The Relative Importance of Website Design Quality and Service Quality in Determining Consumers’ Online Repurchase Behavior

Abstract

Previous studies have found that website design quality is one main factor affecting consumers' initial online purchase behavior. For consumers' repurchase behavior, in addition to website design quality, service quality is another important factor. Which factor is more important in determining consumers' repurchase intention? Our results show that, compared with website design quality, service quality has significantly stronger effects on consumers' trust and satisfaction, both of which lead to their repurchase intention.     

Online environmental community members’ intention to participate in environmental activities: An application of the theory of planned behavior in the Chinese context

This study investigated the factors associated with online environmental community members’ intention to participate in environmental activities in the Chinese context, employing the framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Using data from a survey of community members (N = 211), structural equation modeling analyses confirmed the roles of subjective norm and self-efficacy in affecting intention to participate in environmental activities. Unlike other TPB studies, however, the study discovered that attitude was not significantly associated with intention. In addition, other relevant factors, including ego involvement, group identification, perceived salience of environmental problems, perceived popularity of environmental activities, and perceived interactivity of the community websites, were found to be associated with the intention of participation, either directly or indirectly. The theoretical and practical implications were discussed.     

A conceptual framework on the adoption of negotiation support systems

An exploratory study was conducted to identify factors affecting the intention to adopt negotiation support systems (NSS) by managers and executives. Drawing from past literature, the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Technology Acceptance Model provided basis for analyzing our results. Overall, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control emerged as strongest determinants of intention to adopt NSS. Further probing of subjective norm revealed organizational culture and industrial characteristics to play significant roles. A new conceptual framework is proposed which would be of both theoretical and practical importance.     

Predicting adolescents’ use of social networking sites from an extended theory of planned behaviour perspective

The popularity of social networking sites (SNSs) among adolescents has grown exponentially, with little accompanying research to understand the influences on adolescent engagement with this technology. The current study tested the validity of an extended theory of planned behaviour model (TPB), incorporating the additions of group norm and self-esteem influences, to predict frequent SNS use. Adolescents (N = 160) completed measures assessing the standard TPB constructs of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control (PBC), and intention, as well as group norm and self-esteem. One week later, participants reported their SNS use during the previous week. Support was found for the standard TPB variables of attitude and PBC, as well as group norm, in predicting intentions to use SNS frequently, with intention, in turn, predicting behaviour. These findings provide an understanding of the factors influencing frequent engagement in what is emerging as a primary tool for adolescent socialisation.     

An investigation of the effect of online consumer trust on expectation, satisfaction, and post-expectation

This study proposes a framework regarding the relationship between consumer trust, satisfaction, expectation, and post-expectation in the context of electronic commerce. In particular, the framework draws together from three theories: social exchange theory, expectation-confirmation theory, and post-acceptance model of IS continuance. Following the longitudinal pre-purchase and post-purchase stages, this study provides a theoretical framework combining trust, expectation, satisfaction, and post-expectation (i.e., perceived usefulness) and tests the proposed model empirically using Internet consumer behavior data collected via two rounds of Web surveys. The empirical findings suggest that both consumer’s trust and expectation have positive influences on consumer’s satisfaction; a significant and positive relationship is detected between consumer’s trust and expectation; customer’s satisfaction and perceived usefulness as post-expectation belief are important predictors of repurchase intention. In consequence, the study provides a framework explaining the subsequent relationships of trust, expectation, confirmation, satisfaction, post-expectation, and repurchase intention (i.e., consumer trust → expectation → confirmation → satisfaction → post-expectation → repurchase intention) across pre-purchase and post-purchase stages. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Applying the Technology Acceptance Model to Social Networking Sites (SNS): Impact of Subjective Norm and Social Capital on the Acceptance of SNS

With their heavy traffic and technological capabilities, social networking sites (SNS) introduced a new means of building and maintaining perceived social capital. This study aims to identify underlying factors and causal relationships that affect behavioral intention to use SNS. For this purpose, this research developed an extended technology acceptance model, incorporating subjective norm and perceived social capital for predicting SNS acceptance and usage. Exploratory correlation and path analyses were conducted to identify the relationships between five constructs: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, perceived social capital, and intention to use. The results showed that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use had robust effects on the user's intention to use SNS. The research findings also demonstrated that subjective norm and perceived social capital were significant predictors of both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use and therefore should be considered as potential variables for extending the technology acceptance model.     

