With the Internet connecting every part of the world, electronic marketplaces provide a world-wide transaction platform for global businesses. However, consumers from different countries demonstrate distinct purchasing behaviors online. This study uses eBay as the consumer-to-consumer electronic marketplace to investigate the eBay mechanisms and purchasing habits of consumers from the United States, France, and China to evaluate the effects of cultural and national differences on purchasing habits. This study uses data on national transactions and reputation profiles of sellers gathered from eBay.com, eBay.fr, and eBay.com.cn, including both cross-sectional data and panel data to provide a comprehensive comparison of cultural behavior in the trading process as well as the influence of eBay’s reputation management system on online pricing in these three countries. Significant differences confirm that purchasing behavior differs in various national consumer-to-consumer electronic marketplaces and the importance of cultural behavioral patterns.

Retailing is an important component of every country’s economic system. The current status and developments in the informization of Chinese retail industry were investigated by using questionnaires and interviews to survey 139 retailers throughout China. The investigation shows that Chinese retailers are in the initial informization stage, and can be classified into different types with corresponding informization characteristics. In addition, the survey identified the key problems faced by retailers in the initial stage. Developments in the information technology field were analyzed to identify the key technologies that Chinese retailers should focus on during the informization process. The investigation also shows that the retailers have not arrived at a consensus about information technology adoption, and thus hesitate to use new information technologies, such as the radio frequency identification.