SITUACIÓN INICIAL O ANTECEDENTES DEL PM

Very few researchers have used the comprehensive models of consumer behaviour (Howard and Sheth, 1969; Engel et al., 1995) for the purpose of studying the adoption of e-commerce. Teo and Yeong’s (2003) investigation is one of the few exceptions. Their study focused on three core stages of the decision process: information search, alternative evaluation and purchase. O’Connor and O’Keefe (2000) examined the effects of the Internet on each of the five stages of the buying process proposed by the EBM model by comparing traditional consumer and Internet consumer behaviours.

Given that purchasing over the Internet can be regarded as a new purchasing practice when compared to other modes of shopping (Vijayasarathy, 2004), and bearing in mind that using e-commerce requires the use of other innovative technologies, it can be argued that the diffusion and adoption of innovations is an appropriate theory for studying the adoption of e-commerce. Two branches of diffusion theory have essentially been examined in the literature. One group of researchers has focused on innovativeness. George (2002), Goldsmith (2002), Goldsmith and Goldsmith (2002) and Citrin et al. (2000) assessed the relationship between innovativeness as a personality trait and the intention to/actual purchasing over the Internet using the Domain Specific Innovativeness Scale proposed by Goldsmith and Hofacker (1991). The temporal approach to innovativeness can be found in studies by, for example, Vrechopoulos et al (2001), who compared the demographic profile and perceptions of innovators and early adopters of e-commerce.

The effects of perceived innovation attributes on intention to use and actual usage of e-commerce is the other important area of research using DAI theory. One of the earliest studies was undertaken by Eastlick and Lotz (1999) who studied the factors influencing the adoption of an electronic shopping medium. Verhoef and Langerak (2001) studied whether physical effort, time pressure and enjoyment were related to three perceived innovation characteristics (complexity, relative advantage and compatibility) and whether these were related to intention to adopt. Eastin (2002) focused on whether perceived risk, two types of advantages (perceived convenience and perceived financial benefits) and complexity predicted actual use of the Internet for purchasing.

As in the field of adoption of computers and the Internet, the TAM has been the most widely used model to study consumer adoption of e-commerce. According to Pavlou (2003) this stems from the fact that e-commerce is heavily technologically-driven and thus researchers have hypothesised that the principles of the model can be applied to e-commerce. With few exceptions (e.g. Henderson and Divett, 2003), researchers have expanded the belief set of TAM. Other internal variables include trust (Chen et al, 2002;

Pavlou, 2003; Chen and Tan, 2004), perceived risk (Pavlou, 2003), compatibility (Chen and Tan, 2004; Vijayasarathy, 2004), privacy and security (Vijayasarathy, 2004), enjoyment (Childers et al., 2001), normative beliefs (Vijayasarathy, 2004), self-efficacy (Vijayasarathy, 2004) and perceived service quality (Chen and Tan, 2004). In general, the results support the belief that TAM´s predictive ability is enhanced by the inclusion of other beliefs.

Studies based on TAM have either used the original model, in which attitude is a mediator between beliefs and intention (e.g. Childers et al., 2001, Chen et al., 2002; Chen and Tan, 2004; Vijayasarathy, 2004), or the revised model, which postulates that beliefs have a direct impact on intention (e.g. Gefen and Straub, 2000; Henderson and Divett, 2003; Pavlou, 2003).

A few researchers have used the Theory of Planned Behaviour. George’s (2002) model posited that attitudes toward Internet purchasing were influenced by three types of belief:

trustworthiness, control of personal data, and the anonymity of Internet interactions. Shim et al. (2001) put forward a model that postulates that intention to search the Internet for product information is a mediator between intention to use the Internet for purchasing and attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control.

Alternative approaches

Several alternative theories to the study of the adoption of e-commerce have been identified. These include the transaction cost theory and the media choice theories.

Transaction cost theory is based on the transaction cost economics model. The model attempts to explain why a subject favours a particular form of transaction over others and the basic assumption is that given all things being equal, people prefer to conduct transactions in the most economic way (Liang and Huang, 1998; Teo and Yu, 2005). For e-commerce, the assumption is that purchasing from electronic stores can be considered as a choice between the web and traditional stores and hence it is reasonable to assume that the consumer will go with the channel that has a lower transaction cost (Liang and Huang, 1998). Several type of transaction costs have been postulated to be involved in online buying. Teo and Yu (2005) suggested searching costs, monitoring costs and adapting costs, while Liang and Huang (1998) provided a more extensive list, which includes search, comparison, examination, negotiation, payment, delivery and post-service costs.

According to the media choice theories, the selection of a medium for a specific task is a function of the characteristics of the medium and the task (Vijayasarathy, 2002). One such theory is the Media Richness Theory which postulates that individuals tend to choose a medium according to its richness in dealing with equivocality and uncertainty (Daft and Lengel, 1986; El-Shinnawy and Markus, 1997; Heeren and Lewis, 1997; Wijayanayake and Higa, 1999). The general contention is that rich media (such as face-to-face) are suitable for dealing with equivocal situations and lean media (such as written documents) are more appropriate for reducing uncertainty (El-Shinnawy and Markus, 1997; Heeren and Lewis, 1997).

Trenholm and Jansen (1999) suggested that a medium can be evaluated according to its interaction characteristics. Table 4.1 shows the interaction characteristics of the four most common purchasing channels based on the level of personal contact involved and the technology that mediates the communication:

• Face-to-face (non-technologically mediated personal contact);

• Telephone (technologically mediated voice-based communication with personal contact)

• Email (technologically mediated written-based communication with personal contact) and

• Electronic purchase (technologically mediated communication with no personal contact).

Table 4. 1: Interactional characteristics of purchasing channels (Source: Adapted from Trenholm and Jansen, 1999)

Personal contact No personal contact Nature of contact

Characteristics of

communication Face-to-face Telephone Email Electronic purchase

Proximity of the parties close far far far

Nature of feed-back immediate immediate delayed immediate

Adaptation of message specific specific specific general

Communication roles informal formal formal formal

Type of language oral oral written written

Flexibility of communication flexible flexible flexible rigid

From the analysis of Table 4.1 not only is it possible to ascertain the characteristics of each method of communication but to identify the similarities and differences between them.

For example, the only common characteristic between the face-to-face and electronic purchase is the nature of feed-back, which is thought to be immediate. Conversely, the only two differences between face-to-face and telephone are the proximity of the parties and the communication roles. Understanding which communication method the consumers would prefer and the reasons for that preference may give some insight for the reasons why e-commerce is used or in not used.

4.4.2. Appropriateness of the adoption of innovations model for studying