Understanding the Intention of Using Mobile Social Networking Apps Across Cultures

Understanding the user acceptance of mobile social networking apps in different cultures can provide powerful insights for managers and marketers of social networking apps to develop effective globalized and localized strategies to attract users worldwide. Following the theory of planned behavior, this study develops a research model of privacy concern (PC), privacy risk (PR), and perceived enjoyment (PE) as attitudinal beliefs, subjective norm (SN) as normative belief, and smartphone self-efficacy (SE) as control belief to understand users’ intention to use mobile social networking apps. In particular, the impact of culture was investigated, considering the user base of mobile social networking apps is distributed globally and culturally diversified, and cultural values have direct impact on behavior. The research model was validated by survey data collected from 151 participants in the U.S. and 170 participants in South Korea. The data analysis results show that perceived enjoyment and subjective norm are the most important drivers behind users’ intention to use mobile social networking apps for both countries. No significant difference was found for the effects of privacy risk and subjective norm upon users’ intention to use mobile social networking apps across cultures. Implications of the findings upon theory and practice are discussed.     

The effect of web advertising visual design on online purchase intention: An examination across gender

With web advertising growing to be a huge industry, it is important to understand the effectiveness of web advertisement. In this study we investigate the effects of web advertising visual design (WAVD) purchasing intention within the framework of an integrated model. Nine hypotheses were developed and tested on a dataset of 316 observations collected via a questionnaire survey. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that while web advertising visual cues influence consumers' purchasing intention through advertising attitudes and brand attitudes, they do not have direct effects on purchasing intention. Further results on the moderating role of gender suggest that web advertising visual cues have direct effect on consumers' purchasing intention for male groups but not for female groups. This study contributes to the understanding the role of visual dimensions in forming online purchase intentions.     

An empirical investigation of anti-spyware software adoption: A multitheoretical perspective

We performed an empirical investigation of factors affecting an individual's decision to adopt anti-spyware software. Our results suggested that an individual's attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and denial of responsibility significantly affected anti-spyware adoption intention. Also, relative advantage and compatibility showed a significant effect on attitude, visibility, and image on subjective norm, and trialability, self-efficacy, and computing capacity on perceived behavioral control. Interestingly, moral obligation, ease of use, and perceived cost were not as significant as was originally expected.     

Power of consumers using social media: Examining the influences of brand-related user-generated content on Facebook

This study examined the influences of positive brand-related user-generated content (UGC)¹ shared via Facebook on consumer response. The model tested was derived from the S–O–R consumer response model (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974) that depicts the effects of environmental/informational stimuli on consumer response. Specific research objectives were to investigate whether brand-related UGC acts as a stimulus to activate consumer behavior in relation to brand and examine the processes by which brand-related UGC influences consumer behavior. Using the S–O–R model, brand-related UGC was treated as stimulus, pleasure and arousal as emotional responses, and perceived information quality as cognitive response. Information pass-along, impulse buying, future-purchase intention, and brand engagement were treated as behavioral responses. Participants (n = 533) resided in the U.S. and had a Facebook account. Mock Facebook fan pages including brand-related UGC were developed as visual stimuli and presented via an online self-administered questionnaire. SEM was used to analyze the data. Brand-related UGC activated consumers' emotional and cognitive responses. Emotional and cognitive responses significantly influenced behavioral responses. Positive brand-related UGC exerts a significant influence on brand as it provokes consumers’ eWOM behavior, brand engagement, and potential brand sales.     

Decreasing the problematic use of an information system: An empirical investigation of smartphone game players

Based on protection motivation theory, this study aims to identify factors that influence the intention to decrease problematic smartphone game use, including the effects of a gaming habit and subjective norms. The research model is tested with a scenario‐based survey method. Players' perceived threat refers to the negative consequences (eg, reduced performance or social isolation) that are caused by problematic smartphone game use. The findings indicate that under high fear appeals, threat appraisal creates fearful emotions about suffering from the negative consequences, which further reduces the gaming habit and activates the intention to decrease use. Self‐efficacy in decreasing game playing, the response efficacy of decreasing usage in avoiding the threat and subjective norms effectively promote users' intention to decrease use. Moreover, response costs reduce the intention to decrease use. The findings provide insights into how to activate users' intention to decrease problematic use, and the resulting implications are discussed.     

