservicepackageswithusageallowancesaccordingly.
Jiayuan.
com,thelargestdatingsiteinChina(withrevenuesof15millionin2010),forinstance,onlystartedtomakeprotsfrom2008whenchargedmembersforon-siteprivatemessagesforafee.
5Hypothesis5:Onlinedatingusers'peer-interactivitypositivelyrelatestoadatingsite'srmperformance.
Withregardtotheinterrelationshipbetweenself-presentationandpeer-interactivity,itappearsreasonabletopositthateffortsinself-presentationwouldleadtoanincreasedlevelofpeer-interactivity.
TomaandHancock14identifythemotivationalandrelationalgoalaspectforself-presentation.
14Byempiricallystudyingnearly70heterosexualonlinedaters,theyfoundonlinedatersstrategicallyandselectivelypresentthemselvesassuchbylyingaboutphysicalappearancetodrawattentionfromtheoppositesex.
Inlinewithevolutionarytheories,self-presentation,forexamplephysicalattractiveness,inthedatingrealmisimportantforcourtinginitiation.
27,28However,itislesslikelythatpeer-interactivitycausesself-presentation.
Thisisbecauseadequateself-presentationprecedespeer-interactivity.
Socialpenetrationtheorypositsthatself-presentationisatypeofcommunicationthroughwhichindividualsexchangeself-relatedinformationtoothersinexchangeforothers'informationonasharedbasis.
Self-presentationandthereforereciprocal-basedcommunicationleadtointimacyandrelationaldevelopmentbetweenthedatingXun2011MacmillanPublishersLtd.
0967-3237JournalofTargeting,MeasurementandAnalysisforMarketingVol.
19,3/4,183–193188parties.
29Indeed,empiricalevidencedoessupportthisviewpoint.
SomeChinesedatingsiteswillremindmembersthatself-presentationwithoutaprolephotographwillbesixtimesto11timeslesslikelytobe'clicked'byothermembers.
ResearchfromanAustralianonlinedatingsitesuggests85percentofpeoplewillnotcontactthosewhohavenophotographsonprolepages.
30Hypothesis6:Onlinedatingusers'self-presentationpositivelyrelatestotheirpeer-interactivity.
Finally,twosetsofcontrolvariablesareaddedintothemodel.
Itisexpectedthatcustomerage,genderandrelationshipstatus(thatis,singleornon-single)mayinuencetheiroutcomesandindirectlyimpactonrms'performance.
Similarly,thosewhohaveextensiveexperienceofusingonlinedatingservicesmayachievemoreeffectiveoutcomescomparedtonoviceusers.
METHODProcedureAChineseonlinedatingsitewaschosenforempiricalstudy.
Thewebsitedoesnotwishtobeidentied('TargetSite'–TShereafter).
ConsideringthatthissiteiscomparativelysmallandservesanichemarketforoverseasChinese,keyparametersofTSwereanalysedonAlexa.
comincomparisonwiththeindustryaverageforitsrepresentativeness.
TSsharedsimilarcontentstructureonself-presentationandpeer-interactionfunctions.
Itsparameteronpageviewsbyuserandtimeonsite(inminutes)wascomparablewithChinesemainstreamsiteswithsimilarpopularityranks(forexample,Ipart.
cn).
Totriangulatethisposition,researchresultsfromiUserTrackerontheaveragepageviewsondatingsitesinChinain2009werecompared(forexample,8.
93pageviewsand6.
25minutesonsite).
3ResultsshowedTSwasabovetheaverage.
TheseresultsjointlyindicateTSisinlinewithindustryaverageandcouldserveasanacceptablesample(Table1).
Thedatacollectedincludesusagedataforthemostactive200menandwomenmemberswithanequalsplitbygender.
Theywererankedbytheiraveragedailytrafcandpageviewsontheirdatingprolepageoverthepast90days.
Thesamplerepresentsactivesitememberswhoareactivelylookingforadate.
Basedononlinedatingliterature,andsite-specicdatasuppliedbyTS,thefollowingvariablesweremanuallycollected.
MeasurementsusedforstructuralmodellingareshowninTable2.
Theycanbecategorisedintothreegroups:(1)indicatorsforself-presentation:numberofpictures,numberofrecords;numberoflogs;numberoftopics;numberofpolls,numberofactivities.
(2)Indicatorsforpeer-interactivity:theseincludevisitstoothers'pagesandactivitiesonothers'page(forexample,makingacommentonapictureorparticipatinginanon-sitepoll).
(3)Trafctopageisalsogivenasameasurefortheexternalclicksreceivedinthepastthreemonths.
