Exploring the cognitive and affective bases of online purchase intentions: a hierarchical test across product types

Whereas there is ample e-commerce research on how online store beliefs and consumer online affective states may influence online purchase intentions, no research so far has examined whether the hierarchy of effects between these concepts differs across product types. In this study, we fill this research gap by examining the explanatory power of the think-feel-do hierarchy versus the feel-think-do hierarchy in predicting online purchase intentions towards search versus experience products and high involvement versus low involvement products. Hypotheses are formulated and tested using a quasi-field experiment (n = 198) design. The results show the robustness of the think-feel-do hierarchy for three out of four product types (experience, low involvement, high involvement). Remarkably, the results also demonstrate that the formation of online purchase intentions for search products may occur via a more experiential form of online purchase decision-making. Implications of our findings for theory and online store practitioners are discussed.