Abstract
Despite the significant growth of e-commerce in recent years, especially in the business-to-consumer (B2C) online retail sector, its positive and negative environmental implications are unclear from previous research. To understand the environmental impacts of e-commerce, two conceptual models were first developed from the literature. Next, using 303 responses collected through a structured questionnaire from the GCC countries, the proposed models, including the relevance/appropriateness of each construct and its underlying items, were validated, and then the hypothesized relationships between them were assessed. The findings of Model 1 showed that green consumerism does shape the consumers’ positive and negative environmental attitudes towards e-commerce, which in turn was found to influence the behavioral intention to use e-commerce channels. In Model 2, positive environmental attitudes no longer predicted behavioral intention with the introduction of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness constructs as consumers preferred ease of use and usefulness of e-commerce over positive environmental factors. Interestingly, the impact of negative environmental attitudes on behavioral intention remained even in the presence of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The study provides critical insights for practitioners and policymakers in promoting and leveraging the positive environmental benefits of e-commerce, while at the same time strive to minimize/eliminate its negative environmental impacts. The study is arguably the first empirical attempt in understanding the positive and negative environmental implications of e-commerce and its impact on the consumer intention to use e-commerce, and hence the study findings are novel.
Highlights
E-commerce has seen significant growth in recent years and has reshaped the global retail industry
While the future prospects of e-commerce look promising, the important question that needs urgent attention is, “what is the rise of electronic commerce mean for the environment?” “Is it more environmentally friendly than traditional brick and mortar retail?” The concerns of the natural environment have led to an increase in green consumerism. This formed the motivation of this study, which aims to answer the following research questions methodically: (1) What is the impact of green consumerism on the formation of positive and negative environmental attitudes towards e-commerce? (2) What is the impact of positive and negative environmental attitudes on behavioral intention to use e-commerce chan nels? and (3) What is the impact of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on behavioral intention to use e-commerce channels?
Conceptual framework and hypotheses development we will first define the constructs, namely, green consumerism, positive environ mental factors, negative environmental factors, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioral intention to use e-commerce channels
Summary
E-commerce has seen significant growth in recent years and has reshaped the global retail industry. 2. Conceptual framework and hypotheses development we will first define the constructs, namely, green consumerism, positive environ mental factors, negative environmental factors, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioral intention to use e-commerce channels. Negative environmental impacts of e-commerce The growing competition in the online retail sector is leading to changes in business strategies and models to lure customers such same-day home or few hour deliveries, which in turn is causing more harm to the environment (Forbes, 2017). According to Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are two key factors that shape an individual’s behavioral intention toward using technology, in this case, use of e-commerce channels for retail shopping (Davis, 1989; Doshi, 2018; Fedorko et al, 2018). The conceptual frame works of the present study are based on the culmination of TRA, TPB, TAM and MBG theories
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
