Bachelor thesis

Factors influencing the

consumer purchase decision
within e-commerce in
emerging markets
- A study conducted in Poland

Authors: Gustav Hallberg &

Sebastian Krysén
Supervisor: Niklas Åkerman
Examiner: Richard Owusu
Date: 2015-05-27
Subject: International Business
Level: Bachelor
Course Code: 2FE50E
Abstract
Title: Factors influencing the consumer purchase decision within e-commerce in
emerging markets - A study conducted in Poland
Authors: Gustav Hallberg and Sebastian Krysén
Supervisor: Niklas Åkerman
Examiner: Richard Owusu

Research Question: Which factors impact the purchase decision of consumers within
emerging markets when shopping online?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between e-commerce
factors and the consumer purchase decision within e-commerce on emerging markets to
unravel how certain factors impact the consumer purchase decision. The aim is to
provide knowledge regarding consumer purchase decision making for retailers entering
an emerging e-commerce market, this by carrying out a survey to consumers on a
representative emerging market.

Hypotheses:
H1: E-logistics has a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase decision.
H2: E-marketing activities have a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase decision.
H3: Online integrity has a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase decision.
H4: E-vendor contact alternatives have a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase
decision.
H5: Web site design has a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase decision.

Method: This study has a deductive research approach combined with a quantitative
research method. The primary data consists of data collected through carrying out a
survey in Warsaw, Poland. The data was later on analyzed using the statistics software
programme SPSS.

Conclusion: In order for e-vendors to gain market shares and utilize the market
capacity of the hyper-competitive emerging markets the factors web site design, e-
marketing and e-vendor contact alternatives are essential to address due to their positive
impact on the consumers purchase decision.

Keywords
E-commerce, Emerging markets, Consumer purchase decision, E-commerce factors

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Thanks
This bachelor thesis has been conducted during the authors last semester of the three
year International Business Program at the School of Business and Economics at
Linnaeus University in Kalmar, Sweden. Further on, several persons were especially
important for the completion of the thesis.

First of all, the authors of this thesis would like to address a special thank to our
supervisor Niklas Åkerman who has provided us with valuable support, feedback and
guidance during the entire process of conducting this thesis. We would also like to
thank our examiner Richard Owusu for the constructive feedback during our seminars
together with the opposition groups. At last, we would like to express our gratitude to
all the respondents in Poland who spared time to answer our survey and by that made it
possible for this study to be executed.

Kalmar 2015-05-27

Gustav Hallberg Sebastian Krysén

________________ _________________

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Contents
1.  Introduction  .......................................................................................................................  1  
1.1  Background  ...............................................................................................................................  1  
1.2  Problem  discussion  ................................................................................................................  3  
1.3  Research  question  ..................................................................................................................  7  
1.4  Purpose  .......................................................................................................................................  7  
2  2.  Theoretical  framework  ...............................................................................................  8  
2.1  Literature  review  ....................................................................................................................  8  
2.1.1  E-­‐commerce  .........................................................................................................................................  8  
2.1.2  E-­‐commerce  factors  .........................................................................................................................  9  
2.1.3  E-­‐logistics  ...........................................................................................................................................  10  
2.1.4  Online  integrity  ...............................................................................................................................  11  
2.1.4.1  E-­‐vendor  data  collection  .....................................................................................................................  12  
2.1.4.2  E-­‐payment  .................................................................................................................................................  12  
2.1.5  Web  site  design  ...............................................................................................................................  14  
2.1.6  E-­‐marketing  ......................................................................................................................................  15  
2.1.7  E-­‐vendor  contact  alternatives  ...................................................................................................  16  
2.1.7.1  Social  media  ..............................................................................................................................................  17  
2.1.8  Consumer  purchase  decision  ....................................................................................................  19  
2.2  Research  hypotheses  ...........................................................................................................  21  
2.3  Research  model  .....................................................................................................................  22  
3.  Methodology  ....................................................................................................................  24  
3.1  Research  method  ..................................................................................................................  24  
3.1.1  Deductive  and  inductive  research  approach  ......................................................................  24  
3.1.2  Qualitative  and  quantitative  research  method  ..................................................................  25  
3.2  Research  design  .....................................................................................................................  27  
3.3  Data  sources  ............................................................................................................................  28  
3.4  Data  collection  technique  ...................................................................................................  28  
3.4.1  Survey  study  .....................................................................................................................................  29  
3.5  Operationalization  ................................................................................................................  30  
3.5.1  Operationalization  model  ...........................................................................................................  31  
3.5.2  Pre-­‐testing  .........................................................................................................................................  33  
3.6  Sampling  ...................................................................................................................................  33  
3.7  Data  analysis  method  ..........................................................................................................  35  
3.7.1  Correlation  analysis  ......................................................................................................................  35  
3.7.2  Regression  analysis  .......................................................................................................................  35  
3.8  Quality  criteria  .......................................................................................................................  36  
3.8.1  Validity  ................................................................................................................................................  36  
3.8.2  Reliability  ...........................................................................................................................................  37  
3.8.2.1  Reliability  analysis  .................................................................................................................................  38  
3.8.2.2  Cronbach’s  alpha  discussion  .............................................................................................................  38  

4.  Result  .................................................................................................................................  41  

4.1  Data  analysis  ...........................................................................................................................  41  
4.1.1  Correlation  analysis  ......................................................................................................................  41  
4.1.2  Regression  analysis  .......................................................................................................................  42  
4.2  Hypotheses  testing  ...............................................................................................................  43  
4.2.1  E-­‐logistics  impact  on  the  e-­‐consumer  purchase  decision  making  ............................  43  
4.2.2  E-­‐marketing  activities  impact  on  the  e-­‐consumer  purchase  decision  ....................  43  
4.2.3  Online  integrity's  impact  on  the  e-­‐consumer  purchase  decision  ..............................  44  
4.2.4  E-­‐vendor  contact  alternatives  impact  on  the  e-­‐consumer  purchase  decision  .....  44  
4.2.5  Web  site  design’s  impact  on  the  e-­‐consumer  purchase  decision  ..............................  44  
5.  Discussion  ........................................................................................................................  45  

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 5.1  Result  discussion  ...................................................................................................................  45  
6.  Conclusion  ........................................................................................................................  49  
6.1  Concluding  the  study  ...........................................................................................................  49  
7.  Implications  .....................................................................................................................  50  
7.1  Practical  recommendations  ..............................................................................................  50  
7.2  Methodological  delimitations  ...........................................................................................  50  
7.3  Further  research  ...................................................................................................................  51  
References  ............................................................................................................................  53  
Appendices  ...............................................................................................................................  I  
Appendix  A  –  Survey  .......................................................................................................................  I  
Appendix  B  –  Total  descriptive  data  ........................................................................................  V  

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1. Introduction
This chapter provides a presentation of the chosen research area. The background
handles the emergence of electronic commerce (e-commerce), while the problem
discussion highlights theoretical and practical problems within the study area. The
problem discussion leads to the research question that is stated in chapter 1.3 and the
purpose is stated for further down the chapter.

1.1 Background
The phenomenal growth of Internet shopping is driven by greater emphasis on
consumers’ efficient use of time, together with an increasing number of computer-
trained consumers (Kim and Kim, 2004). Since it began in 1995, e-commerce has
grown to a 1.2 trillion Euros business-to-consumer (B2C) and 12.4 trillion-Euros
business-to-business (B2B) juggernaut (Laudon and Trevor, 2015). This has had a
major effect on business firms, consumer behavior and markets. Businesses all over the
world: in Europe; in Latin America and in Asia are affected as much as the massive
North American market. From the beginning, e-commerce was only a mechanism for
online retail sales but now it has turned in to being something much broader (Laudon
and Trevor, 2015). New unique services and capabilities have emerged that is physically
impossible to achieve in the physical world. For instance neither Facebook, Twitter nor
Google have got any counterparts in the physical world.

Tampong and Islam (2009, p.132) define e-commerce as:

“Maintaining business relationships and selling information, services and commodities
by means of computer telecommunications networks”, while Laudon and Trevor (2015,
p.49) defines it as:
“The use of the Internet, the Web and apps to transact business. More formally,
digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and
individuals.”

Transactions within e-commerce have grown significantly during the last five to ten
years, as business-to-consumer e-commerce reached a value of 175 billion Euros in
2007 and reached as much as 1.2 trillion Euros in 2013 (Statista, 2015). Business-to-
consumer e-commerce, which is an area under large development in B2C-commerce in
general, has grown to be very important and by that attracted a lot of attention recently.

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It has affected the structure of the industry in general, as well as heightened the
competition, which has resulted in higher bargaining power among the consumers as
prices are falling (Tampong and Islam, 2009). Furthermore, the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (2010), as well as Mirmiran and Shams
(2014) have been examining the economic impact of e-commerce on the national level,
showing that e-commerce has large, positive, collateral effects on national economies.
This new type of business for instance impacts the growth of communication; finance;
retail trade; education; health and government in a national perspective, which generally
accounts for about 50 percent of the GDP in developed countries.

Tampong and Islam (2009) highlight that the growth of e-commerce has led to major
investments within information technology among companies to ensure their viability in
the future. There have been a lot of successful transformations to e-commerce sales for
many companies. However, there have been an even larger number of companies failing
to adapt. E-commerce does not only include buying and selling, it also includes
activities that support commerce through electronic connections, such as: hardware
elements; software products; network elements and network services. The fact that the
Internet is available in a large extent means that a lot of businesses and individuals are
able to participate in e-commerce activities (Tampong and Islam, 2009).

Tampong and Islam (2009); and Mirmiran and Shams (2014) state that e-commerce can
be classified in to four different categories: business-to-business (B2B); business-to-
consumer (B2C); consumer-to-consumer (C2C); and consumer-to-business (C2B). In
B2B e-commerce telecommunication networks are used to connect business activities
such as: procurement; inventory; supply and product development. The focus in this
category is mainly on commercial activities among business organizations. When it
comes to B2C e-commerce, telecommunication networks are used for communication
and product/service delivery between individual consumers and businesses. This
category mainly focuses on transactions and commercial activities between business
organizations and consumers, for instance between Amazon.com and their consumer
group. In C2C e-commerce telecommunications networks are used as a central point of
consumer groups. Transactions or electronic exchanges between consumers are usually
mediated through a third party, like eBay.com or similar electronic adds. Lastly, within

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the fourth category, C2B, telecommunication networks are used to enable consumers to
present themselves as prospective buyers to business organizations.

1.2 Problem discussion

E-commerce is blooming and all types of companies from Small and Medium sized
Enterprises (SME’s) to Large Scale Enterprises (LSE’s) are embracing e-commerce
methods and succeeding (Loshin and Vacca, 2004). Organizations all over the world
face the issue of trying to find out how to leverage the Internet as a business tool.
Various crucial and fundamental factors impacting e-commerce have been examined,
where trust and e-loyalty are among the most pervading topics regarding e-commerce
worldwide. “Online loyalty, or e-loyalty, has been conceived as a “consumer’s
intention to buy” from a Web site, and that consumers will not change to another Web
site” (Dyr, 2008; p. 48).

Since the initial online shopping phase, e-commerce trust and e-vendor trust have been
considered vital for attracting customers. This was stated already in early stages in e-
commerce studies conducted by Hoffman, Novak and Peralta (1999); and Jarvenpaa,
Tractinsky and Vitale (2000) when examining consumer trust on the Internet and the
essential factor of trusting web sites when exchanging monetary funds on the Internet.
Furthermore, Lowry et al. (2008) argue that when consumers are unfamiliar with a
vendor’s web site, they are less likely to trust it. This results in less interest about the
web site and less willingness to purchase products from it, which can be substantial
impediments to: start-up companies; lesser-known firms and firms entering new
markets. Academic researches of e-commerce has continued on this path during the
more recent years when Choi and Nazareth (2014); Fang et al. (2014); and Kim (2014)
have been focusing their studies on trust issues like how to maintain e-loyalty, repair
trust violations and establish initial trust for first time consumers.

