Research Article

International Journal of Engineering

Business Management
Volume 10: 1–11
Examining the impact of QR codes ª The Author(s) 2018
DOI: 10.1177/1847979018812323
on purchase intention and customer journals.sagepub.com/home/enb

satisfaction on the basis of

perceived flow

Md Shamim Hossain1,2 , Xiaoyan Zhou2,

and Mst Farjana Rahman1

Abstract
The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of quick response (QR) codes on customer satisfaction and purchase
intention in the online shopping context on the basis of perceived flow. This study also showed the impact of QR codes on
perceived flow, followed by perceived flow on purchase intention and customer satisfaction, and finally the combination
impact of perceived flow and customer satisfaction on purchase intention. Stimulus–Organism–Response theoretical
model was used in this research. Data were collected by online questionnaires from 420 valid respondents who purchased
a product online via QR code. The covariance-based structural equation modeling approach was used to analyze the
structural model and measurements. This study showed that QR codes have a great impact on purchase intention and
customer satisfaction. The findings of this article confirmed that QR codes influence perceived flow, combined effect of
them, in turn, influenced online shoppers’ satisfaction and, finally, purchase intention. These findings are practically sig-
nificant for both marketers and customers. Marketers should use QR codes as an embedded advertising tool with par-
ticular URLs that will lead to more profitability for shopping agency. Besides customers can also learn their behavior
regarding QR codes in the online shopping context. This research has great real implications in the field of Internet
shopping, online marketing, retailing, marketing promotion, and consumer behavior. Embedded QR codes with adver-
tising are very helpful for advertisers to share and influence customer satisfaction and purchase intention. Sharing
information via QR codes will influence customers to engage and share information with other customers in the online
community, which will help to increase the volume of sales rapidly. To the best of our knowledge there is no research to
evaluate the real impact of QR codes on purchase intention and customer satisfaction on the basis of perceived flow.

Keywords
QR code, perceived flow, online shopping, customer satisfaction, purchase intention

Date received: 8 June 2018; accepted: 12 October 2018

Introduction
1
Department of Marketing, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and
Quick response (QR) codes are two-dimensional and Technology University, Dinajpur, Bangladesh
machine-readable matrix bar codes originally developed 2
Business School, University of International Business and Economics,
and designed in 1994 by Denso Wave Incorporated for the Beijing, China
purpose of accurate and fast inventory checks.1 Conven-
Corresponding author:
tional one-dimensional bar codes can store information Md Shamim Hossain, Department of Marketing, Hajee Mohammad
only in the horizontal manner, while QR codes have the Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur 5200, Bangladesh.
ability to store information both vertically and horizontally. Email: [email protected]

Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
(http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without
further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/
open-access-at-sage).
2 International Journal of Engineering Business Management

