An Integrative Online Auction Model from the Bidder's Perspective

Due to the phenomenal popularity of customer to customer (C2C) online auctions, numerous research efforts have been put forth to investigate this trade platform. Researchers have proposed various theories (technology acceptance model (TAM), trust theories, relational dependence theories, etc.) to study factors related to bidders' participation in trading process. Trust, reputation, uncertainty, cross culture influences, auction design characteristics, social and psychological factors, and prior experiences are among those mentioned as important. Based on both the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and expectation-disconfirmation theory (EDT), we propose in this study an integrative framework to synthesize the existing knowledge and guide future research of online auctions. The focal point of this framework is the bidder. We divide a bidding process into three stages: pre-bidding, bidding and post-bidding. Using the existing literature as a theoretical lens, we bind together the bidder's behaviors from her intention to participate in the pre-bidding stage, to participation in the bidding stage and finally to re-evaluation and disconfirmation in the post bidding stage. Contributions and implications of this study are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.