Consumer Behavioral Intentions Research Articles

Environmental Sustainability Initiatives in Professional Sports Clubs: The Relationship Between Consumer Perception and Conative Loyalty

In recent years, social demands and academic interest in the environmental and social contribution activities of professional sports clubs have increased. This is due to the spread of the idea that building good relationships with various stakeholders is essential for clubs to enhance their corporate value. However, it is not easy for professional sports clubs to continuously implement sustainable environmental initiatives (ESI) due to the financial burden. It is unclear to what extent consumers are aware of the ESI implemented by professional sports clubs and how much they are willing to spend afterwards, and there are no studies on ESI by professional sports clubs in Japan. Furthermore, it is significant and extremely important to clarify the results of ESI conducted by professional sports clubs on their teams from a marketing perspective. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions toward professional sports clubs that conduct ESI. To achieve the objective, stakeholder theory and social identity theory are applied as a theoretical background to examine the impact of perceived ESI on intention to support a club and intention to attend a game. Data were obtained from a sample that included potential as well as existing consumers, and it was found that the perception of ESI influenced the intention to support a club and the intention to attend a game. The results of the multiple-group structural equation modeling revealed that the perception of ESI influenced the intention to support a club and the intention to attend a game, even among consumers who had no experience of attending a game. In the future, it will be necessary to elucidate the mechanism and causal relationship by which the perception of ESI enhances intentional loyalty, through what kind of psychological process.

Exploring the Effect of Personality Congruencies on Brand Identification and Purchase Intentions

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine how brand reputation and uniqueness impact customer brand identification and purchase intent. Utilizing the survey data of 712 respondents, the research has also discovered the influence of paired personality congruencies – brand-consumer, brand-celebrity and consumer-celebrity on reputation and uniqueness of the brand, brand identification and consumer attitude towards the advertisement and the brand. The results revealed the positive influence of brand-consumer and brand-celebrity personality congruencies on brand reputation. However, brand uniqueness was only impacted by brand-celebrity personality congruence. Significant moderating effect of consumer-celebrity personality congruence was observed. By integrating all the three-personality congruencies in a single framework with consumer-celebrity personality congruency as a moderating variable, the study augurs well to the body of knowledge on celebrity endorsement. Discovering some interesting observations pertaining to the personality congruencies, brand identification and consumer behavioral intentions, the study contributes by extending business and managerial implications.

Influencing factors of mobile instant messaging applications between single- and multi- platform use cases

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the usage intention for different instant messaging application platforms. This study targeted the widespread instant messaging software LINE, for which a survey of 485 valid respondents was conducted in Taiwan. Statistical and model structure analyses were applied to validate the hypotheses proposed in this study. We examined the differences between single- and multi-platform use cases in terms of the relationship between consumer value and behavioral intention. The results show that perceived interactivity, perceived playfulness, and perceived usefulness have significant effects on the continued usage and recommendation intentions of users in a single-platform use case. However, perceived interactivity and perceived playfulness did not have significant effects in multi-platform use cases. The findings of this study provide a new perspective for investigating the intention to continue using a multiplatform application. The results will benefit subsequent studies in this area and provide guidance for the development of instant messaging and other social media applications.

Restaurant Diners' Switching Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protection Motivation Theory.

The unsettling fear of COVID-19 infections has caused a new trend in consumer behavior in the food and beverage industry. The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has shifted consumers’ preferences from eat-in to online delivery. This research aims to measure the impact of consumers’ motivation to protect themselves from contracting COVID-19, which explains why people switch from eat-in to online food delivery. We adopted the theory of protection motivation (PMT) to explain consumer switching behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study investigated the mediating effect of switching intention on the relationship between vulnerability, altruistic fear, anticipated regret, and switching behavior. Simultaneously, we examined the role of brand awareness as a moderator of behavioral choices of consumers switching from eat-in to online delivery. We collected data from 681 eatery consumers in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, using scenario-based survey questionnaires (327 eat-in respondents and 354 online delivery respondents). Then, the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). This new generation analysis was conducted using the analysis of moment structure (AMOS) (v.24.0) and the statistical package for social science (SPSS—version 25.0). The results indicated that consumer vulnerability, altruistic fear, and anticipated regret of COVID-19 increased consumers’ propensity to shift from eat-in to online food delivery. Allegedly, consumer behavioral control and intention of switching toward online delivery were pointedly affected by switching behavior. The results indicated that consumer vulnerability, altruistic fear, and anticipated regret of COVID-19 increased the shifting of restaurant dine-in patterns and made the intention to switch to online delivery. Consumers’ alleged behavioral control and their intention of switching toward online delivery were pointedly affected by switching behavior. We also found that brand awareness moderately affects switching behavior toward restaurant settings. The present research contributes to developing the consumer behavior model of switching from eat-in to online delivery. This study also provides eatery customers and the business community with a safer and healthier proposition of shifting to online food delivery during the pandemic.