NumberoffriendsisgivenontheprolepageofeachmemberafterTable1:AcomparisonofthetargetsitewithmainstreamdatingsitesinChinaPopularity:trafcrankinChinaReputation:siteslinkinginPageviewsbyuserTimeonsite(mins)Targetsite900–10001261614Jiayuan.
com5316232219Baihe.
com38213101310Supei.
com6710307128Ipart.
cn982144186Juedui100.
com2294417148Marry5.
com1756133375IndustryaverageNANA8.
936.
25AlldatabasedonMarch–May2011datacollectedandreportedbyAlexa.
com.
Source:author.
Measuringtheeffectsofdatingwebsites'investments2011MacmillanPublishersLtd.
0967-3237JournalofTargeting,MeasurementandAnalysisforMarketingVol.
19,3/4,183–193189theyconrmedafriendrequestfromanotherregisteredmember.
Thisservesasaproxytormperformance.
Lastly,age,gender,relationshipstatus(singleornon-single)werecollectedbyvisitingthe200members'prolepages.
Theirgenderauthenticityhasbeenveriedandscrutinisedbysitemanagementtoavoidmisreporting.
ThedatawerepreparedinPASW18(thatis,IBMSPSSstatisticssoftware)foridentifyingentryerror,frequencyanalysis,datacleaningandmissingdatacomputation.
Instage1,descriptivedataanalysisandt-testswereperformed.
However,missingdataoccurmainlyonmembers'age(58missing)andrelationshipstatus(42missing)eitherbecausesomemembersdonotdisclosesuchinformation,orstrictprivacyrestrictionhasbeenset(Table3).
ResultsInstage1,aseriesoft-testswerecarriedoutamongthekeyvariables(forexample,trafctoprolepageandnumberoffriends)bycomparinggender,relationshipstatusandage.
Anothert-testwasconductedtotestwhetherthereisadiscrepancybetweenthosewhoreporttheirrelationalstatusasopposedthosewhochosenotto.
Theresultsdisconrmsuchspeculation.
Amissingvalueanalysiswasconductedandshowedmissingdatadidnotposeathreattothisdataset.
Theywerethenreplacedbylineartrendatpointmethod.
Finally,noneofthet-testsweresignicant;datawerethencollapsedforfurtheranalysis.
Instage2,consideringthisdatasetcontainsdistributionswithextremelyhighscores,forinstance685forvisitstoothermembers'pages,butonlytwoforthenumberofusers'ownlogs,anaturallogarithmwasappliedtotransformthedependentandindependentvariablesontoascalebasis.
31Thisprovidescommongroundforallvariablesinastructuralmodel.
ThenaldatasetwaspreparedinASCIIformatforGeSCAsoftwaretocomputepathestimatesforastructuralmodel.
StructuralequationmodellingStructuralmodelsarecommonlyusedinmarketingstudiestoproberelationshipsamonglatentvariableswherethesevariablescannotbemeasureddirectly.
Suchamodellingmethodistermedasecond-generationstatisticalmethod.
32Forthisstudy,constructsareallformativemeasures(seeTable2);itthenneedsTable2:MeasurementsLatentvariablesTypeofmeasuresNumberofindicatorsIndicatorsSelf-presentationFormative4Numberofpictures—Numberofrecords—Numberoflogs—NumberoftopicsPeer-interactivityFormative2Numberofvisitingother'spages;—Numberofactivitiesonother'spagesTrafcFormative1NumberoftrafctopageMatchmakingsuccess(rmperformance)Formative1NumberoffriendsControlvariablesNA4Relationshipstatus,gender,age,onlinedatingexperienceSource:author.
Table3:ParticipantsdemographicFrequencyPercentAge(n=142,71%)18–2074.
921–3012990.
831–4053.
541–5010.
7>5110.
7Gender(n=200,100%)Male10050Female10050Relationshipstatus(n=158,79%)Single13484.
8Non-single2415.
2Source:author.
Xun2011MacmillanPublishersLtd.
0967-3237JournalofTargeting,MeasurementandAnalysisforMarketingVol.
19,3/4,183–193190acomponent-basedstructuralmodellingratherthantraditionalcovariance-basedstructureanalysis(forexample,LisrelorAMOS).
Generalisedstructuredcomponentanalysis(GSCA)hasrecentlybeenintroducedintomarketingresearchandbeenrecommendedforuseasaprioritymethodologychoiceforcomponent-basedstructuralmodels.
GSCAcopeswellwithviolationofnormalityandformativemeasuresandoffersastrongerglobaloptimisingfunctioninparameterrecoveryandanadditionaloverallmeasureofmodelt.