Studies by Kim and Kim (2004); and Kim et al. (2012) takes on e-commerce in a more
broad perspective, not only focusing on the issues of trust and security, instead
conducting quantitative research concerning attributes and e-commerce purchase
determinants, in other words unraveling which factors that are most important for
consumers when choosing a particular e-vendor or web site. The research of Kim and

3
Kim (2004) resulted in four factors of perceived attributes of online shopping being
important to measure: transaction/cost; incentive programs; site design and interactivity.
Since the growth of e-commerce have an impact on many sectors in a national
economy, investigating determinants creating enlarged e-commerce sales on web sites
and attracting e-customers at the country level would be useful to support a deeper
managerial understanding (Ho, Kauffman and Liang, 2011).

There are multiple attributes concerning trust and purchase determinants within e-
commerce touched by Kim and Kim (2004); and Kim et al. (2012) that are discussed
and examined in several studies. E-logistics and the implications of shipping price
strategies, environmental issues, efficiency and return/cancellation policies are studied
by Gümüs et al. (2013); Macharis et al. (2014); Zhang and Zhang (2013); and Singh
(2014). Online integrity for consumers are of large importance for e-vendors to provide,
different kinds of this matter such as information security, e-vendor data collection and
payment methods are studied by Kim et al. (2009); Roca, Garcia and de la Vega (2009);
Premazzi et al. (2010); Rau (2013); and Choi and Nazareth (2014). Web site design is
another factor affecting e-consumers. Diamond and Diamond (2007); Dyr (2008); and
Martins et al. (2012) have all conducted studies showing how to create a trustworthy
web site and how this increase sales. E-marketing is also a factor pervading e-
commerce. This Internet based kind of marketing is examined by Eida and El-Gohary
(2013); and Jiang and Liu (2012) giving straight up answers on what types of marketing
tools that are most effective to use in order to attract consumers to choose their
particular store. Further on, E-vendor contact alternatives are becoming more and more
important for e-consumer in order for e-vendors to gain trust and create loyalty.
Different kinds of contact alternatives impacting the consumer purchase decision are
being studied by Park et al. (2015); Park, Chung and Rutherford (2011), Brengman and
Karimov (2012); Aichner and Jacob (2015) and Park et al. (2015).

In contrary, the factor of product price will not be taken in to account in this study,
since the price according to Keen et al. (2004); Ozok, Oldenburger and Solvency
(2007); and Doaei and Hassanzadeh (2013) is the undoubtably strongest contributor in
the consumer purchase decision making process. Instead the factors studied in this
research seeks to fulfill the additional gap when consumers makes the decision of where
to buy a product when the product price is at the same level on several web sites.

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The studies mentioned above, including the ones presented in previous paragraphs,
focus on developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong
Kong and South Korea. This goes hand in hand with the discoveries made by Ho,
Kauffman and Liang (2011) showing that exploitation of e-commerce historically is
associated with developed countries, countries by that also being innovative within the
information and communication technological (ICT) field over-winning one of the
major gatekeepers for utilizing the opportunities of globalizing economy and the
growing e-commerce. Additionally, the technological adaptation of the inhabitants in a
country is a large prerequisite for e-commerce growth when the ICT-infrastructure of
the country provides this opportunity (Ho, Kauffman and Liang, 2011). For instance
computers per capita, Internet user penetration, broadband penetration and mobile
phone penetration are primary indicators for Internet technological adaptation. These
elements are of great importance since they reflect the size of the market in which B2C
e-commerce transactions occur, which obviously is of large-scale in developed
economies. Due to the elements described above it is comprehensible that developed
countries have been the most common objects to examine within e-commerce because
of their developed ICT-infrastructure and Internet-society adoption, though leaving
major academic knowledge gaps regarding e-commerce within emerging markets. Al-
somali, Gholami and Clegg (2015) states that there are significant differences between
how e-business successfully is conducted in developed markets compared to emerging
markets, why further research must be considered needed within an emerging market
perspective.

Cavusgil, Ghauri and Akcal (2013) argue that most of the world’s economic growth
during the next two decades will occur in todays’ emerging markets. Many countries
that historically have been assessed to have markets of high volatility and risk have now
been reformed and liberalized. Not to long ago these, now emerging, markets were
perceived as backward striving and low tech. Today these markets are rapidly
transforming their economies, creating extraordinary importance of academic research
in emerging markets, which is additionally being legitimated by forecasts from Statista
(2015) showing that the global e-commerce sales will more than double up between
2012-2018.

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Several emerging markets in Europe are facing fast developments within ICT-
infrastructure, as well as a rampant Internet usage (Statista, 2015). Poland is somewhat
of a role model regarding these factors within the emerging market sector, being seen as
an emerging market by for instance FTSE, Grant Thornton, Golden Sachs and MSCI
(Cavusgil, Ghauri and Akcal, 2013). Statistics prove that the value of the Polish B2C e-
commerce market has increased by approximately 250 percent during the last five years,
rising from 2.5 billion Euros in 2009 to 6.2 billion euros in 2014 (Statista, 2015).
Moreover, the percentage of households using Internet has faced thriving numbers
during the time span of 2009-2014, increasing from as low as 19 percent to now facing
75 percent usage. By that Poland almost reaches the average numbers of the European
Union being 78 percent, which according to Lowry et al. (2008) creates great potential
of e-commerce activities to be in growth mode. Several East and Central European
emerging markets are forecasted to face a similar e-commerce future compared to the
one in Poland. These countries have markets with other conditions for firms and other
mindsets of consumers than the markets in developed countries where e-commerce
originally were created and utilized. According to Kim et al. (2012) and Singh (2014)
for instance security systems has been rapidly improved in developed e-commerce
markets, decreasing the notion that online shopping is a risky business, as well as e-
commerce logistics has been far more developed with increased efficiency and
effectiveness in material delivery to the customer

To explain the diverse complexity of factors influencing the growth potential for firms
within e-commerce business on emerging markets it is important for e-vendors to utilize
the capacity of both the firm itself, as well as their target market (Agarwal and Wu,
2015). Practically, an extended understanding of which factors that positively impact
the purchasing decision for consumers on the Internet would be great guiding for e-
vendors according to Fang et al. (2014), especially due to the hyper-competitive e-
commerce environment where trust and how to allocate trust building resources
increasingly has become an essential factor. In addition to this, one can see a large
absence of quantitative and statistical studies focusing on the consumer side of B2C e-
commerce within emerging markets, to see what really is important for the consumer. In
this matter Poland is an excellent case country to study to achieve academic hands on
information regarding B2C e-commerce within emerging markets for firms trying to
conquer the Polish, or another, emerging market.

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1.3 Research question
The problem discussion has resulted in the research question stated below.

Which factors impact the purchase decision of consumers within emerging markets
when shopping online?

1.4 Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between e-commerce factors
and the consumer purchase decision within e-commerce on emerging markets to unravel
how certain factors impact the consumer purchase decision. The aim is to provide
knowledge regarding consumer purchase decision making for retailers entering an
emerging e-commerce market, this by carrying out a survey to consumers on a
representative emerging market.

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2 2. Theoretical framework
This chapter presents the theoretical framework of this study. It will, first, review
currently studied factors related to e-commerce in a broader and more contemporary
perspective. Thereafter, the consumer purchase decision process will be described, and
at the end of the chapter the hypotheses and the research model are presented.

2.1 Literature review

2.1.1 E-commerce
The emergence of the Internet has made e-commerce one of the most efficient and
effective tools of doing business (Wen et al. 2014). The evolution of the e-commerce
has brought new opportunities to marketers, operations managers and retailers to
transfer their business from traditional brick-and-mortar stores (B&M-stores), to e-
commerce web sites. There are a lot of advantages when managing operations in e-
commerce domains, for instance it is possible to reach customers 24/7 and further on e-
commerce reduces: production and purchasing cycles; costs associated with brick-and-
mortar stores like labour costs; store rental, as well as inventory maintenance.

According to Wen et al. (2014) the number of consumers in the United States that use
the Internet to search for and buy products is increasing steadily and will surpass 200
million users in 2015. Furthermore, the percentage of American Internet users that shop
online will also continue to grow and will exceed 90 percent by 2015. The major growth
within e-commerce has led to increased competition between retail firms that rely on e-
commerce as a positioning tool. The retailers do not only need to attract consumers
away from the traditional B&M-stores, but they also need to understand what trigger
consumers switching behavior among online services, as they compete with other
retailers in e-commerce for market shares. According to Wen, Prybutok and Xu (2011)
companies should focus on online consumers repurchase intention and loyalty because
the success of the online shopping experience depend more on customers continued web
site usage.

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2.1.2 E-commerce factors
Kim and Kim (2004) studied important consumer factors, as well as attitudes toward e-
commerce with the aim of identifying the most important factors regarding online
shopping for e-vendors to fulfill in order to capture e-consumers in the United States.
The attitudes are split in to four factors: transaction/cost; incentive programs; site design
and interactivity, containing a total amount of 26 indicators (see table 2.1).

Table 2.1. Factors and attitudes impacting e-consumer satisfaction (Created by the
authors, based on Kim and Kim, 2004)

Factor 1: Factor 2: Factor 3: Factor 4:

Transaction/cost incentive programs Site design interactivity

Credit card security Give-aways Three-dimensional Ability to examine

product simulations merchandise

Fast delivery time Frequent visitor points Trained, licensed raters Ability to inspect and
update information

Cheaper prices than Free-trials Virtual tour/experince Knowing what

retail stores personal information
is collected

No or low shipping Entertainment Word-of-mouth Ability to choose

and handling charge endorsement whether vendors can
obtain data about you

Money-back Online club Specially designed ”trial

guarantees membership benefits stores”

Privacy assurance Coupon redeemable Toll-free complaint

online hotlines

Access to a major
credit card

Information on
reliability of the seller

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The research by Kim and Kim (2004) showed that the transaction/cost factor was
perceived as being the most important one, while interactivity ended up in second place
followed by site design and incentive programs. Previous research have only focused on
understanding important attributes of online B2C-sales, not concentrating the research
on what factors that contributes the most to consumers purchase intentions within online
shopping. According to Kim and Kim (2004), achieving this information for e-vendors
would be essential to develop effective strategies to position themselves better than their
competitors, including brick-and-mortar stores. Additionally, Kim and Kim (2004)
highlight an overall attractiveness of factors related to comfort or easy accessibility;
time- and money-saving; the e-consumer’s possibility to screen and selected from a
wide range of alternatives and the availability of information for making purchases, as
well as ordering decisions.

2.1.3 E-logistics
During the last decades, globalization together with technological innovation has largely
increased the importance of logistics worldwide (Macharis et al. 2014). As e-commerce
is a new way of doing business it also set new standards for the affiliated logistics, e-
logistics (Singh, 2014; Zhang and Zhang, 2013). Since all business transactions within
e-commerce are carried out electronically right from the beginning, from order
placement to payment collection, the information flow is much faster compared to
conventional business transactions. According Singh (2014) this has been a motivation
factor for the development of e-logistics, which has led to several enlarged benefits to
sellers, buyers and service providers. The benefits include: improved communication;
improved customer satisfaction; transparency in supply chain; cost reduction; on time
delivery and improved efficiency.

Singh (2014) highlight the importance for e-commerce firms to cautiously consider their
policies for order cancellation, postponement and substitutions. Furthermore, operate
reverse material flow and by that evolve a product return policy is fundamental for e-
vendors. This policies handles cases like when the consumer does not like the product,
if the product is damaged or if the performance of the product is below the expectations
of the consumer. If issues like these ones arise, the firm need to make it possible for the
consumer to get their money back or to exchange the product (Singh, 2014). Regarding
this matter it is important for e-vendors to be transparent and clear, to display the

10
responsibilities of both the seller and the buyer regarding return of products on the web
site to avoid consumer dissatisfaction.