Effects of Influencers on Social Media on Interest in Buying East Java Culinary

Abstract
 This research study is to determine the effect of influencers on social media on interest in buying East Java cuisine. This is important so that consumers' perceptions of the reliability of influencer advertising on social media are known and their effect on audience interest in buying. An influencer's specific strategies and skills that must be adapted to attract consumer purchase intention to be effective across social media are important. This study was designed to examine and analyze the effectiveness of influencer promotions broadcast on social media in attracting consumer purchase intentions. The sample used was 225 respondents who were actively using social media in East Java, consisting of 130 female participants, 95 male participants, and most of them aged 18 to 24 years. Respondents' ratings illustrate that influencers who build their honesty and trustworthiness can change consumer behavior and purchase intentions. Attractiveness and relationship with the product there is a match. Optimism and agreement with the differences in the effectiveness of an influencer's advertising on consumer purchase intentions are also the focus of consumer assessments. The influencer's expertise which is reflected in knowledge and ability also has an impact on purchase intention. The perception of female respondents towards culinary promotions in East Java by influencers is more than that of men, this is due to the frequency of using the internet. Optimism and agreement with the differences in the effectiveness of an influencer's advertising on consumer purchase intentions are also the focus of consumer assessments. The influencer's expertise which is reflected in knowledge and ability also has an impact on purchase intention. The perception of female respondents towards culinary promotions in East Java by influencers is more than that of men, this is due to the frequency of using the internet. Optimism and agreement with the differences in the effectiveness of an influencer's advertising on consumer purchase intentions are also the focus of consumer assessments. The influencer's expertise which is reflected in knowledge and ability also has an impact on purchase intention. The perception of female respondents towards culinary promotions in East Java by influencers is more than that of men, this is due to the frequency of using the internet.

Consumer behavioral intention to use restaurant, concert and education services online during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Brazil

PurposeThis study aims to examine the determinants of consumer behavioral intention to use the restaurant, concert and education services online during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was tested via structural equation modeling by using data collected from a sample of 420 Brazilian consumers.FindingsThe results showed that performance expectancy and social influence are the most critical determinants of consumer behavioral intention to use services online during the pandemic. The results also provided evidence that the pandemic has generated significant impacts on future consumer behavior.Originality/valueThis study contributes in a multidisciplinary way to the literature on hospitality, entertainment and education services, by applying the UTAUT theory and testing the model during and after the COVID-19 pandemic context. Moreover, this study provides empirical evidence from Brazil, one of the most affected countries by COVID-19.

Effects of perceived brand localness and perceived brand globalness on consumer behavioral intentions in emerging markets

