Abstract
The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of trust transfer and online contents on purchase intention in the online-to-offline e-commerce. A partial least squares based structural equation model was utilized to test the framework of causality and a series of multivariate analyses of variance were conducted to test the effects of online content size. The partial least squares results indicate that trust transfer from online-to-offline platforms to offline merchants, perceived effectiveness of online product reviews as well as perceived effectiveness of numerical ratings positively influence trust in merchants directly and purchase intention indirectly, while perceived effectiveness of online production descriptions shows no significant effect. The multivariate analyses of variance results confirm the positive effects of review number and picture number on customer trust toward merchants and purchase intention. The multivariate analyses of variance results also support the positive effects of review length when a merchant has a high review balance. This research contributes to e-commerce and behavior literature by investigating how trust transfer and online contents engage customers and induce their purchase behaviors in online-to-offline commerce. It also assists leading a better online-to-offline outcome for online-to-offline platforms and offline merchants in the highly competitive online-to-offline markets.
Highlights
Online to offline (O2O) e-commerce is one trend among e-business models [48]
The effects of online content size were analyzed using multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) tests and the framework of causality among other variables was tested with a PLS-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)
This study focuses on how trust transfer and online contents drive purchase in the O2O commerce context
Summary
Online to offline (O2O) e-commerce is one trend among e-business models [48]. This commerce model tries to attract customers from surfing Internet to experience offline consumption in physical stores [5]. In contrast to traditional ecommerce models that focus on shifting customer shopping from offline to online environment, O2O commerce aims to integrate online platform with offline sales [31]. Owing to the rapid development of modern information technology and its offspring (e.g., Web2.0, smart phones, mobile APPs, etc.) as well as exponential growth of social media, this commerce model is rising quickly in recent years and has covered all e-commerce platforms that focus on travel, catering, transportation, and house. Attracting customers to purchase is increasingly difficult in this crowded market and requires more research attention
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 callMore From: Journal of theoretical and applied electronic commerce research
Disclaimer: 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.