Gümüs et al. (2013) state shipping price strategy for e-commerce as vital for e-vendors.
There are mainly two different shipping price strategies for e-commerce and it is
important for e-vendors to select the most suitable and one. According to Gümüs et al.
(2013) retailers need to carefully decide how much to charge for the product and how
much to charge for shipping-and-handling. A firm could choose either to partition the
total price charged to the consumer in to a product price and a shipping-and-handling
surcharge, called the PS-strategy. The other alternative is to offer consumers free
shipping and by that only charge one price including product and either total or partial
shipping-and-handling costs, called the non-patriated ZS-strategy (Gümüs et al. 2013).

Macharis et al. (2014) highlight that the growing environmental concern of

governments and citizens, as well as the widespread introduction of the concept
sustainability, put large pressure on logistics stakeholders. Logistics account for a
significant share of the energy use and CO2-emissions in B2C retailing, especially
within B2C e-commerce since logistics in this area is the link between the seller and the
buyer, creating large environmental impacts (Zhang and Zhang, 2013). Zhang and
Zhang (2013); and Macharis et al. (2014) illustrate this large energy consumption as a
prerequisite of developing more effective, sustainable and adapted distribution networks
in order to deliver products with the lowest amount of impact on the surrounding
environment. Further on, these factors have forced logistic stakeholders to address the
emission issues, leading to the birth of several terms needed to be combined with the
term logistics, such as: ecological; green; clean; lean and sustainable.

2.1.4 Online integrity

Online integrity is an important determinant considering consumer intention of using e-
commerce, as well as other electronically based services (Roca, Garcia and de la Vega,
2009). For e-vendors, e-security is an important issue regarding how trust is developed
between consumers and retailers (Bruce Chien and Kok-Boon, 2009). Roca, Garcia and
de la Vega (2009) highlight information security as a key issue for e-vendors to handle
since both personal and financial information has the risk of being intercepted and used
in fraudulent purposes. According to Kim and Kim (2004) concerns from consumers
regarding transaction security and privacy in electronic transactions have forced e-

11
vendors to be more involved in improving these conditions for the consumers to be able
to provide online integrity. For instance, investments in secure digital systems such as
encryption tools, digital signatures and reassurance about privacy were launched in an
early stage of the e-commerce boom (Han and Maclaurin, 2002). Actions like these
reduced privacy and security inhibitors, which led to increased willingness among
consumers to purchase online. Even though large investments have been made to
develop online integrity for consumers there is still a long way ahead. Choi and
Nazareth (2014) state consumer demand of greater access to data and applications
within the hyper-connected world that we live in today as one the main obstacles, which
currently increases the number of security incidents online. This obstacle of growing
awareness from consumers is reflected in a largely increased number of researches
exploring the relationship between trust and security within e-commerce (Choi and
Nazareth, 2014).

2.1.4.1 E-vendor data collection

Premazzi et al. (2010) present collection of personal information from consumers as a
necessity for e-vendors. This in order to effectively provide service to the consumers, to
provide marketing departments with information (for instance with purpose of creating
customized consumer offers) or for the e-vendors to sell it to other companies.
Furthermore, Premazzi et al. (2010) highlight that the ease of which data can be
acquired and disseminated on the Internet have led to growing concerns among
consumers, making them doubt to reveal personal information online, which indirectly
influence the trust. The physical distance between the consumer and the retailer within
B2C e-commerce creates unawareness from the consumer’s side regarding what data
that is collected, if data is collected and further on that, or if, data is unobtrusively
collected. This because todays’ technology provides e-vendors with the opportunity to
record the details of any online interaction performed by customers (Premazzi et al.
2010). For brick-and-mortar retailers this threat is easier to handle thanks to the physical
proximity, leading to consumers perceiving a higher control of their personal
information.

2.1.4.2 E-payment
According to Rau (2013) 50 percent of the adults in the world are unbanked, meaning
that they do not have a formal banking relationship. Furthermore, according to The

12
World Bank (2014) 59 percent of the adults in emerging countries are unbanked, setting
different prerequisite for payment on different markets.

Kim et al. (2010, p. 454) defines e-payment as “the transfer of an electronic value of
payment from a payer to a payee through an e-payment mechanism”.

The emergence of e-commerce has created a need for e-payment services, while
traditionally cash-based and account-based payment instruments were used as a model,
new intermediaries such as PayPal fulfill the new needs of online retailers and
consumers (Kim et al. 2010). The use of electronic payment is increasing a lot around
the world. Young adults in most markets in the world are very comfortable using
cashless payments, demographic trends will move this even further away from
conventional payment methods (Rau, 2013). Today there are a large amount of
different e-payment systems within B2C and C2C, which can in to be classified in to
four different categories. These e-payment alternatives are being presented below.

Electronic cash
Electronic cash is a payment method where a unique identification number is connected
with a specific amount of money, often called e-cash or cyber cash (Kim et al. 2010). It
was created as an alternative to the use of credit cards for Internet purchases of goods or
services.

Pre-paid card
According to Kim et al. (2010) pre-paid cards are issued with a particular amount of
money in order to be used in retail transactions. This type of payment method can be
given as a gift or used as a convenient way of making purchase.

Credit card
This payment method is the one that is most frequently used within e-payment (Kim et
al. 2010). The two most important characteristics of credit cards are security and
privacy, this since the customers’ transaction can be tracked through the bank issuing
the credit card.

13
Debit card
Debit cards is just like credit cards one of the most frequent payment methods used
within e-payment (Kim et al. 2010). Debit cards combines the features of Automatic
Teller Machine (ATM) along with Internet banking. When a customer uses their debit
card to pay with, money is automatically deducted from the bank account. Furthermore,
the money comes directly from a bank account, in contrast to a credit card.

Further on, according to Kim et al. (2010) the fact that good security improves trust is
commonly believed and that consumers perceptions of good security and trust in return
increases the use of e-commerce. The evolution of e-commerce has been influenced a
lot by consumers’ perception of the security of e-payment systems. As e-commerce has
become a very large component of business operations for many firms, e-payment has
emerged as a very critical factor for successful business. Additionally, e-payment has a
number of favourable characteristics compared to traditional payment methods like:
security; anonymity; reliability; acceptability; privacy and efficiency (Kim et al. 2010).
Above all, security and privacy factors are critical for e-vendors in order to build long-
term relationships between customers and sellers (Schoenbachler and Gorden, 2002;
Fang et al. 2014).

2.1.5 Web site design

When it is not possible to touch or try products it requires appropriate and adapted
methods for the whole sales process (Martins et al. 2012). Creating an appealing web
site design is crucial for e-vendors to capture the consumers of the burgeoning B2C e-
commerce market (Dyr, 2008). According Diamond and Diamond (2007) the design is
the main element of the web site, including factors such as: presentations; images;
models; materials; lightning; graphic design and information. The web site design is
suppose to create trust, satisfaction and loyalty (Dyr, 2008). According to Dyr (2008)
there are three current web site design categories that are being specifically examined
within academic research: information design (ID); navigation design (ND) and visual
design (VD), which together create web site maneuverability. Developing positive
shopping experiences due to these factors will encourage consumers to return to the web
site or to purchase from it in a foreseeable future, creating e-loyalty.

Opposite to conventional B&M-store consumer relationship, which is established by

face-to-face communication, is within e-commerce primarily built by the interface of

14
the web site (Dyr, 2008). Succeeding with this factor creates trust by making the
consumer rely on the e-vendor, which further on creates willingness for consumers to
take action in circumstances where they are vulnerable in relation to the seller (Dyr,
2008). This perceived control for the consumer results in transaction intentions.
Therefor, establishing the image of a risk-free web site would seem to be a key strategy
for e-vendors in attracting consumers on the Internet (Kim and Kim, 2004).

Without the ability to try products the risks of purchasing products increases (Martins et
al. 2012). Exhaustive design of the web site containing complete descriptions of the
functional characteristics and good visualizations of the products are large incentives for
encouraging consumers either to return to the web site or purchase directly. As for the
product, Martins et al. (2012) states that the purchase decisions mainly relates to the fact
of insufficient information, that the information provided cannot fulfil the consumers
expectations itself. It is this issue that visual merchandising intends to fill by showing
the additional characteristics of the product that are not possible to describe with words.
Since an e-consumer only can base his or her knowledge on visual information,
descriptions and images of the product, the web site design influences as much the
visual aspect of the web site as it is marketing. Doing this correctly hopefully results in
improving the image of the web site and by that the sales and trust (Martins et al. 2012).
Web sites that are visually attractive and well stylized will also make the consumer stay
longer than planned, as well as reduce the perceived risk by consumers related to the
purchase. Furthermore, web sites providing possibilities of having various forms of
visualizations such as: larger images; images of the side and back and the possibility to
zoom will impact the same factors positively. Martins et al. (2012) also present virtual
show rooms and suggestions for combinations of products as good ways to persuade
consumers to purchase.

2.1.6 E-marketing
To sustain competitive advantage is crucial for an organization, thus electronic
marketing (e-marketing) has emerged to be an essential key to maintain this advantage
(Eida and El-Gohary, 2013). The recent revolution in computer science; IT; Internet;
media and communication has changed the nature of business and marketing activities
with new electronic channels. An increasing amount of companies use the Internet to
communicate with business customers, suppliers and end customers of their services or
products (Eida and El-Gohary, 2013). Strauss and Frost (2001, p. 454) define e-

15
marketing as: ”The use of electronic data and applications for planning and executing
the conception, distribution and pricing of ideas, goods and services to create
exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives”.

E-marketing is an important tactic for e-vendors to gain market shares within e-

commerce, price promotion and product recommendations are two sub-tactics being
specifically used. In order to increase sales and extend promotion profits, many
practitioners advocates using non-discounted products in the promotional campaign for
a product (Jiang and Liu, 2012). According to Jiang and Liu (2012) price promotion is a
natural tool within retailing in order to increase product sales by adopting price
discounts. Due to the intense and increased competitive environment, different
strategies such as rebates, coupons and other promotional activities have been used in
order to promote products and derive savings for e-consumers. According to Kim and
Kim (2004) competitive price or sales promotions play a significant role in predicting
consumer intentions either to purchase or to revisit web sites.

Promotional campaigns in brick-and-mortar stores contain large difficulties in

displaying all the optimal substitutes and complements. This because price promotions
are changed frequently and involve a lot of cross effects among various products, which
makes it physically impossible to show all of the related products simultaneously (Jiang
and Liu, 2012). However, e-vendors has the opportunity of carrying out optimal plans.
When retailers online start promotional campaigns for products, they have the ability to
recommend products through online recommendation systems to enhance the promotion
effect. For instance, when an e-vendor promotes a product with a discount offer they
can recommend substitutes, complements and/or associated accessories at the same
time. (Jiang and Liu, 2012). Further on, Jiang and Balasubramanian (2014) propose that
multichannel or brick-and-mortar retailers have higher prices than pure B2C e-vendors,
which is important for e-vendors to highlight in their online marketing in order to
increase sales. Additionally, a study by Kim and Benbasat (2009) has resulted in the
suggestions that consumers are more influenced of and in need by trust-assuring
arguments when purchasing high-priced products than low-priced ones.

2.1.7 E-vendor contact alternatives

The evolution of B2C e-commerce has rendered in parallel evolution within consumer
contact methods for e-vendors, who now offer multi-channel contact alternatives like: e-

16
mail; live online chatting; Internet phone calls; virtual communities; message boards
and human web assistants on social media (Park et al. 2015; Park, Chung and
Rutherford, 2011). According to Park, Chung and Rutherford (2011) e-vendors
providing these kind of contact alternatives to their consumers are assessed having so
called e-contact centers. When comparing e-contact centers to traditional ones, they
provide a broader focus including comparable and expanded services, all provided
without face-to-face consumer interaction (Park et al. 2015; Park, Chung and
Rutherford, 2011). Further on, e-contact centers enhance the relationship between e-
vendors and e-consumers by providing social values and quality interpersonal service to
consumers, which are of great strategic importance for e-vendors in building consumer
e-loyalty and trust (Park et al. 2011).

