Understanding usage transfer behavior of two way O2O services

Abstract

E-commerce has become an established business model, and enterprises of all sizes are engaged in a wide range of business strategies to attract consumers. One strategy in particular, known as online-to-offline, or O2O, has developed particularly quickly. In comparison to past O2O studies which have focused on the purchase intention of individual O2O users, this study explores whether consumers' experience and behavior can be transferred between physical and virtual channels to create Online-to-Offline and Offline-to-Online behavior patterns. Furthermore, we explore key factors influencing consumers’ behavior in the O2O business model. To assess factors including “trust,” “perceived risk,” “service quality,” “satisfaction,” “subjective norms,” “social interaction,” “convenience,” and “behavioral intention,” an online questionnaire is distributed to consumers to solicit past experience with O2O business models and relevant opinions for both Online-to-Offline and Offline-to-Online models The collected data are tested through hypothesis analysis via structural equation modeling (SEM). The empirical results show that trust, perceived risk, the service quality of the system, subjective norms, and convenience have a positive impact on consumer satisfaction and behavioral intention in the Online-to-Offline model, while the impact of social interaction is found to be insignificant. In the Offline-to-Online model, trust, the service quality of the system, subjective norms, social interaction, and convenience have a positive impact on consumer satisfaction and behavioral intention, but perceived risk does not. The results of this study provide researchers and firms with a better understanding of the O2O business model.