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Journal ArticleDOI

On risk, convenience, and Internet shopping behavior

TL;DR: This article attempts to determine why certain consumers are drawn to the Internet and why others are not, and why the perception of the risk associated with shopping on the Internet is low or is overshadowed by its relative convenience.
Abstract: The past century experienced a proliferation of retail formats in the marketplace. However, as a new century begins, these retail formats are being threatened by the emergence of a new kind of store, the online or Internet store. From being almost a novelty in 1995, online retailing sales were expected to reach $7 billion by 2000 [9]. In this increasngly timeconstrained world, Internet stores allow consumers to shop from the convenience of remote locations. Yet most of these Internet stores are losing money [6]. Why is such counterintuitive phenomena prevailing? The explanation may lie in the risks associated with Internet shopping. These risks may arise because consumers are concerned about the security of transmitting credit card information over the Internet. Consumers may also be apprehensive about buying something without touching or feeling it and being unable to return it if it fails to meet their approval. Having said this, however, we must point out that consumers are buying goods on the Internet. This is reflected in the fact that total sales on the Internet are on the increase [8, 11]. Who are the consumers that are patronizing the Internet? Evidently, for them the perception of the risk associated with shopping on the Internet is low or is overshadowed by its relative convenience. This article attempts to determine why certain consumers are drawn to the Internet and why others are not. Since the pioneering research done by Becker [3], it has been accepted that the consumer maximizes his utility subject to not only income constraints but also time constraints. A consumer seeks out his best decision given that he has a limited budget of time and money. While purchasing a product from a store, a consumer has to expend both money and time. Therefore, the consumer patronizes the retail store where his total costs or the money and time spent in the entire process are the least. Since the util-
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study examines how emotional and cognitive responses to visiting a Web-based store for the first time can influence online consumers' intention to return and their likelihood to make unplanned purchases.
Abstract: In this study, we consider the online consumer as both a shopper and a computer user. We test constructs from information systems (Technology Acceptance Model), marketing (Consumer Behavior), and psychology (Flow and Environmental Psychology) in an integrated theoretical framework of online consumer behavior. Specifically, we examine how emotional and cognitive responses to visiting a Web-based store for the first time can influence online consumers' intention to return and their likelihood to make unplanned purchases. The instrumentation shows reasonably good measurement properties and the constructs are validated as a nomological network.A questionnaire-based empirical study is used to test this nomological network. Results confirm the double identity of the online consumer as a shopper and a computer user because both shopping enjoyment and perceived usefulness of the site strongly predict intention to return. Our results on unplanned purchases are not conclusive. We also test some individual and Web site factors that can affect the consumer's emotional and cognitive responses. Product involvement, Web skills, challenges, and use of value-added search mechanisms all have a significant impact on the Web consumer. The study provides a more rounded, albeit partial, view of the online consumer and is a significant steptowards a better understanding of consumer behavior on the Web. The validated metrics should be of use to researchers and practitioners alike.

3,045 citations


Cites background from "On risk, convenience, and Internet ..."

  • ...Unlike offline consumers, online consumers are concerned with those risks inherent in buying on theWeb, risks such as credit card fraud and not receiving the right products (Bhatnagar et al. 2000)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: A theoretical framework describing the trust-based decision-making process a consumer uses when making a purchase from a given site is developed and the proposed model is tested using a Structural Equation Modeling technique on Internet consumer purchasing behavior data collected via a Web survey.
Abstract: Are trust and risk important in consumers' electronic commerce purchasing decisions? What are the antecedents of trust and risk in this context? How do trust and risk affect an Internet consumer's purchasing decision? To answer these questions, we i) develop a theoretical framework describing the trust-based decision-making process a consumer uses when making a purchase from a given site, ii) test the proposed model using a Structural Equation Modeling technique on Internet consumer purchasing behavior data collected via a Web survey, and iii) consider the implications of the model. The results of the study show that Internet consumers' trust and perceived risk have strong impacts on their purchasing decisions. Consumer disposition to trust, reputation, privacy concerns, security concerns, the information quality of the Website, and the company's reputation, have strong effects on Internet consumers' trust in the Website. Interestingly, the presence of a third-party seal did not strongly influence consumers' trust.