PurposeThis study examined the effects of perceived brand localness (PBL) and perceived brand globalness (PBG) on consumer behavioral intentions (CBIs) (PI – purchase intentions, PP – price premium and WOM – word of mouth) via brand authenticity (BA). Additionally, this study considered the moderating impact of uncertainty avoidance (UA) and the control variable brand familiarity (BF) in emerging markets (EMs), specifically from China and Pakistan contexts.Design/methodology/approachThis study scrutinized 1,638 responses (China, n = 804 and Pakistan, n = 834) from consumers who used discussed local and global brands. The proposed hypotheses were evaluated using the PLS-SEM technique.FindingsThe findings indicated that the PBL and PBG favorably impacted BA, which significantly affected CBIs in both EMs. Specifically, PBL strongly influenced BA in China, whereas PBG strongly affected BA in Pakistan. The direct effects of PBL and PBG supported CBIs (PI, PP and WOM) in Pakistan. Likewise, PBL was significant on PP and WOM, whereas PBG was significant on PP in China. In Pakistan, UA had a significant moderating impact on PBL and BA. Similarly, UA acted as a positive moderator between BA and CBIs (PI and WOM) in Pakistan but was not supported in China.Research limitations/implicationsThis study examined only two EMs. Future studies may examine emerging vs developed markets. Theoretically, PBL and PBG are important brand signals associated with brand authenticity that communicate to mitigate information asymmetry in EMs. Likewise, brand authenticity was recognized as a positive signal that effectively corresponds to CBIs (in terms of their PI, PP, WOM) by fulfilling brand promises in both EMs. Additionally, UA was proved an effective moderator, improving consumer perceptions of brand authenticity about local brands and increasing PI and WOM toward perceived authentic brands in Pakistan.Practical implicationsThis research revealed important recommendations to help local and global managers in developing and executing several branding strategies in EMs (China and Pakistan). Practically, by improving the brand's localness and globalness, local and global managers may successfully position their brands to influence consumers' perceptions in EMs. Similarly, brand authenticity is a vital positioning tool for managers that favorably influence consumer behavior. Additionally, managers can segment and target their markets by classifying high and low UA consumers, particularly in Pakistan.Originality/valueFollowing signaling theory, this is the first study that contributes toward CBIs in EMs via brand authenticity and considering cultural factors (uncertainty avoidance) from the domestic and international branding perspectives.

Adoption of halal cosmetics: extending the theory of planned behavior with moderating role of halal literacy (evidence from Pakistan)

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) model by adding religious commitment (RC) and self-efficacy as internal variables and investigating the effect of these variables on attitudes toward halal cosmetics. In addition, this study also examined the moderating role of halal literacy in the relationships between attitudes (ATT), subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC) and intentions to purchase halal cosmetics. Design/methodology/approach The method of data collection used was self-administered surveys with customers in two stores in Karachi, Pakistan, yielding 267 valid questionnaires. To guarantee validity and reliability, convergent and discriminant validity analyses were conducted, and structural equation modeling was advanced to assess the relationships between variables using smart partial least squares 3.0 software. The interaction moderation technique has been used to examine the moderating effect of halal literacy on the purchase intention (PI) of halal cosmetics. Findings The results show that RC and self-efficacy both significantly impact the attitudes of Gen Y. Normative beliefs also had a significant relationship with SN. Further, ATT and SN had a significant relationship with PI of halal cosmetics, while PBC was nonsignificant. Furthermore, halal literacy is found to have a positive moderating influence on ATT and PI, and SN and PI. Finally, the moderating effect of halal literacy does not exist in the relationship between PBC and PI. Research limitations/implications Participants’ characteristics should vary for future studies, and larger sample sizes may yield different results. It is critical for managers working in the cosmetic industry to monitor Muslim consumption patterns to develop strategies to reach Muslim consumers. This study reveals the effect of RC, self-efficacy and the moderating role of halal literacy on the behavioral attitudes of a booming market sector, which can guide marketing managers in developing more effective advertising campaigns. Originality/value This paper contributes to the halal consumption literature by exploring RC and self-efficacy as constructs for the very first time in the TPB model. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the influence of halal literacy on Gen Y Pakistani Muslim consumer behavioral intention toward halal cosmetic products using the TPB model. The paper offers an extended TPB model framework that may be of interest to scholars, marketers and policymakers.

Enhancing consumer perceptions of privacy and trust: a GDPR label perspective

PurposeThe General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduces significant data protection obligations on all organizations within the European Union (EU) and those transacting with EU citizens. This paper presents the GDPR privacy label and uses two empirical studies to examine the effectiveness of this approach in influencing consumers' privacy perceptions and related behavioral intentions.Design/methodology/approachThe paper tests the efficacy of two GDPR privacy label designs, a consent-based label and a static label. Study 1 examines the effects of each label on perceptions of risk, control and privacy. Study 2 investigates the influence of consumers' privacy perceptions on perceived trustworthiness and willingness to interact with the organization.FindingsThe findings support the potential of GDPR privacy labels for positively influencing perceptions of risk, control, privacy and trustworthiness and enhancing consumers' willingness to transact and disclose data to online organizations.Practical implicationsThe findings are useful for organizations required to comply with the GDPR and present a solution to requirements for transparent communications and explicit consent.Originality/valueThis study examines and demonstrates the efficacy of visualized privacy policies in impacting consumer privacy perceptions and behavioral intentions.

