Consumer-to-Consumer Electronic Commerce: Is There a Need for Specific Studies?

Four main areas were identified in a meta-analysis of critical themes of electronic commerce (e-commerce): business-tobusiness (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), strategy, and technology adoption (Wareham, Zheng, and Straub, 2005). Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce was only mentioned in the realm of online auctions. However, C2C e-commerce can encompass much more than just auctions. The question then becomes, “is C2C e-commerce a different research area that deserves its own stream of research?” This study adapts constructs from a B2C e-commerce study (Devaraj, Fan, and Kohli, 2002) to determine what, if any, the differences are in the C2C e-commerce arena. The constructs included elements of the technology acceptance model, transaction cost analysis, and service quality. Reliability, responsiveness, and empathy (each areas of service quality) were found to influence C2C e-commerce satisfaction; they were not found to be an influence in the B2C study. These findings warrant further research in the C2C e-commerce arena.