ABSTRACT   Date: June 2, 2009 Programme: MIMA – International Marketing  Course: EF0705 Master Thesis Authors: Sutanita Thavornchak, Waritthar Taratanaphol Tutor: Joakim Netz Title: Factors influencing online purchase intention: Domestic Airline E-ticket in Thailand Introduction: Internet has become one of the most powerful tools to enhance the performance in every industry and business, including travel and tourism industry as well.  The industry has been dramatically changed by the internet in form of information search, trip planner, particularly the introduction of a new online reservation system, an electronic ticket (E-ticket). Moreover, there currently is an attempt of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to change all 240 airlines around the world into this E-ticket system. About the e-ticket system in Thailand, many airlines have already adopted this system and tried to introduce it to their customers. However, the statistic was shown that only 24% of the internet user has experienced with it, which is pretty low comparing to some other countries. Consequently, the airlines have been trying to improve and enhance their systems in order to encourage the customers to purchase the electronic ticket. Problem: “What are the factors that influence intention to make an online purchase of airline e-ticket?” Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the factors influencing the intention to purchase the domestic airline e-ticket in Thailand, and also to investigate whether there are any differences between e-ticket adopters and non-adopters. Method:         The research is based on quantitative research by using online self-administered survey. The list of respondents was from two travel agencies in Thailand. The questionnaires were sent out to 350 respondents and a total of 253 usable respondents were collected in this research. The questionnaires were designed based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The model comprises of Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of use (PEOU). In addition, the theory of Perceived Risk (PR) is also added to be the third construct in the model. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the all three constructs have different impacts on intention to purchase of e-ticket adopter and e-ticket non adopter. Perceived Usefulness (PU) is the only construct that influences e-ticket adopter while all three construct have significant impact on future intention to purchase of e-ticket non adopter. Convenience factor tends to be the most important one in Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) for e-ticket non adopter whereas product information and accessibility is more important to e-ticket adopter in Perceived Usefulness (PU). Security and privacy are the major concern in Perceived Risk (PR) when buying e-ticket. However, there are additional factors which affect the future intention to purchase exclude from the three constructs studied.

The study investigated the cognitive opinions expressed by consumers in an online shopping environment in the sport supplementation industry as well as the influence certain factors identified through literature, had on the decision-making of these consumers. This was done in an attempt to better understand the online consumer in order to improve marketing campaigns within an e-Commerce environment. Primary data was collected by means of a snowball sampling strategy. Respondents were asked to complete an online questionnaire that consisted of 68 questions. 118 respondents initialized the online questionnaire and 102 fully completed it. Initial analysis proved the data to be sufficient for factor analysis where after confirmatory factor analysis was performed. A new framework to measure influential factors in an online environment was established. 6 out of 10 factors were found to contain sub-groups of influence which suggests that certain questions pertaining to those factors need improvement or rephrasing in order to measure the stand-alone factor more accurately. The reliability of all the factors was measured adequately, noting that Service Quality, Product Risk and Vendor Familiarity could be improved by further developing their underlying variables. Overall it was concluded that Price and Convenience were seen as the greatest motivational factors when a consumer decided to shop online, and Vendor Familiarity and Website Usability were regarded as two crucial components in the comfort level portrayed by consumers while shopping online. Trust and Security were also pointed out to be a major concern for online shoppers in a South African context. The findings of this study are of great value to entrepreneurs and businesses alike seeking to expand or increase their product offering into an online environment. Given the research results from this study and future studies on this topic, marketing strategies can be constructed more precisely in order to reach a target audience in an optimum and more productive manner. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The study investigated the cognitive opinions expressed by consumers in an online shopping environment in the sport supplementation industry as well as the influence certain factors identified through literature, had on the decision-making of these consumers. This was done in an attempt to better understand the online consumer in order to improve marketing campaigns within an e-Commerce environment. Primary data was collected by means of a snowball sampling strategy. Respondents were asked to complete an online questionnaire that consisted of 68 questions. 118 respondents initialized the online questionnaire and 102 fully completed it. Initial analysis proved the data to be sufficient for factor analysis where after confirmatory factor analysis was performed. A new framework to measure influential factors in an online environment was established. 6 out of 10 factors were found to contain sub-groups of influence which suggests that certain questions pertaining to those factors need improvement or rephrasing in order to measure the stand-alone factor more accurately. The reliability of all the factors was measured adequately, noting that Service Quality, Product Risk and Vendor Familiarity could be improved by further developing their underlying variables. Overall it was concluded that Price and Convenience were seen as the greatest motivational factors when a consumer decided to shop online, and Vendor Familiarity and Website Usability were regarded as two crucial components in the comfort level portrayed by consumers while shopping online. Trust and Security were also pointed out to be a major concern for online shoppers in a South African context. The findings of this study are of great value to entrepreneurs and businesses alike seeking to expand or increase their product offering into an online environment. Given the research results from this study and future studies on this topic, marketing strategies can be constructed more precisely in order to reach a target audience in an optimum and more productive manner. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The purpose of this study is to investigate consumer behavior toward online shopping in Haiti with the findings of factors that affect whether or not they purchase online. The study showed that there is some potential for e-commerce in Haiti. However, there are many challenges, including lack of infrastructure, the low availability of credit cards, low government initiations. The sample consisted of 188 Haitian students at university level that were approached by using the “snowball” technique. Every participant made a purchase online before he received the questionnaire, and they were all above eighteen. Different questions were asked to the participants that reflected the characteristics of shopping. First, they were asked to give their frequency of online shopping transactions using a four-point Likert scale. Second, a seven-point Likert scale was used to rate their opinions about trends affecting electronic commerce, companies’ marketing approaches. Third, participants were asked to evaluate their feelings about traditional and online shopping using a nine-point bipolar scale. Finally, the Six Dimensional Achievement Motivations Scale by Jackson, Ahmed, and Heapy (1976) were used that allowed the participants to describe themselves. The results show that the participants still have a negative perception of online shopping compared to traditional shopping. Also, the study reveals that online shopping in Haiti is significantly affected by various Demographic factors like gender, income, and education. As opposed to demographics, the achievement dimensions were less related to online shopping behavior. The results show some limitations in terms of the time available to collect the data, the availability of the participants and their concerns about some questions. Also, generalization must be made carefully since the study is limited to Haitian students. The study has practical and managerial impacts, including the possible use by businesses, other researchers, and the Haitian government. The results of the study could be further used by researchers to conduct future studies in the same field.