9GeSCAwasthesoftwareusedtoconductGSCAanalysisforthisstudy.
33GeSCAanalysessuggestedseveralkeyndings(correlationsoflatentvariablesseeTable4):(1)theoverallmodelachievedaconsiderabletof0.
45withacceptabletmeasuresforthefourlatentvariablesinexplainingthedependentvariablermperformance(measuredbymatchmakingasaproxy).
(2)Thenewlyproposedconstructofpeer-interactivityachievedanR2valueof0.
69indicatingexcellentmeasurementandempiricalsupport.
Single-itemmeasuresfortrafctopageandrmperformancealsoachieved0.
60and0.
53,bothofwhichareacceptable.
(3)Forthesixhypothesisedrelationships,fourweresupported(seeTable5).
Specically,Hypothesis1positstrafctodatingprolepageleadstotentativematchmakingon-siteandthereforeincreasesrmperformance.
Itissupported.
Hypotheses2and3aresupportedaswellwhichpositthatself-presentationonadatingsitepositivelyrelatestotrafctoprolepageandrmperformance.
Incontrast,fromthissampleatleast,peer-interactivitydoesnotseemtoaffecttrafctoone'sprolepageandleadstomatchmakingsuccess(andthereforeenhancesrmperformance).
Lastly,asexpected,self-presentationpositivelyandstronglyinuencespeer-interactivity,supportingHypothesis6.
Theinvestigationonthecontrolvariableonthedependentvariable(thatis,rmperformanceusingmatchmakingsuccessasaproxy)wasestimatedintwoways.
First,intheGeSCAenvironment,acompositelatentvariableintegratingparticipants'gender,age,relationshipstatusandexperienceonthedatingsitewascreated.
Thepathmodellingindicatesanon-signicantimpact(=0.
21,SE=0.
34,CR=0.
62[NS]).
Then,fourseparateindependentlatentvariableswerecreatedforgender,age,relationshipstatusandexperienceonthedatingsite,eachusingasingleformativemeasure.
Theresultsagainconrmthatnoneofthefourcontrolvariableshassignicantimpactonthedependentvariable:(Age;FP)=0.
11,SE=0.
21,CR=0.
54[NS];(Gender;FP)=0.
004,SE=0.
06,CR=0.
07[NS];(Relationshipstatus;FP)=0.
30,SE=0.
33,CR=0.
9[NS];(Datingsiteexperience;FP)=0.
01,SE=0.
06,CR=0.
17[NS].
Second,ahierarchicalregressionwasperformedinPASWtoestimatetheeffectsofthreecontrolvariablesonthedependentvariableusingtheoriginaldataset,thatisbeforenaturallogarithmtransformation.
Controllingforage,relationshipstatusandexperienceofusingthedatingsite,theindependentvariables(thatis,numberofpictures,records,logs,topics,others'pagesvisited,activitiesonothers'pagesandtrafctoprolepage)predictasignicantproportionofvarianceinthedependentvariable,thatisnumberoffriendsandthusaproxyforrmperformancewithR2=0.
136,F(7,149)=3.
35,PKaixin001.
comandRenren.
comwithmarketsharesof19.
6percentand26.
8percentinChina).
Auniquesystem-generatednumericalID(orothercombinations)couldpotentiallyaddressthisissue.
Insum,customeropportunisticbehaviourdirectlyreducesusers'spendingonpeer-interactivity,andjeopardisesdatingsites'vitalnancialincome.
Third,digitalmarketerscouldfurtherre-thinktheadaptationstrategieswhenmodellingaftertheNorthAmericandatingsitesintoaChinesecontext.
OnelargedatingsitebasedinSouthernChina,forinstance,withaverageonlineself-presentationcapabilityandsub-optimalonlinepeer-interactivityfunctions,generatesneverthelessstrongnancialperformanceinthemarket.
Inaninterviewwiththeauthoronaparallelproject,thegeneralmanagerexplainedthatunlikeWesternconsumers,thegeneralChineseconsumersstillhavealowleveloftrustintheroleoftechnologyinmatchmaking,wheretraditionalmatchmakingisperformedbyfamily,friendsorahired-matchmakerinahigh-contextualoff-linesetting.
Thecompanythereforeemploys700callcentrestafftofollow-uppaid-members'datingprogressandregularlymediateamongpotentialpairs.
Inaway,ahumaninterventionisintroducedintotheirbusinessmodelinmediatingthepeer-interactivityonanoff-linebasistogeneratestrongnancialperformance.
Innovativeandcost-effectivebusinessmodelsareexpectedwhilelearningfromWesterndatingbusinessmodels.
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