12 - Antecedents and Moderators of Online
12 - Antecedents and Moderators of Online
12 - Antecedents and Moderators of Online
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JUN-YI HSIEH
Taipei Municipal University of Education, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
PEI-WEN LIAO
National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
The online shopping behaviors of 600 undergraduate students in Taiwan were explored
in regard to the influences of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude, trust,
behavioral intentions, and actual behavior. The moderating effects of online experience were
taken into account. A model depicting the mechanisms of an effective relationship with online
shoppers was developed and a survey was conducted to gather information. Structural equation
modeling was used to validate the measures developed and test the hypothesized model. All
variables had a significant and positive impact, and experience online had a moderate impact.
Jun-Yi Hsieh, Department of Social and Public Affairs, Taipei Municipal University of Education,
Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Pei-Wen Liao, Department of Applied Technology and Human Resource
Development, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Appreciation is due to reviewers including: Bijou Yang Lester, Drexel University, PA, USA, Email:
lesterby@drexel.edu
Please address correspondence and reprint requests to: Pei-Wen Liao, Department of Applied
Technology and Human Resource Development, National Taiwan Normal University, No. 162, Sec.
1, Ho-Ping E. Road, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Email: pearl908m015@hotmail.com
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1272 ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
PERCEIVED EASE OF USE
The link between perceived usefulness and compatibility has been identified
by previous researchers (see e.g., Rogers, 2003). For example, in the technology
acceptance model, causal links as defined in the theory of reasoned action (TRA)
are used to explain individual information technology (IT) acceptance. It is
argued that perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of IT
are major determinants of its usage. PU is the extent to which a person believes
that using a particular system will enhance his or her job performance. PEOU
is the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system will cost
little in terms of effort (Davis, 1989). Both PU and PEOU influence consumer
online shopping intentions. Although online shopping has been surmised to have
beneficial outcomes, using an interactive website could prove to be daunting
for some consumers. If this negative perception of the process outweighs the
perceived benefits of purchasing using the Internet (e.g., long download times,
ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR 1273
poorly designed formatting), then potential Internet shoppers are likely to
continue purchasing using conventional channels. In other words, if there are
barriers that reduce perceptions of ease of use of Internet shopping, Internet
users may develop a negative attitude toward Internet shopping. We formed the
following hypotheses to test this proposition:
H1: Perceived ease of use will have a positive impact on customer intention to
shop online.
H2: Perceived ease of use will have a positive impact on customer attitudes about
online shopping.
PERCEIVED USEFULNESS
The antecedents of attitude toward websites include consumers’ beliefs in
the availability, design attractiveness, and structure of information on those
websites (Luna, Peracchio, & Juan, 2002; Yilmaz, 2004). Since behavioral
intentions depend on cognitive choice, a potential online shopper can respond
either favorably or unfavorably towards the idea of engaging in online
purchasing. Davis (1989) states that the power to attract online shoppers lies in
the technology’s usability and usefulness, and he defines perceived usefulness
(PU) as the belief that using the application will increase one’s performance.
Researchers have found that PU influences intention to use Internet shopping
(Koufaris, 2002). Venkatesh and Davis (2000) and Moon and Kim (2001) also
reported that PU had a significantly positive influence on trust, attitude, and
behavioral intentions. Hence, we developed the following hypotheses:
H3: Perceived usefulness will have a positive impact on customer intention to
shop online.
H4: Perceived usefulness will have a positive impact on customer attitudes about
online shopping.
H5: Perceived ease of use will have a positive impact on customer behavioral
intentions concerning shopping online.
ATTITUDE
According to the CAB model (Martínez-López, Luna, & Martínez, 2005),
attitudes are compounded by beliefs or cognitions (C), affect (A), and behavior
(B). The CAB model has been found to have validity in explaining online
shopping use when the consumer is highly involved in the Internet experience
of processing persuasive messages. According to the CAB model, it is assumed
that consumers base their beliefs on their accumulated knowledge of some key
attributes of the object. Affect (A) should be formed based on one’s firmly held
beliefs about the object, and will then be followed by behavior (B). Babin,
Darden, and Griffin (1994) found that an enjoyment attitude is a hedonic type
of shopping value as perceived by consumers, and results in emotional arousal,
enjoyment, and playfulness during the shopping process. Based on this concept,
we developed the following hypotheses:
1274 ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR
H6: Attitude will have a positive impact on customer intention to shop online.
H7: Attitude will have a positive impact on customer behavioral intentions
concerning shopping online.
TRUST
The importance of trust in online shoppers’ satisfaction may be different for
infrequent versus frequent shoppers (Chiou & Pan, 2009). Castelfranchi and Tan
(2002) argued that online shoppers will not engage in a transaction on the Internet
unless their level of perceived trust exceeds a minimum level of acceptability.
