ISSN 2736-1721
Global Journal of Business Management ISSN 6731-4538 Vol. 13 (4), pp. 001-011, April, 2019. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
What motivates people to search online? Antecedences and comparisons among different buyers
Jin-Yi Yeh1, Wen-Shan Lin1*, Chun-Hsien Wang2 and Yen-Chu Hsu2
1Department of Management Information Systems, National Chiayi University, Chiayi, 60054, No.580, Sin-Min Rd., Taiwan.
2Department of Bio-industry and Agribusiness Administration, National Chiayi University, Chiayi, 60054, No.580, Sin-Min Rd., Taiwan.
Accepted 11 November, 2018
Abstract
Human factors affect information -seeking behavior in online shopping. However, there are few studies that investigate the differences in product-selections on information seeking. This study adopts Baker’s theory with respect to consumer decision style (1999) to identify influential antecedents and contextual factors in web pages best explain consumer information-seeking behavior in the pre-purchase stage. Four cases of different buys that generalize high versus low level of product involvements are selected for investigations. Results identify three types of shopping styles. In addition, product involvement is revealed as a significant factor in affecting shoppers’ information search. Information with respect to store reputation, product functions and payment methods are perceived as the most important for web store search. Shoppers’ age, occupations, income and online shopping expenses are also influential. This study generalizes human factors in adopting information seeking in the pre-purchase stage and suggests web information system designs to facilitate online shopping.
Key words: Information seeking, electronic commerce, pre-purchase search, online shopping, consumer behavior.