So more perfect and huge information can be stored in QR customers. Such information enables marketers to under-
codes than in one-dimensional conventional bar codes.2 stand what types of product should be sold and how the
The stored information can be encoded as a URL, text, or product should be customized. QR codes enable to examine
other various types of data, which can be easily read by the the interest of customers quickly. They can connect market-
cameras of mobile device.3 With the increasing popularity ers with customer in real time and can evaluate the specific
of camera-enabled smartphones, the users of QR codes are interest of customer toward campaign or product instantly.
increasing rapidly. Japanese advertisers and marketers By monitoring the number of scans, the marketer can
swiftly embraced these codes as marketing tools in a broad obtain concurrent reaction about the effectiveness of mar-
range of marketing and promotional activities because of keting campaigns. Embedded QR codes into promotional
high information storage and encoding capacity of QR image can arouse curiosity of consumers to grab attention
codes.4 In the early 2000s, QR codes quickly gained very to notice the marketing materials provided by the marketer,
good reputation in the Europe, and in North America soon which is one of the most vital benefits of those codes for
after, with marketers and manufacturers putting QR codes promotion.14 Cooper15 mentioned that QR codes have the
on many products and services from labels of wine to ability to bring customers from off-line media into the
shampoo bottles to candy bars.5 In China, QR codes are online marketplace including outdoor ad campaigns and
used in many daily activities including marketing, social press. The cost-effectiveness quality of those codes as a
platform (such as WeChat), m-payment, online shopping, marketing and advertising tool is another advantage for a
and ticket management. marketer.15,16 The embedded QR codes into promotion ads
Basically QR code is two-dimensional and dynamic. allow consumers to visit the websites that afford for getting
If QR code is associated with a URL, and the linked URL additional information, enter sweepstakes, to download
changes any time, it is possible to amend the underlying contents, access appropriate information, and link to mar-
data of URL without changing the image of the QR code. keter’s different social media sites during shopping.17 QR
According to Pulliam and Landry,6 QR codes are approved codes also allow business to calculate the return of their
by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) investment in online business including mobile market-
and are freely available. Anyone can make a QR code ing.17 Narang et al.18 also noted that printing those codes
freely for any data or link from the Internet. These codes on print advertising always offers interactivity and enables
are well-designed and well-planned, with a superior capac- tracking of consumers, such as the consumer’s browsing
ity to one-dimensional or conventional matrix bar code. QR time on the site, QR codes scanned frequency, and the
also has error correction variability and capabilities. Up to consumer’s geographical location. All these gained infor-
30% of obscured or damaged data can be recovered again. mation are very important for marketers to evaluate the
In the area of both academic and commercial settings, effectiveness of all marketing campaigns.
this code has a broad range of uses7 and is used by market- Johnson & Quinn Inc.19 described that QR codes allow
ers to link customers for giving product- and service- consumers to connect directly with call to act and direct
related information, promotion, and selling product and mail action. This ability of QR code eliminates several
service5 and for E-commerce communication.8 QR codes barriers such as time delay for response is one of the loss
are commonly used for tracking inventory and labeling of of interest causes. Through immediately provided many
product in manufacturing and as managing ticket activities information within short time, during the thinking time
in transportation.9 QR code also supports mobile ticketing; consumer regarding a product or service QR codes can
helps in event promotion and in tourism afford location- connect immediately with them. Marketers can get a huge
based services10; and is widely used in government offices return on investment and response rate from their campaign
to circulate instructions and various information, assist activities through integrating QR code with the conven-
applications for documents and permits, and simplify reg- tional power of direct marketing mail. QR codes help to
ular office activities.11 QR codes are also used as applica- get valuable information regarding consumer behavior,
tion tools in the social media such as WeChat, Facebook, demographic information, and response rates. QR codes
and Snapchat.12,13 help to collect customer reviews via website. After collect-
Larkin14 mentioned that marketer should use QR code ing online reviews, marketer can understand the behavior
because these codes enable a superior connectivity level of consumers.20 QR codes can also reduce the rate of prod-
with customers. This can fortify dedication to a specific ucts returned after purchase. QR codes help to know the
brand. He also described that QR codes provide superior customer’s demand by calculating the number of scans for
tracking and traceability functions. Different software of each code, and on-demand service offerings are important
code reader programs can track different codes. Using these for marketers.21 QR codes can facilitate tracking activities
code reader software, it is very easy for marketers to iden- of online interactions and make easier evaluating a cam-
tify the exact number of code scans per day or per month; paign’s return on investment.
the category of gadget such as mobile, laptop, or other QR codes can be easily shared in various social media
gadget was used for scanning the QR code, scans executed with product images that influence the purchase inten-
time, website browsing duration, and the location of each tion. 22 Marketers need to develop and maintain well-
Hossain et al. 3