Frequent shoppers normally spend more time on the Internet than do infrequent
shoppers and have more understanding of the potential risks (Gefen, Karahanna,
& Straub, 2003; Hoffman, Novak, & Peralta, 1998; Reichheld & Schefter,
2000). Consumers with higher levels of positive affect toward the object tend
to be more favorably disposed toward shopping online and are more likely to
choose this method (Chen & Lee, 2008). If customers perceive service quality
favorably, they will have more confidence in the Internet retailer, and this will
increase their trust of that Internet retailer (Chiou & Pan, 2009). Chaudhuri and
Holbrook (2001) found that brand trust and brand affect are related to customers’
loyalty and behavioral intentions. Trust helps mitigate customers worries about
risk and security and encourages them to participate in online activities (Salo
& Karjaluoto, 2007). Martínez-López et al. (2005) argued that it is extremely
important for online businesses to generate trust and brand equity so that
consumers develop intention to purchase from their websites. Actual behaviors
represent all positive behaviors, such as a willingness to stay, explore, work, and
affiliate in an environment (Bitner, 1992). Therefore, consumers’ attitudes toward
websites, as well as their use of a web system that supports online commercial
exchanges, should have a significant influence on consumers’ trust in a specific
online shopping transaction. Thus, based on the foregoing discussion, we
developed the following hypotheses:
H8: Trust will have a positive impact on customer behavioral intentions
regarding shopping online.
H9: Trust will have a positive impact on customer actual behavior regarding
shopping online.
BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS
Rational behavior is an actual behavior determined by a person’s behavioral
intention, in the sense that attitudes accurately reflect beliefs, intentions
accurately reflect attitudes, and behaviors accurately reflect intentions (Fishbein
& Ajzen, 1975). Warshaw and Davis (1985) define behavioral intention as
“the degree to which a person has formulated conscious plans to perform, or
not perform, some specified future behavior” (p. 214). This is in line with the
theory of reasoned action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) and its successor the theory
ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR 1275
of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991), in which it is contended that behavioral
intention is a strong predictor of actual behavior. Hartwick and Barki (1994)
also found strong causal relationships between behavioral intentions and actual
behavior. In relation to this, the following hypothesis was developed:
H10: Behavioral intentions will have a positive impact on customer intention to
shop online.
METHOD
PARTICIPANTS
We studied the online shopping behavior of undergraduates in Taiwan. The
respondents were guaranteed anonymity. With the assistance of a marketing
research firm in Taiwan, we sent questionnaires to 900 students at universities in
Taiwan. Of these, 600 individuals completed and mailed back their questionnaires,
yielding a response rate of 66.67%. Our sampling method was successful in
gathering up a group of responses from individuals with a variety of personal
characteristics representative, in terms of age and gender, of the general
population in Taiwan. Of our respondents 65.5% were female and 34.5 were
male, 45.8% were less than 20 years of age, 42.7% were aged between 21 and
24, and 11.4% were older than 25.
MEASURES
Because the participants were Taiwanese, we carried out a pretest with
30 undergraduates before conducting the formal survey, to confirm that the
questionnaire had no semantic problems. As shown in Table 1, the formal
1276 ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR
questionnaire consisted of two items about perceived ease of use and perceived
usefulness taken from the study by Wang, Lin, and Luarn (2006), two items about
trust in online shopping taken from the study by Salo and Karjaluoto (2007), two
items about attitude toward the Internet taken from the study by Kempf (1999),
three items about behavioral intentions taken from the study by Kraft, Rise,
Sutton, and Roysamb (2005), one item on actual behavior taken from the study
by Wang (2007), and one item about online experience taken from the study
by Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, and Davis (2003). All questions, except those in
the first section, were measured using a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly
disagree to 7 = strongly agree).
TABLE 1
OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF VARIABLES, SURVEY ITEMS, AND SOURCE
Variables Survey item Source
Perceived ease 1. Using online shopping would improve the Wang (2003);
of use speed with which I could conduct. Wang, Lin, and
2. Using online shopping would make it easier Luarn (2006)
for me to conduct transactions.
Perceived usefulness 1. The online system provides useful content. Wang (2003);
2. The online system provides sufficient content. Wang, Lin, and
3. The online system makes it easy to find the Luarn (2006)
content required.
Trust 1. This product as shown on the website is reliable. Chen and Lee
2. This website is authentic and dependable in (2008); Salo and
its claims. Karjaluoto (2007)
Attitude 1. I think that purchasing on this website is good. Chen and
2. I think that purchasing on this website is Lee (2008);
enjoyable. Kempf (1999)
Behavioral 1. I am willing to spend more time than I had Chen and
intentions planned on this website. Lee (2008);
2. I am willing to spend more money than had I Kraft, Rise,
planned on this website. Sutton, and
3. I would recommend this website to my friends. Roysamb (2005)
Actual behavior Purchasing products and services using Wang (2007)
online shopping.
Online experience The actual use of online transactions Venkatesh, Morris,
Davis, and Davis
(2003)
ANALYSIS
In addition to descriptive statistics, validity and reliability tests and factor
analysis were carried out for each construct. Structural equation modeling (SEM)
was employed to assess the nomological validity for our theoretical framework
ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR 1277
(Kline, 2005; Schumacker & Lomax, 2004). We used maximum likelihood
estimation estimates because our data had no missing values and were continuous
variables with acceptable skewness and kurtosis. Therefore, standard error and
chi-square tests were considered appropriate (Schumacker & Lomax, 2004).
TABLE 2
FACTOR ANALYSIS AND RELIABILITY TESTS
index = 0.98, and normed fit index = 0.97 were all higher than the recommended
criterion of 0.9, confirming that our theoretical framework was appropriate.
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