Exploring Chinese users’ acceptance of instant messaging using the theory of planned behavior,the technology acceptance model,and the flow theory

Instant messaging (IM) is a popular Internet application around the world. In China, the competition in the IM market is very intense and there are over 10 IM products available. We examine the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that affect Chinese users’ acceptance of IM based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM), and the flow theory. Results demonstrate that users’ perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment significantly influence their attitude towards using IM, which in turn impacts their behavioral intention. Furthermore, perceived usefulness, users’ concentration, and two components of the theory of planned behavior (TPB): subjective norm and perceived behavioral control, also have significant impact on the behavioral intention. Users’ intention determines their actual usage behavior.     

Determinants of knowledge seeking in professional virtual communities

As knowledge management systems within organisations, professional virtual communities (PVCs) are popular knowledge-seeking tools, which bring together geographically dispersed members from outside of the organisations. An increasing number of employees use PVCs for knowledge seeking, knowledge exchange and problem solving at work. Why do members choose to receive knowledge from other community members in PVCs needs to be understood. This paper extends Ajzen's [1991. The theory of planned behaviour. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50 (2), 179–211] theory of planned behaviour to elicit external beliefs in terms of personal motivation, as well as technological and social factors, and to examine the relative importance of these factors. According to this study's online survey of 323 members in three PVCs, the results show that the significance of beliefs, such as system quality, compatibility, trust, knowledge growth and knowledge quality, in creating positive attitudes towards knowledge seeking. Community identification is shown as a salient belief for the subjective norms of knowledge seeking. System quality and resource availability are revealed as important determinants for perceived behavioural control of knowledge seeking. Knowledge-seeking intention is based on the attitude towards knowledge seeking and the subjective norm of knowledge seeking, whereas knowledge-seeking behaviour is solely determined by knowledge-seeking intention. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Predicting selfie-posting behavior on social networking sites: An extension of theory of planned behavior

Over the past few years, a notable trend has emerged in social networking sites (SNSs). With the growing popularity of image-based SNSs such as Instagram, users increasingly communicate and present themselves by posting photographs they take of themselves (“selfies”). As the phenomenon of selfies becomes widespread across a range of SNSs as a unique means of self-presentation, an interesting question arises, what makes people post their selfies on SNSs. To delve into this rising issue, the present study investigates the antecedents of selfie-posting behavior on SNSs by applying and extending Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A conceptual model, which is primarily drawn from the TPB and incorporates narcissism as an additional antecedent, is proposed and empirically tested. Results show that attitude toward selfie-posting, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and narcissism are the significant determinants of an individual's intention to post selfies on SNSs. Further, one's selfie-posting behavior on SNSs is significantly predicted by his or her intention to post selfies. Implications of the findings are discussed with suggestions for future research.     

Combining multiple correspondence analysis with association rule mining to conduct user-driven product design of wearable devices

In recent years, the popularity of smart phones has boomed the emergence of wearable devices like wristband, smart watch, and sport watch since these devices are portable to record human body information, synchronize information with smart phones, and conduct real-time monitoring of physical condition. However, a recent survey indicates that near 70% respondents are not interested in buying Apple's new iWatch although the marketplace is full of competing alternatives like Samsung's Gear fit, LG's G watch, and Sony's SW3. In this study, a novel framework combining multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), association rule mining (ARM), with K nearest neighbor (KNN) is proposed to help brand companies address the following issues: (1) using MCA to explore the latent relationships between users' demographic profiles, user perceptions of design attributes, and user preferences for wearable devices, (2) using ARM to identify key design attributes that can best configure a specific alternative to achieve effective product differentiation (positioning), (3) using KNN to accomplish efficient product selection (recommendation). More importantly, hundreds of consumers are surveyed to justify the validity of the presented framework.     

An empirical investigation of a modified technology acceptance model of IPTV

This study explores the factors influencing the adoption of IPTV, and tests the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in a new convergent technology. The behavioural constructs from TAM were tested for predicting user acceptance of IPTV. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse data and to design a theoretical model predicting the individual's intention to adopt IPTV. A modified TAM for IPTV proposes that new constructs determine user-perceived usefulness and enjoyment of using IPTV. Although this study confirms the impact of information quality and system quality on consumers' technology experience, it specifically shows that the perceived quality of content and system were found to have a significant effect on users' perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment. In addition, social influences had a positive effect on the intention to use IPTV. These findings suggest an extension of the TAM model for convergence technologies. This research advances theory and contributes to the foundation for future research aimed at improving the understanding of users' adoption behaviour of convergence technologies. Implications of these findings for practice and research are examined.     