2.1.7.1 Social media

The majority of thriving e-vendors try to increase consumer trust by using different
kinds of social medias, supporting two-way interactions between online consumers and
furthermore leading to intention to buy (Brengman and Karimov, 2012; and Hajli,
2014). Brengman and Karimov (2012) also state that simple integration of social media
can affect the initial consumer trust and purchase decisions towards especially
unfamiliar e-vendors.

Table 2.2. Types of social medias with examples (Created by the authors, conducted
from Aichner and Jacob, 2015)
Type of social media Examples

Blogs The Huffington Post

Boing Boing

Business networks Linkedin

XING

Collaborative projects Wikipedia

Mozilla

Enterprise social networks Yammer

Socialcast

Forums Gaia Online

IGN Boards

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 Type of social media Examples

Microblogs Twitter
Tumblr

Photo sharing Flickr

Photobucket

Producst/services review Amazon

Elance

Social bookmarking Delicious

Pinterest

Social gaming World of Warcraft

Mafia Wars

Social networks Facebook

Google+

Video sharing YouTube

Vimeo

Virtual worlds Second Life

Twinity

Social media has emerged as a crucial tool for companies in a growing number of their
value chain activities. It is according to Aichner and Jacob (2015) not only a optional
element in the promotional mix, but a mandatory element within companies’ marketing
strategy.

In January 2014, Facebook.com was the largest global social network with
approximately 1.2 billion active users monthly and an annual growth rate of 18 percent
(Aichner and Jacob, 2015). According to Aichner and Jacob (2015), 728 million of
Facebook’s registered users log in to their account everyday in order to: post; comment;
share; and like activities. These figures confirm the on-going success story of online
social networks and social media. According to Aichner and Jacob (2015) social media
are web based applications and interactive platforms that facilitate the discussion,
creation, modification and exchange of user-generated content. Social media is not only
limited to social networks like Facebook, but includes a total amount of thirteen

18
different types of social medias (the different types are presented in table 2.2 seen
above).

2.1.8 Consumer purchase decision

To find out how to retain existing customers and make them repurchase becomes more
and more crucial for companies operating within e-commerce (Fang et al. 2014). Many
studies have been conducted in order to find out what kind of factors that will make
consumers repurchase, where trust and loyalty have proved to be key factors. This since
these factors generate the ability to promote risk-taking behavior when it comes to
uncertainty, interdependence and fear of opportunism.

The Engel-Kollat-Blackwell-model (EKB) of consumer behavior is a comprising

framework that can be applied to the consumer decision-making process within e-
commerce (Wen et al, 2014). This model includes the most accepted five-stage
consumer problem-solving process in literature. Since consumers can be seen as
decision-makers thriving to fulfil their needs, this problem-solving process is widely
adopted in consumer behavior studies in order to understand how consumers make
decisions to satisfy their needs, wants and expectations.

The EKB-model categorizes the consumer purchase decision-making process in to five

different stages: problem recognition; search for information; evaluation of
alternatives; choice and outcome evaluation (Liang and Lai, 2002). Firstly, a problem
will be recognized which create a demand for products that can eliminate this problem.
After this, information regarding the problem is gathered and alternatives are evaluated.
When an alternative has been chosen, the consumer will go on and execute the
transaction and evaluate the outcome, and at last save the experience for the future.
According to Liang and Lai (2002) a sixth stage called online transaction can be
identified when it comes to online shopping, this stage occurs after the consumer has
chosen a certain product.

Problem recognition
The first stage, called problem recognition, occurs when a consumer feels a need for a
product (Liang and Lai, 2002). Environmental stimulation, individual experience and
inner motivation for the consumers are factors that help to recognize the need. It is hard
to support inner motivation and individual experience through online store design.

19
Needs may also be recognized ”offline” for consumers, because of this it is important to
develop a stimulating online environment in order to strengthen existing needs or
deriving new ones.
Search for information
According to Liang and Lai (2002) consumers often look for relevant information
before conducting a purchase. Because of this, functions that support information search
may be helpful, such as: having a fast product search function; supply value-added
information and supply customized information.

Evaluation of alternatives
An e-commerce based retailer may provide functions that support customer evaluation
of products, which contributes to create trust (Liang and Lai, 2002). Consumers often
compare alternatives using attributes, requests to staff and bargaining for a better price.
Since price is an important attribute that most consumers take in to consideration in
their purchasing decision, it may help if a mechanism for comparing prices and other
features are available. When it comes to consumers who are unfamiliar with purchasing
online, building their confidence is important. Factors that may help building
confidence are: claiming security of transactions; offering VIP-systems and providing
adequate service communication.

Choice
In this stage of the process consumers need to sample information and make a purchase
decision (Liang and Lai, 2002). Different functions must be available to make the
consumer choice easier, for example: make suggestions of substitute products; use
online sales persons and provide shopping carts to easily handle purchase of multiple
items.

Transaction
When a consumer has chosen a product, he or she needs to fill out certain payment,
ordering and delivery data (Liang and Lai, 2002).

Post-sales services
According to Liang and Lai (2002) there are three main functions that are essential for
the completion of a transaction. Inquiring and tracking order status, as consumers will

20
possible feel more comfortable if they can track their orders online. Allowing return of
products, if a consumer should change his or her mind after delivery it is important to
offer support of product returns. Organizing buyer clubs, since buyer clubs may
increase consumer loyalty through channels where consumers can exchange opinions
and share experience.

2.2 Research hypotheses

In line with the literature review and the research question five hypotheses were
developed. These five hypotheses are presented below together with a brief description
of each one, and they are further on illustrated in the research model in chapter 2.3.

Hypothesis concerning chapter 2.1.2.1 E-logistics

According to Macharis et al (2014) the importance of logistics within e-commerce has
largely increased among consumers shopping online, mainly due to a globalizing
market and technological innovation. Further on, Singh (2014) highlight that well
developed e-logistics will lead to benefits improving e-consumer satisfaction and
willingness to purchase.
- H1 E-logistics has a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase decision.

Hypothesis concerning chapter 2.1.2.4 E-marketing

E-marketing is crucial for e-vendors in order to: attract e-consumers; maintain, or
develop, competitive advantage; gain market shares and increase consumer satisfaction
(Jiang and Liu, 2012; Eida and El-Gohary, 2013). According to Jiang and Liu (2014);
and Kim and Kim (2004) e-marketing incentives plays a significant role for consumers’
decisions of purchasing from a particular e-retailer or web site.
- H2 E-marketing activities have a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase
decision.

Hypothesis concerning chapter 2.1.2.2 Online integrity

Within online integrity, factors such as privacy and security are crucial in order to create
trust. Trust is important for e-consumers’ relationship building to the e-vendors, which
in a later extent stimulate purchasing intentions, as well as usage of e-commerce based

21
services (Han and Maclaurin, 2002; Bruce Chien and Kok-Boon, 2009; Roca, Garcia
and de la Vega, 2009; Kim et al. 2010; Choi and Nazareth, 2014; Fang et al. 2014)
- H3 Online integrity has a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase decision.

Hypothesis concerning chapter 2.1.2.5 E-vendor contact alternatives

E-vendors seek to increase consumer trust by using different kinds of contact
alternatives, having e-contact centers and/or develop their social media channels, which
support two-way interactions between online consumers (Brengman and Karimov,
2012; Aichner and Jacob, 2015). Brengman and Karimov (2012) highlights that these
actions affect the initial consumer trust and purchase decisions towards e-vendors.
- H4 E-vendor contact alternatives have a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase
decision.

Hypothesis concerning chapter 2.1.2.3 Web site design

According to Dyr (2008); and Martins et al (2012) creating an appealing and
information rich web site is crucial for e-vendors to capture the consumers of the
burgeoning B2C e-commerce market. The risk of dissatisfaction when purchasing
products increases when purchasing online in relation to B&M-stores, which makes the
information on the web site extremely important for the e-consumer direct purchase
decision, their returning to the web site and their willingness to take action in this
circumstance where they are vulnerable in relation to the seller (Dyr, 2008; Martins et
al., 2012).
- H5 Web site design has a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase decision.

2.3 Research model

Based upon the hypotheses, the research model (model 2.3) presented below was
developed. The purpose of the research model is to illustrate which factors that
hypothetically impact the consumer purchase decision within B2C e-commerce. In the
operationalization (see chapter 3.5) each factor including the consumer purchase
decision will be specified and simplified, as well as divided in to indicators.

22
Model 2.3 Research model (Krysén and Hallberg, 2015).

23
3. Methodology
In this methodology chapter the methods for conducting this study will be presented and
discussed. The chapter will focus on research method, research approach, research
design, data sources, data collection technique, operationalization, sampling, data
analysis methods and quality criteria.

3.1 Research method

3.1.1 Deductive and inductive research approach

When conducting a research there are generally two approaches to take in to
consideration, inductive and deductive approach. In addition to these two approaches
there are a third one, called abductive approach, thought it will not be accounted for in
this methodology chapter.

An inductive research means that the researcher base their study on practical
observations and try to connect these to theories (Wallén, 2008). According to
Jakobsson (2011) inductive research could be a synonym to ”theory generating”,
meaning that the researcher start with collecting empirical data with the purpose of
generating a new theory. The criticism towards inductive studies has been harsh, the
most pervading negative critic according to Wallén (2008) is the general perception
among authors that there are theoretical elements accounted for already in the selection
of observations and the measurement, but without a theoretical knowledge of what to
measure.

Instead of doing an inductive research, the common recommendation is to perform

deductive research, which means setting up one or several hypotheses that you
specifically and effectively examine and then either reject or accept (Wallén, 2008). A
deductive research represents the most common perception of the relationship between
theory and practice when doing research (Bryman and Bell, 2011). In model 3.1 the
general proceeding of a deductive research is illustrated to ease the understanding of the
research approach.

24
Model 3.1 The deductive process. Source: created by the authors, based on Bryman and
Bell, 2011).

By using the theoretical knowledge from previous studies and literature within a certain
area the researcher deduce one or several hypotheses to be empirically scrutinized,
which means that a deductive research approach receive its starting point from existing
theories (Bryman and Bell, 2011). The researchers then have to cleverly derive the
hypotheses by translating it in to operational terms, called an operationalization. In
other words this means that the researchers should specify how the data is going to be
collected in relation to the theory and the research model that the hypotheses were
deduced from. When the data collection phase has been finished, the findings of the
studies are measured towards the hypotheses and the researchers will then be able to
either reject of accept the hypotheses. In the last step the results are revised and
compared to the theories behind the research.

3.1.2 Qualitative and quantitative research method

There are two different kinds of research methods, qualitative and quantitative method
(Bryman and Bell, 2011; Kumar, 2011). According to Kumar (2011) there are overall a
lot more alternatives of study designs within quantitative research than within
qualitative research. According to Bryman and Bell (2011) quantitative research can be
seen as a research strategy that emphasizes quantification when it comes to collection
and analysis of data. Additionally, Bryman and Bell (2011) stress that quantitative
method often take a deductive approach when looking at the relation between theory
and practical research with emphasize on testing theories. Further on, the perception of

25
the reality is objectivistic within this approach. Kumar (2011) states that quantitative
study designs are characterized by being: specific and well structured; tested for their
reliability and validity; and being explicitly defined and recognized.

