Ashraf, AR, Thongpapanl, NT and Spyropoulou, S (2016) The connection and disconnection between e-commerce businesses and their customers: Exploring the role of engagement, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease-of-use. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 20. pp. 69-86. ISSN 1567-4223
Abstract
Significant time, resources, and attention have been given over the past few decades to explore how businesses can attract more customers to their online stores, and yet problems remain. It is still difficult to convert a potential customer’s initial online encounter into a buying relationship. Thus, this study aims to develop a deeper comprehension of the driving forces that not only attract visitors to a website, but also motivate them to make a purchase. Drawing from the e-commerce, regulatory focus, and regulatory fit theory literatures, this study crafts a series of predictions about visitors’ attraction to and intention to purchase from a website. In studies conducted using three different technology-product websites (i.e., websites selling smartphones, smartwatches, and laptops) and two different samples (i.e., students and actual shoppers), we found supporting evidence that visitors’ evaluation and purchase intentions are determined by the fit between the shopping experiences offered (hedonic vs. utilitarian) and visitors’ regulatory focus (promotion vs. prevention). Furthermore, we reveal that engagement, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use serve as the underlying mechanisms that mediate the effect of regulatory fit on visitors’ attitudes and purchase intentions.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Crown Copyright © 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Electronic Commerce Research and Applications. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Consumer online decision making; Regulatory focus and regulatory fit theory; Engagement; Shopping experience; Perceived usefulness; Perceived ease of use |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Business (Leeds) > Marketing Division (LUBS) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 24 Nov 2016 11:58 |
Last Modified: | 05 Apr 2018 00:38 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2016.10.001 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.elerap.2016.10.001 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:108369 |