Reinvestigating online purchase behaviour model: a test of alternative models using a cross-cultural study

Extensions of online consumer research have been discussed to a great extent as forms of new e-business strategy (Hoffman and Novak 2000; Park and Fader 2004; Schlosser, White, and Lloyd 2006), but reviews of online marketing literature have been relatively limited. This research assesses the existing work on customer satisfaction, trust and online attitudes, and integrates it into a conceptual framework to understand online purchase behaviour regarding each construct that the model represents. In particular, testing alternative models in different data settings is important because online consumers are susceptible to different thresholds of the constructs investigated. Firstly, this research seeks to build alternative models including two key constructs: customer satisfaction and trust on the Web. Second, prior pioneering online navigation models (e.g., Hoffman and Novak, 1996, 2000; Lim and Dubinsky, 2005; Shim et al., 2001) on the Internet do not fully explain overall consumer behaviour, particularly online purchase. While these previous models have primarily focused on developing theoretical frameworks for web environments, the current study builds and tests a systematic general model of consumer responses to website navigation behaviour, which remains a cornerstone in a better understanding of online consumer purchase behaviour. Finally, in contrast to prior research on online consumer behaviour that has been conducted in a single country, the author examines comparisons of online purchasing behaviour in Korea and the UK, thereby offering a cross-cultural assessment of the proposed relationships. More specifically, this study develops competing models that embody the components of what makes for an online purchase experience. In addition, this research attempts to develop an appropriate hypothesized model to predict e-shopping behaviour; the process of selection involves a full study of alternative models in order to select the one providing the best fit. It uses data collected from two large-samples, paper-based consumer surveys to measure these constructs, and the work fits a series of structural equation models that test related prior theory. The conceptual models largely support and provide additional insights into understanding the process of online purchase behaviour. This research provides marketing scholars with an operational definition of key model constructs. A key insight from the thesis is that online purchase behaviour can, in part, be explained by the role of attitudes toward the website, and related to important marketing variables. Model constructs presented relate in significant ways to key consumer behaviour variables, including online shopping and web use applications such as the extent to which consumers are to willing to accept customized information and engage in web interactivity as cues of purchasing. As such, these alternative models may be useful both theoretically and in practice as marketers strive to develop successful online business models and extend scholars’ knowledge of online shopping trends for the niche population of teenagers across Asian-Western European borders.