Qualitative studies however either do not have these attributes or have them in a lower
degree. They are often less precise and less specific, and lack the same structural depth
(Kumar, 2011). In qualitative researches the main focus is to: explain; understand;
explore; discover and clarify feelings; situations; perceptions; attitudes; beliefs; values
and experiences of a group of people. The most common method used in qualitative
study designs is therefor an inductive procedure. The study design is often characterized
by being flexible and emergent in nature, as well as being non-linear and non-sequential
in the operationalization. The methods and processes of gathering information are often
flexible and evolving, therefor most qualitative study design are not structured and
sequential to the same extent as quantitative designs.

The nature of the research question in this study, as well as the purpose of the study, led
this research in to the deductive research path. It was obvious that an extensive literature
review was needed as point of departure since empirical observations would not provide
the desired knowledge. Additionally, the literature review led to acknowledging the
theoretical gaps regarding e-commerce studies within emerging markets. Later on, the
five hypotheses and the research model were generated with departure from the
previous studies within the research area that were handled in the literature review. The
hypotheses were tested in the software program SPSS by analyzing the numeric data
gathered from respondent, followed by revising of the theory. Thus, the suitability of a
deductive research is indubitable since the study has a strong anchoring in theory
already from the beginning.

Further on, this study has been conducted with a quantitative research method, which
initially was based in the large quantity of numeric data needed to analyze consumer
purchase decision within emerging markets and by that conduct the research in the most
efficient way. This is reflected in the research question, the purpose and the hypotheses,
all three having the characteristic features making it preferable collecting a large amount
of data. For instance, using a qualitative method with a data collection technique of
interviews or observations would not make it possible to perform population

26
generalization, which was of great importance for this study. Furthermore, quantitative
studies is perceived as being more objectively, and less partial, as well as having the
characteristics of being more structured and specific than qualitative studies, making the
choice even more legitimate for this research since there are no room for own
reflections or perceptions when collecting the empirical data.

3.2 Research design

A research design is a plan where structure and strategy to collect and analyze the data
needed to answer the research questions or problems is created (Kumar, 2011). Further
on, according to Kumar (2011) a research design has two main functions, the first one is
to identify and develop the procedures and logistical arrangements required to conduct
the study and the second one emphasize the importance of a procedural plan adopted by
the researcher to answer questions in a way that is objectively, validly, accurately and
economically.

There are three types of research designs: exploratory research; descriptive research;
and causal research (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2005). Exploratory research emphasize
the discovery of ideas and insights, for instance if a firm is about to launch a new
product, an explanatory research needs to be done in order to assess consumers’
reactions. Descriptive research is generally concerned with deciding the frequency with
which something occurs or the relationship between two variables; furthermore it is
often guided by one or several hypotheses. Causal research considers the cause-and-
effect relationship through experiments within a study.

For the authors to be able to answer the research question and the five hypotheses in this
study, the research contained a combined focus between descriptive and causal research
design: descriptive due to the measure of the relation between the two variables stated in
the different hypotheses; and causal as the hypotheses are meant to observe the cause-
and-effect between e-commerce factors and the consumer purchase decision. An
exploratory research would not be appropriate for the study since this research has a
theoretically based problem that is already clearly defined, thus not trying to discover
new ones, which is fundamental within explanatory research.

27
3.3 Data sources
According to Olsson and Sörensen (2011) there are two different types of data sources,
primary data and secondary data. According to Churchill and Iacobucci (2005)
secondary data is data that already exists, that researchers have collected for previous
studies. In contrary, primary data are originated by researchers for the purpose of using
it immediate in their investigation (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2005). Secondary data hold
important advantages over primary data, characterized by its inexpensiveness to obtain
and its time effient analysis process. Therefor, the researcher should always start by
gathering secondary data (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2005).

The primary data in this research has been gathered from Polish consumers by physical
presence in Poland. The specific data collection technique will be presented in the next
chapter. The secondary data in this study consists of academic journals and books,
which has been collected through the Linnaeus University library and various databases,
as well as statistics collected from statistical institutes on the Internet. There is a
sixteen-year age span of the academic journals, which has been of great use in assessing
the development within the field of e-commerce and to achieve a deeper knowledge
within e-commerce in order to construct the theoretical framework in the best possible
way.

3.4 Data collection technique

To operate empirical research, collection of data is fundamental (Olsson and Sörensen,
2011). According to Patel and Davidson (2011) researchers have the possibility to
collect data with several different techniques, for instance: existing documents; test and
diagnostics; different kinds of self-reporting (diaries); observations; interviews and
surveys. None of these techniques could be ranked better than the other, it is all about
what technique that provides the most relevant data to answer the research question in
relation to the time and resources available for the study.

When using a quantitative research approach it is appropriate to gather a generalizable

amount of data, which should be able to represent your target group (Olsson and
Sörensen, 2011). According to Olsson and Sörensen (2011) quantitative data collection
is further on characterized by: standardization; structured instruments; quantitative

28
information; separated data collection and analysis; random/representative sampling and
deductive statistical analysis. Due to these matters the authors of this research selected a
data collection technique of using surveys. In the upcoming chapter the chosen data
collection technique will be more thoroughly presented.

3.4.1 Survey study

Conducting a survey is the most commonly used data collection technique within
quantitative studies according to Fowler (1995); Johannessen and Tufte (2003); and
Olsson and Sörensen (2011). This is also the data collection method used in this
research. Fowler (1995) state that there is almost limitless possibilities of gathering
useful and desirable information by asking people questions, using a survey is
especially suitable when it is difficult to collect certain kind of data just by observing or
doing interviews. The point of departure in developing a survey is the research question
and the hypotheses of the quantitative study (Johannessen and Tufte, 2003), which is
completely in line with the starting point of conducting the survey used in this study.
Conducting a survey could be seen as a science itself. According to Olsson and
Sörensen (2011) it is not just to formulate questions and do a layout, the survey must
also be tested for its validity and reliability (see chapter 3.8).

As researchers are dependent on respondents willingness of answering questions,

anonymity and confidentiality are of importance to handle, in other words to
communicate how the answers will be used (Patel and Davidson, 2011). The difference
between anonymity and confidentiality is that when a survey is anonymous no one can
identify the participant. No name, number or other identification variables exist. On the
other hand, when a survey is confidential the researchers know who has answered what,
but only themselves have access to that information. To ensure the comfort and
willingness of respondents to answer the survey within this study, the survey carried out
was completely anonymous.

According to Patel and Davidson (2011); and Johannesson and Tufte (2003) there are
generally two types of structural set ups that a survey could have, either pre-structured
or open-structured. A pre-structured survey has a high degree of structure together with
a high degree of standardization, meaning that all questions has pre-decided alternatives
of answers. In contrary, an open-structured survey has a low degree of structure together
with a high degree of standardization, by that focusing on a survey where answers could

29
be individually written down. Using a pre-structured set up is by several authors
(Fowler, 1995; Johannessen and Tufte, 2003; Olsson and Sörensen, 2011) assessed to
make it easier for the respondents to answer the survey, as well as it ease the analysis
process for the researchers. Based on these assumptions a pre-structured survey was
implemented in this study, simplifying the answering process for the respondents, as
well as the analysis for the authors. Further on, Johannesson and Tufte (2003) stress that
it is difficult to achieve satisfying validity and reliability in the answers using open-
structured surveys, additionally the answers are harder to analyze and lastly, open-
structured surveys also arise problems when generalizing.

Churchill and Iacobucci (2003); Patel and Davidsson (2011); and Johannessen and
Tufte (2003) highlight that the use of numeric scales to measure attitudes is the most
common and easily accessible way of achieving nuanced answers when conducting a
survey. This is made with a Likert-scale with an at least one to five degree scale to
answer, where the lowest number indicates that the respondent strongly disagree, while
the highest number represent full agreement from the respondent concerning a particular
statement. Additionally, using scales makes it possible to realize more comprehensive
and advanced statistical analyzes. For this study, an one to seven numeric answering
scale survey was implemented, providing precise answers regarding each statement and
by that creating the possibility of gaining more thorough and precise results of the
survey.

3.5 Operationalization
The purpose of operationalizing is to transform and decompose abstract terms in to
measurable variables (Jakobsson, 2011). In other words, operationalization is about
define and provide clear meanings of factors and/or concept that are difficult to measure
and/or understand for respondents (Kumar, 2011). These concepts that have been
defined in a measurable form are called operational definitions or working definitions.
These operational definitions, or working definitions, will become a specification of
what data that is going to be collected in relation to each concept or factor. Johannesson
and Tufte (2003) define operationalization as an execution of going from an academic
and general scenery to a more concrete and understandable form of what is going to be
measured and analyzed.

30
The survey distributed in this research consisted of 26 questions and statements, starting
with two questions being seen as control variables: gender and age. The following 24
measures are evenly allocated statements connected to each of the six factors pinpointed
in the theory. All statements in the survey are connected to the literature review, as well
as in a large extent confirmed and/or inspired by questions/statements used in former
quantitative studies: identifying key factors affecting consumer purchase behavior in an
online shopping context by (1) Chung and Young (2003); (2) predicting online
purchase intentions for clothing products by Kim and Kim (2004); and (3) e-lifestyles of
Indian online shoppers: a scale validation by Pandey and Chawla (2014). The numbers
connected to the studies mentioned above, represent which statements in this survey that
are connected to statements/questions from these studies. These numbers can be seen
after the statements in the operationalization model (model 3.2) below. In contrary, the
authors themselves based on the literature review have constructed the factors that the
indicators contribute to measure.

To see the completed survey, please see appendix A.

3.5.1 Operationalization model

The operationalization model for this study was developed with the purpose of creating
a holistic and clear framework of how the factors of the survey are operationalized to
indicators. The table below (table 3.2) emphasize the main factors of the study, which
represent the cornerstones of the research model and hypotheses.

Table 3.2 Operationalization model (Krysén and Hallberg, 2015)

Factor Definition Survey statements

E-logistics ”E-commerce logistics is a When shopping on the Internet…

collaborative solution to improve the - fast delivery time is important to me. (2)
efficiency and effectiveness of (3)
fulfillment and on time delivery to - free shipping of the product is important
the customer” (Singh, 2014 p. 110). to me. (2)
- the possibility of choosing
Indicators: fast delivery time; free environmentally friendly delivery
shipping; environmentally friendly alternatives is important to me.
delivery options; ease of returning - the ease of returning products is
products. important to me. (2)

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 Factor Definition Survey statements

E-marketing ”The use of electronic data and When shopping on the Internet…
applications for planning and - it is important for me that the web site
executing the conception, have a membership club with benefits.
distribution and pricing of ideas, (2)
goods and services to create - rebates and coupons is important to me.
exchanges that satisfy individual and (2)
organizational objectives” (Strauss - it is important to me that the product is
and Frost (2001, p. 454).
cheaper than in the normal, physical,
store. (2)
Indicators: membership club;
rebates and coupons; prove cheaper
- it is important to me that the web site
than in B&M stores; product provides product recommendations. (1)
recommendations.

Online integrity Online integrity concerns personal When shopping on the Internet…
information, financial information - it is important to me knowing that the
and transaction security for payment information is protected. (1)
consumer using e-commerce based - the possibility of choosing among
services (Kim and Kim, 2004; Roca, different payment alternatives are
Garcia and de la Vega, 2009). important to me.
- knowing what personal information that
Indicators: protected payment
is collected by the company is important
information; payment alternatives;
to me. (1)
knowing what personal information
that is collected; choose whether
- it is important to me to have the
vendors can collect personal data or possibility to choose whether the web
not. site/company can collect and save
information about me or not. (1)

E-vendor contact E-vendors offer multi-channel When shopping on the Internet…

alternatives contact alternatives like e-mail, live - different contact alternatives to the
online chatting, Internet phone calls, company owning the web site is
virtual communities, message important to me. (3)
boards and human web assistants on - it is important to me that the web
social media (Park et al. 2015; Park, site/company is active on microblogs
Chung and Rutherford 2011). such as Twitter and/or Tumblr.
- it is important to me that the web
Indicators: different contact
site/company is active on photo sharing
alternatives; communication within
medias such as Instagram and/or Flickr.
microblogs; communication within
photo sharing; communication
- it is important to me that the web
within social networks. site/company is active on social
networks such as Facebook and/or
Google plus.