Influencers' smiles work regardless of product and message

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how influencers' visual content affects consumer attitudinal and behavioral responses to influencer advertising. The proposed model includes smile intensity of influencers as the independent variable, warmth and admiration as the mediators and product category (Study 1) and orientation of advertising messages (self vs social, Study 2) as the moderators.Design/methodology/approachTwo experimental studies (Study 1 and 2) were conducted. A total of 337 online panelists were collected via Qualtrics in Study 1 and responses from 409 online panelists were collected via Qualtrics in Study 2.FindingsThe results of two experimental studies showed that smiling influencers increased perceptions of warmth and feelings of admiration, thereby evoking positive consumer attitudes and behavioral intention. The strong positive impact of smiling on responses to influencer advertising was present regardless of product categories (Study 1) and the orientation of advertising messages (Study 2).Originality/valueThis study empirically examined the role of visual content on consumers' attitudinal, emotional and behavioral responses to influencer advertising by adopting theoretical models in social psychology. This paper also provides strong managerial implications for marketers who seek the most effective strategies for leading consumers to evaluate influencers positively and ultimately, accepting marketing messages favorably.

Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction between Website Quality, Perceived Convenience and Online Purchase Intention

Maintaining a successful retail business requires ability to attract and retain customers in an online world. Despite the fact that purchasing intention has been highlighted as a key element influencing website quality, perceived convenience, and customer satisfaction, few studies have looked into how initial purchase intention influences ongoing purchase intention. We intended to dig deeper into the link between website quality, perceived convenience, and purchase intention categories mediated by consumer satisfaction. We develop questionnaires and e-retail businesses to help us conduct surveys. Questionnaires were distributed to Generation Y in two cities in Saudi Arabia. Our findings show that website quality and perceived convenience have a beneficial impact on purchase intention. Websites should consider paying more attention to website quality elements like responsiveness, usability, reliability, usability, and website content, as well as services supplied like personalization, user feedback and ratings, good for users, and complaint monitoring. The findings of this study add to earlier research on online ease and assist researchers better understand what aspects influence consumer satisfaction and behavioural intention.

Certification paradox: Reverse response on the non-hygiene restaurant certification

Prior research investigated the effect of restaurant hygiene certification and discovered that restaurateurs make greater efforts to maintain hygiene quality, effectively resolving the information asymmetry. With the proliferation of non-hygiene certificates, little effort has been made to research the impacts of non-hygiene certifications. In addition, the influence of brand has not been adequately examined in earlier certificate studies. For the purpose of this study, a scenario-based questionnaire was randomly distributed in a big retail complex in Seoul, Korea. Consistent with prior studies, we found in general positive influence of non-hygiene certificate and high brand equity in customer trust and behavior intention. Based on 737 useable responses, however, this study revealed that the once-beneficial impact of non-hygiene certification on high-end restaurants has unexpectedly reversed, resulting in the certification paradox. This paradox has also been discovered in customer trust by a strong negative three-way interaction effect of cognition at a high-end restaurant with a non-hygiene certificate. This is the inverse of what was expected. Customers may be dubious of a high-end restaurant that displays a non-hygiene certification, resulting in a reduced level of trust when combined with consumer cognition. It implies that the government's simple accumulation of multiple certificates may have unintended repercussions. To put it another way, supplying a lot more information through certificates damages consumer trust and behavior intention. Finally, this study confirmed that customer trust appears to be a pure mediator between certification, brand equity, and behavior intention.

COVID-19 impact on Facebook-based social commerce in Bangladesh

Popular social media Facebook-oriented social commerce (S-commerce), commonly known as Facebook commerce (F-commerce) has progressed towards a bevy business in Bangladesh. Many young people, especially at the age of 20-28, are now in this industry. The pandemic situation due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) forces people to buy more from the online market because of the safety issue. People are getting more interested in the new trend of buying from an online store. The current study aims to explore the impact of COVID-19 on F-commerce, particularly in Bangladesh. It uses the non-probability purposive sampling method and collects 181 usable responses through an online questionnaire. A research model is developed following the social commerce acceptance model (SCAM), and structural equation model partial least square (SEM-PLS) using SmartPLS 3.0 is applied to find out and justify the result. Likert five-point scale for determining the independent variables, including COVID-19 awareness (CA), consumer behavior (CB), and purchase intention (PI), is used. The study result confirms that these three variables have a positive impact on F-commerce. The survey covers other measurable items that indicate some assumptions, which reflect F-commerce consumers’ behavior. The researchers recommend that F-commerce businesspeople must emphasize on mitigating trust issues and provide enhanced home delivery service.