The effects of the integration of external and internal communication features in digital magazines on consumers' magazine attitude

This study investigates the effects of external and internal communication features on consumers' digital magazine attitude, and the processes (i.e., perceived interactivity and social presence) underlying these effects. Both feature types enable communication between two or more people. Though, in the case of external communication features, the interactions take place outside the digital magazine (e.g., on Facebook), whereas in the case of internal communication features, the communication takes place inside the digital environment of the magazine. In a two-wave experiment with a 2 (external communication features: present/absent) × 2 (internal communication features: present/absent) between-subjects design, 192 participants were exposed to a digital tablet magazine in which the presence of interactive features was manipulated. The results show that digital magazines with either external or internal communication features are perceived as more interactive, which has a positive influence on consumers' digital magazine attitude. The findings also reveal that – in contrast to external – internal communication features have the ability to enhance feelings of social presence, another process through which digital magazine attitude is positively affected. So, internal communication features improve consumers' digital magazine attitude through two pathways (i.e., perceived interactivity and social presence), and external communication features only via one (i.e., perceived interactivity).     

Sext and gender: examining gender effects on sexting based on the theory of planned behaviour

The emergence and popularity of new communication tools provide opportunities for new sexual behaviours, among which is sexting. Sexting refers to sending nude or sexually suggestive pictures of oneself to another person through digital media. Extending Walrave, Heirman, and Hallam’s work [2014. “Under Pressure to Sext? Applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour to Adolescent Sexting.” Behaviour &; Information Technology 33 (1): 86–98], the present study addressed gender effects on sexting based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). We examined whether women and men differ in their attitude, subjective norm, self-efficacy, perceived control regarding sexting, and their likelihood to sext. We also tested the moderating effect of gender on the association between TPB variables and sexting. Respondents were 381 Chinese students aged 17–24 years. Mediation analysis showed that compared with women, men had higher levels of attitude, subjective norm, and self-efficacy surrounding sexting, and therefore had a stronger tendency to sext. Simple slope analysis revealed that the positive relationship between subjective norm and sexting only existed among women. Perceived control was negatively associated with sexting, and this association was stronger among men. These findings demonstrate that contemporary gender construction provides men with more facilitating factors to sexual activities and restricts women to non-desiring subjects. Although changes in sexual practices occur in the digital culture, gender inequality in sexuality persists.     

Exploring the emotional,aesthetic, and ergonomic facets of innovative product on fashion technology acceptance model

In the realm of popular consumer electronics, it is important for companies to realise consumers' perceptions that can potentially sway the process of choosing and purchasing decision. This paper attempts to explore the emotional, aesthetic, and ergonomic conceptions into the fashion technology model to examine the impact of the consuming public acceptance. The work extends the literature on brand attachment, need for uniqueness theory, fashion theory, TAM, and innovation diffusion theory. Through empirical study, this proposed model is tested with a structural equation modeling approach. Results indicate that brand attachment is a stronger antecedent of ergonomic and aesthetic facets, and aesthetic facet is the vital determinant to acceptance intention. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use had no direct impact but still positively correlate to acceptance intention. This study also finds that different groups of technological innovation will vary in their conceptions of the proposed model.     

The Effects of Social Influence on User Acceptance of Online Social Networks

With the proliferation of online social networks, understanding how and why individuals adopt and use these networks can help managers and marketers to design better methods and approaches toward engaging their users. The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of user acceptance of online social networks, with particular attention given to the effects of social influence. A research model was developed by incorporating two variables of social influence, subjective norm and critical mass, into an enhanced version of the Technology Acceptance Model, specifically to address issues related to online social networks. The model was empirically evaluated using survey data collected from 269 subjects about their perceptions of online social networks. The results reveal that both subjective norm and critical mass significantly affect perceived usefulness, which further affects users' usage intention, and perceived ease of use affects the usage intention indirectly through perceived usefulness. The implications of this study on theory and practice are discussed.