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Online shopping is rapidly expanding across the globe including developing markets. The consumer is under the perception of different types of risks associated with online shopping which may damage him. For that matter, researchers have continuously made efforts to investigate different types of perceived risks to establish and correct for consumer and societal benefits. After review of the research articles, some gaps were observed; 1) previous studies treat buyers and non-buyers in the same way as a single unit and there is no comparison among them, 2) most of the studies are quantitative thus focusing on the measurement of the responses yet there is a lack of qualitative work which may express how these people are affected, 3) there is a lack of documentation of personal bad experiences of online buyers (non-buyers), 4) customer service and complaint handling are not exposed to existential confirmation and research in academic studies, and 5) most of the studies reviewed for this research are based on a ‘special segment’ of students aged 18-34, contributing from 65% to 93% of responses which give biased results. To do the research the theory of Perceived Risks was used as a frame of reference to develop an analysis model with Consumer Behavior Theory in the context for online shopping.This study took on these areas and a Quasi-qualitative approach was used including Quasi-statistics by making a purposeful sample based on convenience and snow-ball techniques to fulfill the purpose of the study. A total of 11 one-on-one interviews were made to conclude seeing saturation level. Study shows that i) buyers and non-buyers are two different units of the population with different but comparable attitudes ii) despite perception of risks, buyers continue to keep shopping online, iii) non-buyers have either a bad subjective experience or have technological problem and they are aged more than 30, iv) the bad experiences of buyers and (currently) non-buyers tell about card hacking, bad product, non-delivery, and theft, v) customer service and complaint handling both, are areas which have poor quality and bad coordination, and vi) a new construct of perceived risks, ‘dream-damage’ is found in the context of online shopping.

No description available.

This research investigated the ability of online video to mediate the development of trust in the e-merchant, against the following objectives: (1) determining the drivers of consumer trust in an online environment, (2) investigating the perception of trust in an e-merchant in the absence of video, (3) investigating the perception of trust in an e-merchant in the presence of video and (4) investigating the impact of video mediated trust drivers on the consumer’s willingness to purchase and recommend the e-merchant. The research recommends that businesses in a ‘clicks’ environment, or those in a mortar & bricks environment that maintain a degree of online presence, would do well to consider the prominent usage of video on their websites as a means of mediating trust between the consumer and the online brand.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ attitudes against the technique one-click purchasing. One-click purchasing is a method allowing the customers to transact a purchase with only one click. The customer has entered the payment information necessary to complete the purchase at a previous occasion. Within the next buying opportunity, the customer can purchase products with one single click. The analysis and conclusions is based on both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources represent the result of a questionnaire performed with 200 respondents. The top findings in this study are that the one-click purchasing method is used on a regular basis and most of the consumers’ trust that the method correctly cares for personal information. However the conclusion is that the demand of the method is not high and it seems like the consumers does not care if the method is available upon payment completions or not.

With changing environments and the development of technology, the online marketplace is a relevant field in need of continuous study. As consumer act and behave differently due to cultural aspects as well as individual characteristics and external influences, there is a need for research in order to understand their behavior in this changing marketplace. This paper investigates the elements of Swedish online consumers’ pre-purchase journeys, and sought out to contribute in terms of illustrating the online shopping journey in today’s online environment from a consumer perspective. It does so based on a quantitative study in the form of an online survey based on 265 Swedish respondents. The findings and contribution add information to the field of online shopping as well as mention some differences among online shoppers, mainly in terms of gender. In addition to contributing in terms of the different elements and steps involved in the online shopping journey, a model is presented illustrating the steps in a more fluid depiction that recognizes several touchpoints across the journey. The limitations are indicated in terms of time and scope, as well as in terms of relying on quantitative findings to a great extent. Future recommendations suggest continuous research in terms of the online shopping journey, as well as the combination with qualitative research in order to strengthen the method. The study contributions can be both managerial as well as for practitioners in terms contributing to existing research and providing a simple yet comprehensive illustration of the online consumer journey.