Web site design The web site design is suppose to When shopping on the Internet…
create trust, satisfaction and loyalty - the quality of information provided
with three web site design about the product is important to me. (1)
categories: information design; - it is important to me that the product can
navigation design; and visual be seen in different visualizations.
design, together creating web site - the attractiveness (visual design) of the
maneuverability (Dyr, 2008).
web site is important to me.
Indicators; quality of product
- the ease of navigation on the web site is
information; visualization of important to me. (1)
products; attractiveness/visual
design of web site; navigation
design.

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 Factor Definition Survey statements

Consumer The consumer purchase decision - In what frequency do you shop on the
purchase making is influenced by six different Internet? (1)
decision stages: problem recognition; search - I am afraid of buying on the Internet. (3)
for information; evaluation of - When shopping on the Internet, I often
alternatives; choice; transaction; and
shop from the same web site/company.
post sales services (Liang and Lai,
(3)
2002).The factors pervading these
six stages are trust and loyalty (Fang
- When shopping online, feeling trust to
et al. 2014). the web site/company that I shop from is
important. (3)
Indicators: frequency of online
shopping; fear of online shopping;
loyalty towards e-vendor; trust
towards the web site.

3.5.2 Pre-testing
According to Iacobucci and Churchill (2005) data collection should never be performed
without pre-testing the data collection instrument and regarding a quantitative study the
first draft of a survey often do not render in a usable one. Instead each question in the
survey should be extremely critically reviewed to secure that there are no confusing,
offensive or leading questions. The review of the survey has to be made under actual
conditions; this assessment is called a pre-testing and is vital in developing a survey
with good quality. The respondents within the pre-test is suppose to examine individual
questions, their sequence, as well as the survey in total in order to provide the
researchers with information usable for revising the survey.

In this research the pre-study was executed at the university library Malmö, Sweden.
The pre-testing of the survey consisted of a total amount of eight respondents, everyone
were informed about the purpose of the pre-testing of the survey, being able to detect
inaccuracies and suggest improvement possibilities during short interviews. After the
pre-testing had been conducted the researchers revised the survey by modifying and re-
formulate questions to increase the quality of the survey and by that the possibility of
measuring the correct values. The pre-study could have enlarged the validity even
further by being carried out in Poland or a similar emerging market instead of Sweden,
but due to limited resources this was not possible.

3.6 Sampling
The method of sampling greatly varies between qualitative and quantitative studies
(Kumar, 2011). Within qualitative research several considerations influence the

33
selection of respondents, for instance ease of accessing potential respondents and the
authors own judgement that the respondent has extensive knowledge concerning the
interest of the study. Furthermore, within qualitative studies researchers make every
effort to select either a respondent that is similar to the rest of the respondent group or
that is totally different, such considerations are certainly not acceptable within
quantitative studies. Instead the purpose of quantitative sampling is to draw conclusions
about the studied target group, which indicates sampling information from a larger
number of respondents making the sample representative for the studied population.

The empirical data collection within this study was conducted in Warsaw, Poland at the
Warsaw University Library between the 4th and the 6th of May 2015. The authors
handed out the pre-structured survey in paper form to increase the validity of the
sampling. The respondents was represented by young polish inhabitants living in
Warsaw. The sample consisted of 139 respondents, aged between 17 and 39 with an
average age of 23 years. This age based target group was chosen due to the larger
percentage of e-commerce users within young population, as well as the presumed
larger purchase power that these respondents will withhold in the future. Concerning
gender, 64 percent of the respondents were females, while 36 percent were males. This
was not anything the authors strived to achieve; it was just a natural result of the data
collection.

Table 3.3 Descriptive data of the background variables (Krysén and Hallberg, 2015)

The complete set of descriptive data from the survey, including: sampling size (n),
minimum agree, maximum agree, mean and standard deviation, which measures the
variability, can be seen in appendix B.

34
3.7 Data analysis method
According to Churchill and Iacobucci (2005) correlation and regression analysis are
factors that refer to techniques for examining the relationship between two or several
variables. The purpose of the two terms is different, even though they are often used
interchangeably. These are also the two data analysis methods used in this study.

3.7.1 Correlation analysis

A correlation analysis is used in order to measure the closeness of the relationship, or
joint variation, between two variables. The purpose of using a correlation analysis is to
answer the question if: X is correlated with Y? (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2005).
According to Sweet and Grace-Martin (2003) correlation is used in order to see to what
degree values in two variables correspond with each other.

Bivariate correlation analysis is a method where two variables at a time are analyzed in
order to see how they are related to each other (Bryman and Bell, 2011). Bryman and
Bell (2011) states that to find out about relations between variables, one need to search
for evidence or signs of that a variation in one variable, is coinciding with variation in
the other variable.

The results from the correlation analysis executed in this study can be read in chapter
4.1.2.

3.7.2 Regression analysis

In a multivariate regression analysis, the association of multiple independent variables
with a dependent variable is tested. One of the most commonly used approaches to do
this is called linear regression (Sweet and Grace-Martin, 2003). Linear regression can
according to Sweet and Grace-Martin (2003) be used when a change in an independent
variable is associated with a constant, either decreasing or increasing, change in the
dependent variable. The equation for linear regression looks as follow: Y = β x + α
where Y acts as the dependent variable; x is an independent variable and m and β
constitutes of two parameters that have to be estimated in order for the equation to best
represent a given set of data. α and β represents the height of the regression line and also
the angle of the line relative to horizontal. A change in these two parameters will lead to
a change in the line (Zikmund et al. 2010). The beta coefficient (β) has the explanatory

35
power of the regression, since this is where the strength and direction of the relationship
between the dependent and independent variable is demonstrated.

Further on, the regression analysis measures the r-squared (r2), which indicates how
much of the fluctuation in the dependent variable that is produced by the relation with
the independent variable analyzed (Sweet and Grace-Martin, 2003). A r2 of 1.00
indicates that 100 percent of the variation in the dependent variable is explained by the
independent variable(s), while a r2 of 0.00 indicated 0 percent of explanation.

As explained before, correlation is used to measure the strength of a linear relationship

between two variables. A linear regression can be described as a model of the line that
best explains that relationship. The regression permits an exact understanding of the
relationship between the two variables (Zikmund et al. 2010).

The results from the regression analysis carried out in this study can be seen in chapter
4.1.3.

3.8 Quality criteria

Within quantitative studies the two quality criteria of validity and reliability are of large
importance to implement (Olsson and Sörensen, 2011). These two criteria are accounted
for in the upcoming two sub-chapters.

3.8.1 Validity
According to Kumar (2011) validity can be explained as the ability of an instrument to
measure what it is constructed to measure. Furthermore, Smith (1991, p. 106) defines
validity as: “Validity is defined as the degree to which the researcher has measured
what he has set out to measure”.

Validity is according to Kumar (2011) divided in to three different types within

quantitative research: face and content validity; concurrent and predictive validity and
construct validity. Face and content validity is the fact that an instrument is supposed to
measure what it is supposed to measure depends on the logical link between the
questions and the objectives of the study. According to Kumar (2011) the primary
advantage of this validity factor is that it is comprehensible to implement on a study.

36
Every question of the research have to have a logical link with an objective. The
construction of this link is called face validity, while assessment of the items and
questions of an instrument is called content validity (Kumar, 2011). Additionally,
Churchill and Iacobucci (2005) highlight convergent validity and discriminant validity,
Convergent validity means that the different methods are all measuring the same
construct, and should therefor be highly correlated. Discriminant validity is achieved
when a measure does not correlate too much with measures that are not intended to be
related (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2005).

In this thesis the authors have focused on achieving validity through several different
procedures. Firstly an extensive literature review consisting of renowned, and carefully
selected, academic articles and book. Further on, the five hypotheses in the end of the
theoretical framework were bases on this literature review. The next step was to achieve
construct validity, which according to Kumar (2011) concerns the validity of the
questions in a survey. In other words that the questions are constructed in a way that
measure what is supposed to be measured, which was created by making the
operationalization accounted for in chapter 3.5. The operationalization, and thereby the
construction of the survey, was based on the extensive literature review. Further on, the
survey questions were compared towards former statements used in studies within the
same areas of research to ensure satisfied validity of the statements. The statements
themselves were formed in line with the Likert-scale, having 1 to 7 answering intervals,
enlarging the validity and being able to measure what wanted to be measured.
Additionally, before conducting the sampling on site in Poland the survey was assessed
by a pre-test (see chapter 3.5.2).

3.8.2 Reliability
A research tool can according to Kumar (2011) be called reliable if it is consistent and
stable, hence predictable and accurate. The more degree of consistency and stability in
an instrument, the larger reliability it is. A research achieves high reliability if repeat
measurement made under constant conditions will give the same result (Kumar, 2011).
Olsson and Sörensen (2011) are in line with this assumption that the same result should
be reached at each measurement.

There are different ways to reach reliability. One way is called test-retest method, which
means the measurement is done at a certain time and then repeated at a later stage. A

37
high degree of conformity confirms high reliability. Another one is called the split-half
method, where the responses are divided in to two groups and the answers then are
compared, high reliability is characterized by high conformity (Olsson and Sörensen,
2011) A third well known measure on the degree of reliability is called Cronbach´s
Alpha, which measures the internal consistency of a survey. This method gives a
measure on to what degree every item in an instrument is associated to every other item.
A Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α) of 0,90 or higher is consider as a high degree of
reliability. A value between 0,70 and 0,89 is considered as good and values lower than
0,70 means that the reliability is questionable (Olsson and Sörensen, 2011). It was also
this method that was primarily used in this study. The result of the Cronbach’s alpha
analysis can be seen in the upcoming sub-chapter.

3.8.2.1 Reliability analysis

For the authors to be able to display the reliability of the factors that are measured in the
study, a Cronbach’s alpha analysis was carried out in the software program SPSS. In
table 3.4 below the result from the Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency reliability
analysis are conducted.

Table 3.4 Cronbach’s alpha (α) internal consistency (Krysén and Hallberg, 2015)

Factor Cronbach’s alpha (α)

E-logistics 0,459

Online integrity 0,527

Web site design 0,542

E-marketing 0,698

E-vendor contact alternatives 0,726

Consumer purchase decision 0,563

 
3.8.2.2 Cronbach’s alpha discussion
In the Cronbach’s alpha analysis two factors (e-marketing 0,698 and e-vendor contact
alternatives 0,726) were in line with the general perception of acceptable reliability,
which is considered being a Cronbach’s Alpha (α) value over 0,700. Four factors were

38
below the generally applied acceptance: e-logistics 0,459; online integrity 0,527; web
site design 0,542; and consumer purchase decision 0,563.

Due to the deductive nature of this study, where creating hypotheses in the end of the
theoretical framework concerning e-commerce factors impact on the consumer purchase
decision was fundamental, using an exploratory factor analysis and follow the
connections presented in the Rotated Component Matrix would not suit this research. In
this study it would not be possible to create new e-commerce factors after completing
this kind of factor analysis since the hypotheses should loose their appropriateness, even
if the Cronbach’s alpha value for each newly constellated e-commerce factor most
likely would be higher than for most of the original ones. Instead the authors focused on
achieving high discriminant and construct validity from the very beginning through
anchoring the indicators, and thereby the statements, in reliable literature and previously
used surveys to create the factors measured in the study.

