E/B/94. Love on the Web - An Examination of On-line Dating Portals Development and Discussion of Future Directions

This paper suggests the strategies of future development of on-line dating service based on the analysis of current market practices and the insight obtained from an exploratory consumer research, with the point of reference of Hong Kong. As an advanced and westernized city in Asia, Hong Kong possesses the internet penetration rate of 69% in 2006, which is the highest in Asia and comparable to that of the US and UK. This study identifies the advantages and pitfalls of internet as a means of relationship building and match-making, distinguishes the reasons of popularity of on-line dating and investigates the drivers and barriers of the users of the service. Comprehensive strategies organized in terms of the dimension of Online Community (a framework proposed by a Professor in Stanford University), namely Content Attractiveness, Member Profiles, Member Loyalty and Transaction Offerings for its future development are suggested in view of the critical findings in the study. Internet romance is growing rapidly in more developed cities in the world in the past few years and the business model of internet dating service is worth studying. This paper logically summarizes the popularity and problem of this service and gives light to the direction of its future evolvement that comparable analysis of the topic are rarely available currently.