designed database for evaluating the needs and wants of

Stimulus Organism Response
customers from customers’ browsing behavior. Marketer
may use these codes to present links for specific websites
Customer
page URL and for collecting various information including QR code satisfaction
H2a
questionnaires, voting and ranking product, the need and usefulness H1 Perceived
H3
wants-related information, and so on. The collected infor- acceptability flow
mation is then used and analyzed to decide appropriate feasibility H2b Purchase
intention
offerings for the target consumer.23 Those codes associated
to e-mails or websites address can help to capture more
information during registration process, content download-
ing time, and browsing time.22 QR codes with embedded Figure 1. The conceptual framework.
website influence consumers to purchase a product or ser- Source: Adapted from Rosario Raymundo (2017).22
vice from a specific online shopping site.22 These codes can
be used with a personalized URL (PURL).5 Basically empirically testing a research model. The following are the
PURL provides most distinctive Web address for each indi- research questions of this study: (i) How does QR code’s
vidual customer. PURL can provide more specific informa- usefulness, feasibility, and acceptability influence per-
tion from each individual customer.19,24 ceived flow? and (ii) How does perceived flow influences
Customized advertising via PURLs with QR codes can customer satisfaction and purchase intention of consumers?
help to avoid sending inappropriate messages2,24,25 to spe- The findings of this study are practically significant for
cific customers or group of customers and influence con- both marketers and customers. Marketers should use QR
sumers to purchase the offered goods/services. Also codes as an embedded advertising tool with particular
PURLs can help to improve consumers’ positive emotion URLs that will lead to more profitability for shopping
regarding new product and service. Personalized promoting agency. Besides, customers can also learn their behavior
also allows to gain information for understanding future regarding QR codes in the online shopping context. This
advertising and marketing campaigns. QR codes allow con- research has great real implications in the field of Internet
sumers to visit the website anytime from anywhere to shopping, online marketing, retailing, marketing promo-
access companies’ websites and the contents. Customer can tion, and consumer behavior. Embedded QR codes with
easily involve with the website by visiting, liking, and advertising are very helpful for advertisers to share and
writing comment; this type of involvement is called cus- influence customer satisfaction and purchase intention.
tomers’ involvement in business which is very important Our study is organized widely into four sections. The
for conducting any business. So indirectly, QR codes help first section is about conceptual framework and theoretical
to grow business rapidly. Growth of information-sharing background, followed by hypotheses development. The
platforms and interactive communication technologies help subsequent sections describe the research method, data
to introduce new technological process in different ways. analysis, and findings of the study. Finally study limita-
QR code is one new technology that can be used as an tions, contributions, and conclusion are presented.
interactive marketing medium by marketers to advertise
and promote their products or services. Besides, other
advantages include free usage, quick scanning ability, and Conceptual framework and theoretical
can be used by anyone without license. So QR codes can be background
chosen by marketers as interactive advertising and promo-
tion media. Due to higher supporting capabilities, those Conceptual framework
codes are considering as strong marketing tools for mar- In this study, Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-
keter and shopping tools for consumers. As mobile phone R) 22,27,28 research framework was used, as shown in
technologies and its customers are increasing, QR codes are Figure 1. According to the S-O-R research framework, sti-
used for a variety of marketing purposes, and mobile mar- mulus is considered as an initial construct that affects the
keting is one of them.5,26 internal condition of the individual. The effect of the sti-
The users of QR codes are growing rapidly, but there mulus components on response construct mediates by the
was no research that can evaluate the real impact of QR process of organism. Finally, response shows the impact of
codes on purchase intention and customer satisfaction, stimulus as a final result, such as satisfaction, dissatisfaction,
which was an important gap of this study. For the growing or positive/avoidance behavior of customers. In the smart
QR codes and online business activities, researchers are shopping context, the number of QR code users is growing
highly motivated for this study because researchers wanted speedily for usefulness, feasibility, and acceptability of QR
to know the impact of QR codes on marketing activities, codes. In this research, the usefulness, feasibility, and
especially on purchase intention and satisfaction of custom- acceptability of QR codes affect consumers’ internal state.
ers. This study seeks to understand the impact of QR codes Furthermore, Webster et al.29 mentioned in their study that
on purchase intention and satisfaction of customers by perceived flow is a psychological situation, which fluctuates
4 International Journal of Engineering Business Management