The Influence Of The Website's Atmosphere On Online Consumer Behavior And Its Relationship To Flow: Case Study Of Online Travel In Indonesia

In this decade, studies of website atmospherics and flow experiences have received much attention from researchers and are very broad. At present, there are still few fields of study that study the relationship between the atmosphere website and a flow experience. In this study aims to examine the factors that have an impact on website atmospherics and flow experiences that can affect consumer behavior (Enjoyment shopping, Intimacy, and Intention) in the use of online travel services websites in Indonesia. In the development of this study, using the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework as a theoretical basis, the findings of this study are expected to show that the design atmosphere in websites has a positive impact on improving the enjoyment shopping, Intimacy and Intention of purchases for online travel agents in Indonesia.

How Warmth Appeal Affects Persuasion: The Moderating Role of Brand Concepts.

In practice, more and more companies are using warmth appeals in their advertisements, but not all warmth appeals can bring the expected results. Grounded in social perception, we propose that consumers’ inferences and behavioral intentions stemming from warmth appeals in advertising are moderated by brand concepts. Specifically, warmth appeal decreases competence inferences and, in turn, behavioral intentions toward the self-enhancement brands. However, it increases warmth inferences and, in turn, behavioral intentions toward self-transcendence brands. We tested our hypotheses through two experimental studies. Experiment 1 demonstrated that for self-enhancement brands, warmth appeals in advertisements decreased brand attitudes and purchase intentions; for self-transcendence brands, warmth appeals in advertisements increased brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Experiment 2 showed further evidence to the proposed effect and tested the mediating effects of warmth perception and competence perception. This research provides significant implications for advertising strategies.

A Study of Consumer Choice Behavior Determination Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) of Functional Cosmetics

Purpose: This study aimed to identify consumer behavioral decisions based on the selection attributes of functional cosmetics. The structural relationship between consumers' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control was empirically examined for this purpose.Method: As a theoretical model, behavioral studies on the selection attributes of functional cosmetics were proposed based on Ajzen's theory of planned behavior, and the collected data were analyzed using SPSS 22. After determining the selection attributes of functional cosmetics, a correlation analysis was performed to understand the correlation between consumer behavioral intentions leading to purchase.Result: It was verified that the higher the attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, which are sub-elements of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the higher the consumer behavioral intention of functional cosmetics. At this time, it was discovered that the higher the perceived behavioral control among the TPB, the higher the behavioral intention. Furthermore, as the behavioral intention increased, so did the preference for wrinkle improvement, whitening improvement and UV protection among the functional cosmetic selection attributes. In this case, wrinkle improvement was discovered to have the greatest influence on consumer behavioral intention in the structural relationship of functional cosmetic selection attributes.Conclusion: Recently, as the scope of functional cosmetics has expanded and consumer interest has increased, the needs and expectations of consumers for the use of functional cosmetics have diversified, as have the functional selection properties. Therefore, it is critical to carefully consider the characteristics of consumers to establish a marketing strategy for functional cosmetics. While most previous studies related to functional cosmetics focused solely on the purchasing behavior of consumers, this study is significant in that it identified the process of behavioral intention that determines consumer behavior leading to the purchase of functional cosmetics in greater detail.

Analysis of the Influence of Environment Quality, Delivery Quality, and Outcome Quality Factors on Behavioral Intention through Customer Satisfaction on Shopee Apps Users in Surabaya

Shopee Apps is one of the most frequently used e-commerce applications with the number of transactions increasing by up to 130% in 2020. Shopee Apps is also the community's top e-commerce application for shopping online during the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important for Shopee Apps to be able to determine the quality of services that can be offered that have an influence on consumer satisfaction and behavioral intentions of consumers. The service quality studied is e-service quality which consists of three factors, namely environment quality, delivery quality, and outcome quality. This research was conducted with a causal research type and a quantitative research approach. This research was conducted on Shopee Apps users who live in the city of Surabaya. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires to each consumer. The sampling technique was carried out by snowball sampling. Then the analysis technique used is structural equation modeling (SEM) with the help of AMOS and the Sobel test. The results of the study prove that environment quality, delivery quality, and outcome quality have a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction and behavioral intention. The results of the study also explain that customer satisfaction has a positive effect on behavioral intention. On the indirect effect, the research results show that environment quality, delivery quality, and outcome quality have a significant effect on behavioral intention through customer satisfaction on Shopee Apps users in Surabaya.