As mentioned, a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0,70 and above is an adequate result

(Nunnaly, 1978). However, according to Lance, Butts and Michels (2006) this is not the
whole truth. Measures with modest reliabilities of 0,70 or below can also be adequate
cause this may have been achieved in order to save time and effort in a new area of
research. A social science index was presented by Lance, Butts and Michels (2006)
between the years 2000-2004. This index was based on Nunnaly´s theory that there is a
0,70 cut-off when it comes to the Cronbach´s Alpha (α) value. The result showed that
20 percent of the index in this study used scales that had reliabilities well under (α)
0,70.

As Cronbach´s alpha (α) is grounded in the “tau equivalent model”, it assumes that each
test item will measure the same latent trait on the same scale. Because of this, if several
factors underlie the items on a scale, the Cronbach´s Alpha will underestimate the
reliability of the test (Tavakol and Dennick, 2011). The reliability will also be affected
if the number of test items is too small. Furthermore, correlation between the items in a
test means that a high value of Alpha is achieved. However, a high value does not
always imply a high degree of internal consistency. This has to do with the length of the
test, if the test length is too short, the reliability will be lower (Tavakol and Dennick,
2011).

39
Based on the discussion above, the authors of this study argue that the factors used in
the data analysis have acceptable reliability, even if the (α) has to be taken in to
consideration as the result could be assessed having more of a indicative character.

40
4. Result
In this chapter the analysis of the collected data are accounted for and later on put in
relation to the five hypotheses presented in the introduction chapter to either accept or
reject each one of them.

4.1 Data analysis

4.1.1 Correlation analysis

In the correlation analysis the collected data were analyzed in order to demonstrate the
strength, the Pearson´s correlation coefficient, of the relationship between the six
different factors handled in the study (the five e-commerce factors as well as consumer
purchase decision). In table 4.2 the result of the correlation analysis is displayed. There
were several strong relationships presented by the correlation analysis, where e-logistics
was the factor with the overall strongest correlation to the other factors. Strong
correlations excluding e-logistics were between: e-marketing and e-vendor contact
alternatives ,451**; web site design and e-marketing ,249** and consumer purchase
decision and web site design 0,185*.

Table 4.2 Correlation matrix (Krysén and Hallberg, 2015)

Factor EL OI WSD EM EVCA CPD

E-logistics Pearson’s corr. 1 ,329** ,314** ,308** ,260** ,037

(EL) Sig. (2-tailed) ,000 ,000 ,000 ,002 ,665
(n) 139 139 139 139 139 139

Online Pearson’s corr. ,329** 1 ,009 0,09 ,056 ,071

integrity Sig. (2-tailed) ,000 ,918 ,918 ,514 ,408
(OI) (n) 139 139 139 139 139 139

Web site Pearson’s corr. ,314** ,118 1 ,249** ,143 ,185*

design Sig. (2-tailed) ,000 ,167 ,003 ,092 ,029
(WSD) (n) 139 139 139 139 139 139

41
 Factor EL OI WSD EM EVCA CPD

E-marketing Pearson’s corr. ,308** 0,09 ,249** 1 ,451** ,088

(EM) Sig. (2-tailed) ,000 ,918 ,003 ,003 ,305
(n) 139 139 139 139 139 139

E-vendor Pearson’s corr. ,260** ,056 ,143 ,451** 1 -,086

contact Sig. (2-tailed) ,002 ,514 ,092 ,003 ,316
alternatives (n) 139 139 139 139 139 139
(EVCA)

Consumer Pearson’s corr. ,037 0,71 ,185* 0,88 -,086 1

purchase Sig. (2-tailed) ,665 ,408 ,029 ,305 ,316
decision (n) 139 139 139 139 139 139
(CPD)

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

4.1.2 Regression analysis

In the linear regression analysis the collected data concerning the five e-commerce
factors, the independent variables, were put in relation to the dependent variable
consumer purchase decision. The regression analysis was made to analyze to what
extent the e-commerce factors impacted the consumer purchase decision, in order to
further on being able to accept or reject the five hypotheses of the research.

In table 4.3 the result of the regression analysis can be seen. The table contains the beta
value (β), standard errors, significance value regarding each relation between
independent variable and dependent value, as well as the r-squared value (r2), control
variables, r-squared value (r2) for the control variables and the sample size (n) of the
analyzed data.

42
Table 4.3 Regression analysis (Krysén and Hallberg, 2015)

Independent variable Beta coefficient (β) and Significance at p <

(standard errors)

E-­‐logistics (β)  −,052  (,126) 0,681

Online  integrity (β)  ,079  (,101) 0,432

Web  site  design (β)  ,274  (,136) 0,046

E-­‐marketing (β)  ,127  (0,098) 0,196

E-­‐vendor  contact   (β)  -­‐,145  (0,085) 0,90

alternatives

Dependent variable: Consumer purchase decision  

R-squared (r2): ,062
Control variables: The background variables of age and gender
R-squared (r2) for control variables: ,001
Sample size (n): 139

4.2 Hypotheses testing

4.2.1 E-logistics impact on the e-consumer purchase decision making

The result of the regression analysis showed no significant value between e-logistics
and the consumer purchase decision. The beta coefficient (β) had a negative value of -
,052 and additionally the significance value rose above the ,005 limit (p>0,05) ending
up at 0,681. Hypothesis H1: ”E-logistics has a positive impact on the e-consumer
purchase decision” was therefor rejected in the study.

4.2.2 E-marketing activities impact on the e-consumer purchase decision

In the regression analysis the impact that e-marketing activities have on e-consumer
purchase was analyzed. The result showed a positive beta coefficient (β) with a value of
,127. Though, this did not matter since the significance value rose above the ,005 limit
(p>0,05). Hypothesis H2: ”E-marketing activities have a positive impact on the e-
consumer purchase decision” was therefor rejected in the study. .

43
4.2.3 Online integrity's impact on the e-consumer purchase decision
The regression analysis presented a positive beta coefficient (β) with a value of ,079
regarding the impact online integrity has on the purchase decision of e-consumers.
However, the significance value rose above the ,005 limit (p> 0,05) resulting in no
significance value between online integrity and the purchase decision of e-consumers.
Hypothesis H3: ”Online integrity has a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase
decision” was therefor rejected in the study.

4.2.4 E-vendor contact alternatives impact on the e-consumer purchase decision

The impact of e-vendor contact alternatives on the e-consumer purchase decision was
measured in the regression analysis, receiving a significance value of 0,09 which is
above the ,005 limit (p> 0,05). Depending on different perceptions from researchers a
(p> 0,10) value may be accepted, though this did not need to be considered as the beta
coefficient (β) was negative with a value of -,145. Hypothesis H4: ”E-vendor contact
alternatives have a positive impact on the e-consumer purchase decision” was therefor
rejected in the study. .

4.2.5 Web site design’s impact on the e-consumer purchase decision

In the relation how an appealing and an maneuverable web site impact the consumer
purchase decision, the value of the beta coefficient (β) was positive and represented
,274 while the significance value of the regression proved significance results within the
,005 limit (p> 0,05). Meaning that if the web site design has high quality the consumer
purchase decision is positively impacted. Hypothesis H5: ”Web site design has a
positive impact on the e-consumer purchase decision” could therefor be accepted.

44
5. Discussion
In this chapter the results of the analysis accounted for in the previous chapter will be
discussed and interpreted in relation to the theoretical framework.

5.1 Result discussion

In the linear regression analysis presented in the previous chapter one could see the
result concerning the impact that the multiple independent variables had on the
dependent variable consumer purchase decision. Viewing the result of the analysis it
was clear that only one of the independent variables, web site design, had a direct
positive impact on the consumer purchase decision with its beta coefficient (β) of ,274
and a significance within the ,005 limit (p>0,05). This led to the outcome that only one
of the five hypotheses stated in chapter 2.2 was accepted, while the four others were
rejected. The result of web site design having an positive impact on consumers purchase
decision is in line with the research conducted by Martin et al. (2012) stating that
exhaustive design of the web site containing: sufficient information available regarding
the product, including complete descriptions of the functional characteristics and good
visualizations of the products, are large incentives for encouraging consumers either to
return to the web site or purchase immediately. The authors find this logical and it is
line with the overall literature review concerning web site design where Dyr (2008) and
Martin et al. (2012) highlight the importance for e-vendors to design an appealing and
maneuverable web site in order to create trust, satisfaction and loyalty. Just like Dyr
(2008) stress, succeeding with this will make the consumer trust the web site, which
provides a willingness for the consumer to take action even when he or she is vulnerable
to the seller. In a later extent this factor undoubtedly is very important to increase sales.

When interpreting the result from the correlation analysis, several strong and interesting
relationships between the six analyzed factors could be discovered. The authors imply
that these correlations shows tendencies of multiple relations impacting the consumer
purchase decision, which is further strengthened by the theoretical framework.

With point of departure in the significant ,185* correlation between web site design and
consumer purchase decision, the authors assess an underlying cluster concerning how e-
vendor contact alternatives, e-marketing and web site design interacts to create the
significant correlation between web site design and consumer purchase decision. Web

45
site design is correlated to e-marketing (,249**) and at the next level e-marketing is
significantly correlated to e-vendor contact alternatives (,451**). In addition to the fact
of e-vendors being able to be contacted through multiple communication channels, the
factor e-vendor contact alternatives also strongly address e-vendors activity on social
media. The authors argue that this interdependency between the three factors is logical
due to the increased mediated world and the increased activity among especially young
persons on the Internet. According to Eida and El-Gohary (2013) the recent revolution
in: computer science; IT; Internet; media and communication have changed the nature
of business and marketing activities with new electronic channels. Aichner and Jacob
(2015); Brengman and Karimov (2012); and Park et al. (2011) strengthen this argue by
stating that social media and internet based contact alternatives has emerged as a crucial
tool for companies in a growing number of their value chain activities, supporting two-
way interactions between online consumers and furthermore leading to intention to buy.
Additionally, Aichner and Jacob (2015) implies that social media is not an optional
element in the promotional mix for e-vendors, but a mandatory element for their
marketing strategy. This makes the two factors of e-marketing and e-vendor contact
alternatives greatly dependent on each other as social media is commonly used to
distribute marketing activities. For the authors this is obvious due to the large number of
social media users. For instance Facebook has 1.2 billion users that are active each
month according to Aichner and Jacob (2015), which makes social media an enormous
platform for e-vendor to conduct e-marketing through, in order to promote their web
sites. Further on, sales promotions play a significant role in predicting consumer
intentions either to purchase or to revisit web sites (Kim and Kim, 2014). The web site
design further provides the e-vendors with additional marketing advantages in contrary
to brick-and-mortar stores. For instance when an e-vendor promotes a product with a
discount offer they can recommend substitutes, complements and/or associated
accessories at the same time, as well as provide an unlimited amount of virtual show
rooms (Jiang and Liu, 2012).

It is clear that e-vendors have the possibility of carrying out optimal e-marketing plans
through the web site interface together with social media solutions. For the authors this
significantly indicates that the cluster of web site design, e-marketing and e-vendor
contacts alternatives can be used in order to positively impact the consumers purchase

46
decision and by that increase the revenues for an Internet based retailer, as well as
support the work of maintaining competitive advantages.

Shifting focus to emphasize the factor of online integrity, the regression analysis proved
that there is not any direct impact between the factor of online integrity and the
consumer purchase decision. From the authors perspective this is not a surprising result,
instead a logical outcome related to the burgeoning Internet usage on the global arena.
Especially due to the young target group of the sampling that are grown up in the
todays’ mediated world. These consumers assumedly take online integrity for granted
and are aware of the concept, and by that simply accept the situation. This also concerns
data collection carried out by e-vendors, the authors assess that the young target group
does not bother this matters either. Instead they are familiar to the purpose of personal
data collection and that it, in line with the research of Premazzi et al. (2010), is a
necessity for e-vendors.