with different situational contexts and influences by a per- flow as a situation of holistic and cognitive incident that
son’s interaction with different circumstances. Hence, that people consider when they do something with complete
study posits that the usefulness, feasibility, and acceptability involvement and losing self-control or “self-con-
of QR codes are stimulus, which will influence perceived sciousness.” Gao and Bai35 described that customers in
flow (considered as organism) of customers positively and a flow situation become totally engaged in a particular
then will affect purchase intention and customer satisfaction action and losing own self-consciousness. Basically the
in the online shopping context (response). experience of enjoyment, curiosity, and concentration in
an activity describes the flow experience.36 Therefore,
flow has gained inflamed concentration and used as the
Stimulus: QR codes’ usefulness, feasibility, foundation for developing persuasive experiences.28,32,37,38
and acceptability Chen et al.39 described how Internet can assist the flow
The conception of QR codes in the framework of Rosario occurrence, which is an important construct to depict and
Raymundo22 has been implemented for evaluating the explain computer–human interactions.35 Particularly, Inter-
impact of QR codes on purchase intention and customer net access facilitates to flow condition.28 Flow has been used
satisfaction. According to the basic framework (Figure 1), in diverse online context, such as online shopping, online
the impact of stimulus (usability, feasibility, and accept- banking, online marketing, online games, online travel orga-
ability of QR codes) on purchase intention and satisfac- nization, and mobile messaging,35,37 where customers
tion of customers 28 will be evaluated on the basis of engage in an action to build an enjoyable experience.40 Par-
perceived flow. Usefulness is the consumers’ own internal ticularly, Internet is the way to enter into the flow situation.
measurement about the need fulfillment capacity of spe- Nonetheless, Novak et al.32 described the flow concept to
cific product or service. Functionality and usability of computer-mediated context and proposed flow as cognitive
product are the component of usefulness. Basically, utility condition that is most intrinsically enjoyable and favorable
or functionality is determined by the need fulfillment experience. It becomes the center of attention and positively
capability of a product. Functionality of product is often affects the attitudes and behavior of consumer; experience of
determined as “ease-of-use and joy-of-use”22 of specific flow is positively correlated to customers’ attitudes and
product or service.30 Both product usability and function- behavior toward the marketers’ website and firm41 and cre-
ality are imperative in marketing; they harmonize each ates the intention to visit and browse website for long time.
other and together.22 As a result, we can say that the perceived flow influences
Feasibility refers to the degree of practicality involve- purchase intention and satisfaction of online shoppers.
ment with the object or situation, that is, whether ample
logistics and resources are offered and whether psychoso- Response: Customer satisfaction and purchase
cial and/or physical contexts works interfere for executing intention
the situation or object.22,31
Acceptability is defined as Prior studies have exposed that satisfaction can create loy-
alty42 and cause repurchase intention,43 create affirmative
[ . . . ] Evaluating good performance of an object (such as prod- word-of-mouth recommendations,43 and improve profit-
uct or service in marketing) by the target population (such as ability and market share of a company.44 Satisfaction is the
consumer in marketing) and determine with the degree of need fulfillment of consumer’s response,45 and the summary of
satisfaction capability.22,30,66 psychological situation resulting when feeling adjacent dis-
confirmed hope is tied with a customer’s past feelings in
Shackel31 describes acceptability as usefulness, usabil- relation to the experience of the customer.45 Satisfaction is
ity, likability, and cost.22 He also suggested that, for better a pinpointing sign that helps to evaluate the customer
customer satisfaction, the sum of three elements (useful- expectations and can measure the consumer behavior
ness, usability, and likability) should be greater than the regarding the product and service of organizations. 25
total cost of the product. Anderson and Srinivasan42 anticipated that “customer
satisfaction may be the best implicit as an enduring assess-
ment of the revelation intrinsic in a product acquirement
Organism: Perceived flow and/or experience of consumption.” Basically, one of the
Condition of finest psychological experience is flow,32 or most important user outcomes of experience is called cus-
most enjoyable own experience when a customer is tomer satisfaction and acquiring satisfaction of the cus-
unconsciously occupied in an action or activities, the cus- tomer is one of the important goals of marketer.46 Thus,
tomer becomes so absorbed when they lose their own the term satisfaction is an old concept, and many research
sense.28,33 Flow experiences generally come from differ- contributions have been described to understand satisfac-
ent actions, such as artistic performances, hobbies, work, tion’s background and consequences. Evaluating purchase
writing, sports, shopping, and ritual activities. The flow intention and behavioral patterns of consumers has been
concept was initiated by Csikszentmihalyi34 who defined implemented to envisage the actual behavior of
Hossain et al. 5