Factors involved in adopting mobile banking for Sharia Banking Sector using UTAUT 2

The technology development and covid 19 that hit in 2020 have triggered an increase in digital transactions in Indonesia in recent years. The condition of the Indonesian people, which is dominated by the productive age classified as digital savvy, further strengthens the opportunities and challenges for digital transformation in almost all industrial fields. This study was aimed at determining the important factors for consumers in behavioral intentions to adopt mobile banking. The model examining the factors in this study used constructs in the unified technology acceptance user technology (UTAUT) extension theory, UTAUT 2. The other constructs were perceived value for non-monetary value and perceived credibility, which was an additional construct to predict behavioral intentions. This study used a questionnaire involving 305 respondents randomly as a cross-generational sampling in Indonesia. Structural Equation Method (SEM) and smartPls 3.0 software were used to analyze the data. It was found that perceived value was the strongest predictor of an individual's behavioral intention to adopt mobile banking. Furthermore, performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, habit and perceived credibility (except effort expectancy, social influence and hedonic motivation) were also significant predictors of consumer behavioral intentions. This research is expected to shed insight into the adoption of mobile banking and can help the banking industry, in particular Sharia banking in Indonesia, in launching a strategy to increase market share through digitalization of banking, especially mobile banking services.

Chatbots in retail: How do they affect the continued use and purchase intentions of Chinese consumers?

AbstractThe application of artificial intelligence in the retail industry has exposed many innovation opportunities and significantly impacts consumer behavior. Based on the social presence, retailer innovativeness, and self‐determination theories, this study constructs an integrated and original framework for elucidating the influence mechanism of the social characteristics of anthropomorphic intelligent services (chatbots) on consumer behavioral intentions. An empirical study of Chinese consumers (n = 442) reveals the following: first, the social presence of chatbots exerts a direct and positive impact on retailer experience innovativeness and intimacy; second, retailer experiential innovativeness, intimacy, and sense of empowerment mediate the influence of the social presence of chatbots on consumers' behavioral intentions; third, the cute communication styles in the low‐level social presence are very conducive for promoting the relationships between social presence and experiential innovativeness. By improving the level of social presence, formal communication styles can play a key role in promoting relationships. Theoretically, this study contributes to the social presence theory by extending it to the interaction with retailer experiential innovativeness and exploring the chain‐like mediating role of experiential innovativeness, as well as the self‐determined satisfaction between the social presence and consumer behavior intentions. Furthermore, this study also examines how different chatbot communication styles moderate the influence of social presence on consumers' behavioral intentions, thereby revealing the differential effects and boundary conditions of chatbot social presence on consumer behaviors. These findings will offer retailers insights into consumers' psychological activities to practically design chatbots and conduct smart retail innovation activities.

Consumers’ sustainable online purchase behaviour during COVID-19 pandemic: the role of relational benefit and site commitment

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the factors that influence the sustainable online purchase intentions of consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also examines the role of relational benefit and site commitment in the study model.Design/methodology/approachData were obtained from a survey of 356 Bangladeshi consumers who were voluntarily using the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modelling with Smart PLS 3.0 and SPSS V25 tools.FindingsThe results show a positive and significant relationship between consumers’ personal innovativeness and impulse purchase orientation with their relational benefit and site commitment, social influence with relational benefit, relational benefit with site commitment, site commitment with the intention to purchase. Moreover, the study found that relational benefit mediates the relationship between impulse purchase orientation and social influence with site commitment. The results also indicate that site commitment mediates the relationship between personal innovativeness and impulse purchase orientation with the intention to purchase. The results further indicate that site commitment mediates the relationship between relational benefit and intention to purchase.Practical implicationsThe findings allow online stores to consider crucial factors in their policies when making strategic decisions regarding the factors impacting consumers’ online purchasing intention during the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueIn this study, a research framework is developed with a focus on the sustainable consumer intention to purchase. This study, therefore, adds to the existing literature by analyzing the factors that determine online purchase intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, given the limited number of studies on the online consumer behavioral intentions in related circumstances to COVID-19.