Further on, Kim and Kim (2004); Han and Maclaurin (2002); and Choi and Nazareth
(2014) all stress the large investments that have been made to create and increase
integrity and transaction security for consumers when shopping online. These
investments contain for instance the development of encryption tools, digital signatures
and similar reassurances about privacy. This further strengthen the authors assessment
that online integrity does not impact the consumers purchase decision, since integrity
when shopping online nowadays is taken for granted by the consumers. Though the
authors have the same perception as Roca, Garcia and de la Vega (2009); Bruce Chien
and Kok-Boon (2009); and Choi and Nazareth (2014) regarding that online integrity is
extremely important for e-commerce and other electronically based services in general,
it just does not impact the purchase decision for e-consumers.

E-logistics is the last e-commerce factor being handled in this discussion. The
regression analysis showed no tendencies of e-logistics having a significant impact on
the consumer purchase, neither the correlation analysis showed any relations between
these two factors. Obviously, e-logistics has no direct impact on consumers’ decision
whether to purchase or not. The authors presume that this result is in line with the
matter of online integrity. Most e-vendors offer the same logistical benefits that Singh
(2014); and Gümüs et al. (2013) mention as important for e-consumers: competitive

47
shipping price; generous return policies and next day or on-time delivery. This makes
the factor of e-logistic not having an impact on the consumers purchase decision.
However, if the elements within e-logistics in the future would largely differ between e-
vendors, the authors assess that this factor would have an impact on the consumers
purchase decision. Especially concerning environmental issues that are estimated to
increase in importance for consumers. This is enhanced by Macharis et al. (2014) who
are highlighting the large growth of environmental concern among e-consumers.
Furthermore, Zhang and Zhang (2013); and Macharis et al. (2014) address the large
energy consumption of e-logistics, as it is the link between the seller and the buyer, as a
prerequisite for developing more effective, sustainable and adapted distribution
networks in order to deliver products with the lowest amount of impact on the
surrounding environment as possible. At last, it is clear that e-logistics is a fundamental
part within e-commerce. However, just like the factor of online integrity it does not
impact the consumer purchasing decision.

In the regression analysis a total r-squared (r2) of 6.2 percent was presented, while the
control variables (age and gender) only reached an r2 of 0.1 percent. 6.2 percent is a
logical and natural result for the study, addressing the factors impacting the consumer
purchase decision excluding the price, which according to for instance Keen et al.
(2004); Ozok, Oldenburger and Solvency (2007); and Doaei and Hassanzadeh (2013) is
the undoubtedly strongest contributor positively impacting the consumer purchase
decision making. The result of this study therefor could be assessed having the role of
presenting what e-commerce factors that e-vendors within emerging markets should
focus on in order to win consumers when their price is similar in relation to the price of
their competitors.

48
6. Conclusion
In this chapter the conclusions of the research are conducted, addressing the research
question, purpose and research gap.

6.1 Concluding the study

To answer the research question: Which factors impact the purchase decision of
consumers within emerging markets when shopping online?, the result of regression
analysis was primarily used. Departing from the regression the only e-commerce factor
having a direct impact on the consumer purchase decision was web site design, as the
additional four e-commerce factors outlined significance values above the ,005 limit
(p>0,05). Though, when relating the theoretical framework to the correlation analysis
and the authors interpretations an underlying cluster of web site design, e-marketing and
e-vendor contact alternatives impacting the consumer purchase decision was
discovered.

Further on, the purpose of this study was: ”to examine the relationship between e-
commerce factors and the consumer purchase decision within e-commerce on emerging
markets to unravel how certain factors impact the consumer purchase decision. The aim
is to provide knowledge regarding consumer purchase decision making for retailers
entering an emerging e-commerce market, this by carrying out a survey to consumers
on a representative emerging market”. The purpose was achieved by conducting a
survey based on an extensive literature review within the e-commerce area and later on
the answers of the survey was analyzed in the software programme SPSS. The results
from SPSS were further on interpreted by the authors by putting it in relation to the
theoretical framework. Thereafter the authors were able to provide the knowledge stated
in the purpose.

Finally, in order for e-vendors to gain market shares and utilize the market capacity of
the hyper-competitive emerging markets, the factors web site design, e-marketing and e-
vendor contact alternatives are essential to address due to their positive impact on the
consumers purchase decision.

49
7. Implications
This chapter will account for the practical recommendations, address the
methodological delimitations of this study and furthermore provide suggestions
regarding further research within the study area.

7.1 Practical recommendations

The following recommendations are essential for e-vendors having the ambition to grow
and gain market shares on emerging e-commerce markets, as well as having the
ambition to utilize the burgeoning online market capacity of one or several emerging
markets.

In the complexity of allocating resources to achieve the targets mentioned above,

addressing resources to evaluate and develop the firms web site design, e-marketing and
contact alternatives, where social media is most essential, is crucial for e-vendors.
Emphasizing these factor by being proactive and make them interact to create value for
the consumers will positively impact the consumer purchase decision and enlarge the
sales of the firm. In a later extent this will create a competitive advantage for the firm,
which is necessary when it comes to gaining market shares. Especially when entering a
particular emerging market for the first time.

Further on, it is fundamental for e-vendors within emerging markets to be reactive

concerning e-logistical services, as well as the matter of ensuring online integrity for
consumers. For now, these two factors will not create enlarged sales or positively
impact the consumer purchase decision as they are taken for granted by e-consumers.
Though, it is important to be in line with the competitors concerning these factors, both
in a shorter and longer perspective in order to avoid loosing consumers. Further on, in
longer terms regarding e-logistics, it will be crucial to fulfill new criteria for services as
the environmental concern among consumers is growing significantly. This will firstly
include the necessity of providing environmentally friendly delivery solutions.

7.2 Methodological delimitations

In this study a deductive and quantitative research was conducted, which means that
potential knowledge gaps able to reveal and fulfill with a qualitative/deductive or
qualitative/inductive research have not been addressed in this study. Further on, using a

50
quantitative research with a data collection technique of carrying out surveys limit the
in-depth knowledge achieving.

Due to the nature of the study, examing and describing the relations between different
variables based on the literature review, a descriptive research design was primarily
implemented. This gave certain limitations to the research conducted in this study. For
instance the authors were not able to properly execute an exploratory factor analysis and
follow the connections presented in a rotated component matrix since the variables in
this study were connected to the five hypotheses stated in the theoretical framework.
Because of this, the operationalized indicators could not be allocated in to new factors
without disturbing the outcome of the study and the legitimacy of the hypotheses.
Executing and following an exploratory factor analysis to create variables would also
have increased the reliability of the study as the Cronbach’s alpha (α) value of internal
consistency most certainly would have rose. Another way of improving the reliability,
and increase the (α), would have been to only use the indicators and factors used in
previous quantitative academic studies.

The physical sampling was carried out only in Warsaw, Poland. Additionally, the study
addressed a relatively young target group, as they are the future of B2C e-commerce
and perceived to increase their purchasing power over time. These factors must be taken
in to account when assessing the outcome of the study. Furthermore, the pre-study of
this study was conducted in Sweden, which limited the contribution of this one.

7.3 Further research

Research concerning e-commerce within emerging markets is relatively unexplored;
due to this fact the authors consider that there are large opportunities for further research
within this area. Since the globalization of the world will keep increasing, e-commerce
will simultaneously continue to expand and thereby be fundamental to take in
consideration for companies wanting to keep, or strengthen, their competitive
advantage, especially within emerging markets all over the globe.

This study was conducted with a quantitative research approach. The authors argue that
the factors impacting consumers purchase decision can further be analyzed in order to

51
more thoroughly unravel why they have an impact. This could be executed by using a
qualitative approach to achieve comprehensive in-depth knowledge. Additionally, this
research is based on Polish consumers within a certain target group; further research can
consequently be conducted within different emerging markets and concern the whole
age span of the populations. For instance, such research could be conducted within
countries in overall emerging continents, such as Asia and Africa to gain a broader view
concerning the research question stated in this research.

The authors of this study also assess that conducting an exploratory and quantitative
research regarding factors impacting the consumer purchase decision making process
would be of great value for e-vendors. Using surveys as data collection technique would
be preferred, but with indicators not connected to specific factors on beforehand. Later
on, analyzing the result with help of an exploratory factor analysis would probably
create new factors, consisting of several indicators, making it possible for retailers to
conduct a more precise allocation of resources when addressing certain issues.

This research address the business-to-customers relationship of e-commerce, leaving

other business relationships untouched. It would be interesting to do a similar study
concerning the business-to-business sales relationship, by that also being able to unravel
the differences between factors impacting B2C-sales and B2B-sales. The authors have
not found any academic articles handling the concept of e-commerce in business-to-
business conducted within emerging markets.

Finally, it would be of interest for retailers with origin in developed countries to take
part of a similar study as this one, but targeting both emerging and developed markets
simultaneously to achieve even more thorough hands on knowledge. Additionally,
being able to explore potential differences within consumer behavior in emerging and
developed markets. No contemporary academic articles have been found with this
purpose either.

52
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60
Appendices
Appendix A – Survey

Consumer behavior on the internet

We are two students from the School of Business and Economics at Linnaeus
University in Sweden. For the moment we are writing our Bachelor thesis focusing on
electronic commerce (e-commerce) and this questionnaire has the purpose of examining
consumer behavior on the Internet for the population in Poland.

The respondents of this questionnaire is completely anonymous.

Thank you for participating!

1. Gender
Male

Female

2. Age

__________________

3. In what frequency do you shop on the Internet?

1. Never 7. Very often
Please mark only one box regarding each question.

The statements below are ranked in a scale between 1-7

1: Strongly Disagree 7: Strongly Agree

Please mark only one box regarding each question.

4. I am afraid of buying on the internet.

I
5. When shopping on the Internet, I often shop from the same web site/company.

6. When shopping online, feeling trust to the web site/company that I shop from is
important.

7. When shopping on the internet, fast delivery time is important to me.

8. When shopping on the Internet, free shipping of the product is important to me.

9. When shopping on the Internet, the possibility of choosing environmentally

friendly delivery alternatives is important to me.

10. When shopping on the Internet, the ease of returning products is important to
me.

11. When shopping on the Internet, it is important to me knowing that the

payment information is protected.

12. When shopping on the Internet, the possibility of choosing among different
payment alternatives are important to me.

II
13. When shopping on the Internet, knowing what personal information (for
example name, telephone number, e-mail address and social security number) that
is collected by the company is important to me.

14. When shopping on the Internet, it is important to me to have the possibility to

choose whether the web site/company can collect and save information about me
or not.

15. When shopping on the Internet, the quality of information provided about the
product is important to me.

16. When shopping on the Internet, it is important to me that the product can be
seen in different visualizations (for example: larger images; the product, front, side
and back; and the possibility to zoom).

17. When shopping on the Internet, the attractiveness (visual design) of the web
site is important to me.

18. When shopping on the Internet, the ease of navigation on the web site (for
example a search function) is important to me.

19. When shopping on the Internet, it is important for me that the web site have a
membership club with benefits (for example receiving discounts and special
offers).

III
20. When shopping on the Internet, rebates and coupons (such as: ”10% discount
on my first buy on a web site” or ”buy 2 get 1 for free”) is important to me.

21. When shopping on the Internet, it is important to me that the product is

cheaper than in the normal, physical, store.

22. When shopping on the Internet, it is important to me that the web site provides
product recommendations (for example alternative and complementary product).

23. When shopping on the Internet, different contact alternatives (such as e-mail,
telephone and chat) to the company owning the web site is important to me.

24. When shopping on the Internet, it is important to me that the web

site/company is active on microblogs such as Twitter and/or Tumblr.

25. When shopping on the Internet, it is important to me that the web

site/company is active on photo sharing medias such as Instagram and/or Flickr.

26. When shopping on the Internet, it is important to me that the web

site/company is active on social networks such as Facebook and/or Google plus.

IV
Appendix B – Total descriptive data
Total descriptive data (Kryén and Hallberg, 2015)