2,650 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results of a study that measured consumer satisfaction with the EC channel through constructs prescribed by three established frameworks, namely the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA), and Service Quality (SERVQUAL) found that TAM components--perceived ease of use and usefulness--are important in forming consumer attitudes and satisfaction withThe EC channel.
Abstract: Although electronic commerce (EC) has created new opportunities for businesses as well as consumers, questions about consumer attitudes toward Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce vis-a-vis the conventional shopping channels continue to persist. This paper reports results of a study that measured consumer satisfaction with the EC channel through constructs prescribed by three established frameworks, namely the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA), and Service Quality (SERVQUAL). Subjects purchased similar products through conventional as well as EC channels and reported their experiences in a survey after each transaction. Using constructs from the three frameworks, a model was constructed and tested to examine the determinants of the EC channel satisfaction and preference using the survey data.Structural equation model analyses indicate that metrics tested through each model provide a statistically significant explanation of the variation in the EC consumers' satisfaction and channel preference. The study found that TAM components--perceived ease of use and usefulness--are important in forming consumer attitudes and satisfaction with the EC channel. Ease of use also was found to be a signi.cant determinant of satisfaction in TCA. The study found empirical support for the assurance dimension of SERVQUAL as determinant in EC channel satisfaction. Further, the study also found general support for consumer satisfaction as a determinant of channel preference.

1,210 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In conclusion, intention to use on-line shopping was strongly influenced by attitude toward on- line shopping, normative beliefs, and self-efficacy, and security was not.

1,180 citations


Cites background from "On risk, convenience, and Internet ..."

  • ...Consumers’ perceptions about the extent of security risks, especially as it relates to the use of credit cards for making on-line purchases, can be expected to influence their attitudes towards Internet shopping [13]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study describes a free-simulation experiment that compares the degree and relative importance of customer trust in an e-vendor vis-a-vis TAM constructs of the website, between potential and repeat customers, and finds that repeat customers trusted the e-Vendor more, perceived the website to be more useful and easier to use, and were more inclined to purchase from it.
Abstract: An e-vendor's website inseparably embodies an interaction with the vendor and an interaction with the IT website interface. Accordingly, research has shown two sets of unrelated usage antecedents by customers: (1) customer trust in the e-vendor and (2) customer assessments of the IT itself, specifically the perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use of the website as depicted in the technology acceptance model (TAM). Research suggests, however, that the degree and impact of trust, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use change with experience. Using existing, validated scales, this study describes a free-simulation experiment that compares the degree and relative importance of customer trust in an e-vendor vis-a-vis TAM constructs of the website, between potential (i.e., new) customers and repeat (i.e., experienced) ones. The study found that repeat customers trusted the e-vendor more, perceived the website to be more useful and easier to use, and were more inclined to purchase from it. The data also show that while repeat customers' purchase intentions were influenced by both their trust in the e-vendor and their perception that the website was useful, potential customers were not influenced by perceived usefulness, but only by their trust in the e-vendor. Implications of this apparent trust-barrier and guidelines for practice are discussed.

878 citations


Cites background from "On risk, convenience, and Internet ..."

  • ...Moreover, online book purchase, in general, is perceived as among the least risky online purchase activities [6]....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI

8,129 citations


"On risk, convenience, and Internet ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Becker, G.S....

    [...]

  • ...Since the pioneering research done by Becker [3], it has been accepted that the consumer maximizes his utility subject to not only income constraints but also time constraints....

    [...]

