Stage antecedents of consumer online buying behavior
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GENERAL RESEARCH
Stage antecedents of consumer online buying behavior Chechen Liao & Prashant Palvia & Hong-Nan Lin
Received: 15 April 2009 / Accepted: 22 January 2010 / Published online: 24 February 2010 # Institute of Information Management, University of St. Gallen 2010
Abstract Unlike previous research which adopts simultaneous measures to examine customers’ satisfaction with the entire online shopping experience, this study examines two important stages of online buying behavior: ordering and fulfillment. The explicit consideration of the two stages acknowledges the fact that in an online environment, the two stages are distinct and there is a delay between the time a customer makes an order and the time he receives delivery of the merchandise. Examined are the antecedents and consequences of customer satisfaction in different stages of the online buying process based on the expectation–confirmation model (ECM). Results indicate that the customers’ satisfaction with the ordering process and the fulfillment process, and the perceived usefulness of the website contribute significantly to their intention to continue using a business-to-consumer (B2C) website. It is also shown that the customers’ perceived usefulness affects their satisfaction only with the ordering process but not with the fulfillment process. Implications and limitations are discussed. Keywords Expectancy disconfirmation theory . Expectation–confirmation model . Perceived usefulness . Satisfaction Responsible editor: Hans-Dieter Zimmermann C. Liao : H.-N. Lin Department of Information Management, College of Management, National Chung Cheng University, Ming-Hsiung, Chia-Yi 621, Taiwan P. Palvia (*) Information Systems and Operations Management, Bryan School of Business and Economics, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6165, USA e-mail: [email protected]
Introduction Electronic commerce has been growing rapidly in recent years. Many businesses are turning towards the Internet to market their products. eMarketer (2009) estimates that US B2C e-commerce sales will reach $224.3 billion in 2009, down 1.4% from 2008. However, as consumer spending recovers from the recession, online sales will begin to rebound in 2010 and be expected to grow 6.9%. In 2011, eMarketer expects a jump to 11.2% growth. The growth of the online retail industry results in tight competition and increases the difficulty of retaining customers (Swaid and Wigand 2009; Vatanasombut et al. 2004). Reduction in consumer search costs, lower barriers to entry and reduced distinctiveness of firms are three interrelated forces undermining customer retention in the e-commerce environment (Vatanasombut et al. 2004). Winning customer loyalty is critical to online business success (Swaid and Wigand 2009). Therefore, understanding why customers are willing to return for additional purchases at a B2C website has become an increasingly important issue for management and practice. Researchers have recognized that satisfaction is an important surrogate measure of
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