Uncertainty Avoidance and Consumer Cognitive Innovativeness in E-Commerce

Abstract

This article describes how despite the extensive academic interest in e-commerce, an investigation of consumer cognitive innovativeness towards new product purchase intention has been neglected. Based on the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) model, this study investigates the consumer cognitive innovativeness and the moderating role of the individual consumer-level uncertainty avoidance cultural value towards new product purchase intention in business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce. Structural equation modelling, such as partial least squares (PLS) path modelling was used to test the model, using a sample of 255 participants in Australia who have had prior online shopping experience. The findings show that the online store web atmosphere influences consumers' cognitive innovativeness to purchase new products in countries with diverse degrees of uncertainty avoidance such as Australia. The results provide some guidance for a B2C website design based on how individual's uncertainty avoidance and cognitive innovativeness can aid the online consumer purchasing decision-making process.