  • ...Since the pioneering research done by Becker [3], it has been accepted that the consumer maxi­mizes his utility subject to not only income constraints but also time constraints....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of empirical results from the psychological literature in a way that provides a useful foundation for research on consumer knowledge is provided by two fundamental distinctions: consumer expertise is distinguished from product-related experience and five distinct aspects, or dimensions, of expertise are identified.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to review basic empirical results from the psychological literature in a way that provides a useful foundation for research on consumer knowledge. A conceptual organization for this diverse literature is provided by two fundamental distinctions. First, consumer expertise is distinguished from product-related experience. Second, five distinct aspects, or dimensions, of expertise are identified: cognitive effort, cognitive structure, analysis, elaboration, and memory. Improvements in the first two dimensions are shown to have general beneficial effects on the latter three. Analysis, elaboration, and memory are shown to have more specific interrelationships. The empirical findings related to each dimension are reviewed and, on the basis of those findings, specific research hypotheses about the effects of expertise on consumer behavior are suggested.

4,147 citations


"On risk, convenience, and Internet ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Knowledge is known to be a multidimensional construct [1, 4]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
Abstract: The effects of prior knowledge about a product class on various characteristics of pre-purchase information search within that product class are examined. A new search task methodology is used that imposes only a limited amount of structure on the search task: subjects are not cued with a list of attributes, and the problem is not structured in a brand-by-attribute matrix. The results indicate that prior knowledge facilitates the acquisition of new information and increases search efficiency. The results also support the conceptual distinction between objective and subjective knowledge.

1,935 citations


"On risk, convenience, and Internet ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Knowledge is known to be a multidimensional construct [1, 4]....

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  • ...The knowledge of product class builds up human capital [4]....

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Book
01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an overview of consumer behavior in terms of Societal and Global Perspectives, and segment consumers by individual characteristics and behaviour, identifying the most important factors that influence consumer behavior.
Abstract: Part 1 Introduction to Consumer Behaviour: 1. Introduction 2. Consumer Behaviour - Societal and Global Perspectives. Part 2 Consumer Decision Making: 3. Complex Decision Making 4. Consumer Learning, Habit, and Brand Loyalty 5. Low Involvement Decision Making. Part 3 The Individual Consumer: 6. Consumer Perceptions 7. Acquiring and Processing Information 8. Consumer Attitudes 9. Attitude Reinforcement and Change 10. Demographics and Social Class 11. Personality and Life Styles 12. Segmenting Consumers by Individual Characteristics and Behaviour. Part 4 Environmental Influences on Consumer Behaviour: 13. Culture 14. Cross-cultural and Sub-cultural Influences 15. Reference Group Influences 16. Family Influences 17. Situational Influences. Part 5 Communications in the Consumer's Environment: 18. Communications with Groups: Word of Mouth and Opinion Leadership 19. Communications Across Groups - The Diffusion Process 20. Marketing Communications.

1,830 citations

Book
01 Jan 1981
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an overview of consumer behavior in terms of Societal and Global Perspectives, and segment consumers by individual characteristics and behaviour, identifying the most important factors that influence consumer behavior.
Abstract: Part 1 Introduction to Consumer Behaviour: 1. Introduction 2. Consumer Behaviour - Societal and Global Perspectives. Part 2 Consumer Decision Making: 3. Complex Decision Making 4. Consumer Learning, Habit, and Brand Loyalty 5. Low Involvement Decision Making. Part 3 The Individual Consumer: 6. Consumer Perceptions 7. Acquiring and Processing Information 8. Consumer Attitudes 9. Attitude Reinforcement and Change 10. Demographics and Social Class 11. Personality and Life Styles 12. Segmenting Consumers by Individual Characteristics and Behaviour. Part 4 Environmental Influences on Consumer Behaviour: 13. Culture 14. Cross-cultural and Sub-cultural Influences 15. Reference Group Influences 16. Family Influences 17. Situational Influences. Part 5 Communications in the Consumer's Environment: 18. Communications with Groups: Word of Mouth and Opinion Leadership 19. Communications Across Groups - The Diffusion Process 20. Marketing Communications.

1,250 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...Risk is a multidimensional construct [2]....

    [...]