consumers,47 and the connection has been investigated Flow, customer satisfaction, and purchase intention
empirically in the framework of tourism businesses and
In the online field, researchers have shown that positive
hospitality.48,49 In addition, past literature is also available
experience of flow creates the center of attention of con-
on behavioral intentions of customers in off-line environ-
sumers, allay price sympathy, and positively persuade sub-
ment.50 In the online shopping context, during the browsing
sequent behaviors of consumers.32 In the online shopping
shopping website by consumer, changing the visitor into a
context, several prior research studies have also showed
buyer is the main challenge faced by the marketer. More-
very strong relationship between flow experience and sub-
over, purchase intention and satisfaction of customer
sequent consumer behaviors.39,53 Flow experiences can
directly influence the profitability and revenue of the orga-
boost positive perceptions of consumer toward online shop-
nizations. So these are very important for any type of busi-
ping and lead frankly to satisfaction of consumers. Cyr
ness including online shopping context. So in the model of
et al.54 mentioned that consumers who got perceived flow
our research, customer satisfaction was included as a
experience during online shopping, in the future, their vis-
dependent variable and purchase intention of customer was
iting website and purchasing product rate from the same
included as the ultimate dependent variable.
marketer’s website will be higher. Prior studies have found
that perceived flow37 of hotel website has positive influ-
QR codes and perceived flow ence on customer satisfaction and purchase intention.28
Consequently, perceived flow during shopping from online
For the QR code to hold more characters of information than will grow the transaction rate and intentions of consu-
a one-dimensional traditional bar code, it can hold more mers.22 On the basis of the above discussion, following
product description-related information including URL.47 hypotheses are made in the online shopping context as:
QR code can influence customer to visit marketers’ website.
By visiting the website, customer can get many product- H2a: Perceived flow influences customer satisfaction
related information from marketers’ website. Presented positively.
information on the website has a vital impact on purchase
H2b: Perceived flow influences purchase intention
intention of customers.51 Rosario Raymundo22 showed that
positively.
the QR codes have an effect on flow experience of con-
sumer, which can again influence their loyalty. System qual- Customer satisfaction depends directly on customers’
ity, such as an embedded website in the QR code, should be experience during the periods of service encounter.55,67 Satis-
improved because poor system quality can’t influence pur- faction can be described as an emotional state that can be
chase intention and satisfaction of consumer.22 Usefulness estimated on the basis of customer–marketer shared relational
refers to the consumers’ own internal evaluation regarding experiences, and satisfaction should be considered as the
the need and want fulfillment capacity of specific product or main goal of any organization.56 Past research studies found
service.22 Feasibility is the degree of practicality connection a positive linkage in the online market place between satisfac-
with the object or situation and acceptability cab be deter- tion and purchase intention. If online customers gained a
mined with the degree of need satisfaction capability. QR satisfactory service from one marketer’s offered product that
code’s usefulness, feasibility, and acceptability can be used will influence customer’s purchase intention, satisfied cus-
as information deliver tools pertinent to the clinical situation tomer will show positive behavior-related intention toward
in a “comprehensive, timely, learner-centred way, and up-to- that marketers.57 Yen and Gwinner58 showed that overall
date.”22,52 Prior studies have found that website’s usabil- customer satisfaction with self-service technology has a pos-
ity,37 functionality, 37 and acceptability have positive itive effect on behavioral intentions, particularly on custom-
influence on perceived flow.28 Therefore, this study believes ers’ willingness to carry on buying from the same service
that positive perceptions of QR codes delivered to their flow provider. Rosario Raymundo22 showed that satisfaction of
experience enable them to engross themselves in their online customer is one of the key loyalty elements and can influence
shopping activities. To give flow experience to consumer by purchase intention.28,37 So we argue that customer satisfac-
QR with attributes (usefulness, feasibility, and acceptabil- tion in the online context through visiting the website via a QR
ity), QR codes must be delivered or shared by the marketer code has positive effect on purchase intentions of customers.
in the online shopping context. The hypotheses are raised in So the following hypothesis is raised:
the field of online shopping as:
H3: In the online shopping context, customer satisfac-
H1a: The usefulness of QR codes has a positive impact tion has positively impact on purchase intention.
on perceived flow.
H1b: The acceptability of QR codes has a positive
impact on perceived flow. Research methodology
H1c: The feasibility of QR codes has a positive impact In this research, to test hypotheses on the basis of S-O-R
on perceived flow. model (presented in Figure 1), quantitative method was
6 International Journal of Engineering Business Management

Table 1. Profile of the respondents. Table 2. Reliability and factor loadings.

Variables Number Percentage Variables FLs CR AVE

Gender Usefulness 0.85 0.57
Male 172 41 Very easy to use 0.78
Female 248 59 Easily connect with shopping site 0.77
Age (years) Effective for online purchasing 0.81
18–25 122 29 User-centered design from the user 0.78
26–35 176 42 perspective
36–45 84 20 Acceptability 0.81 0.60
Above 45 38 9 Graphics matched with texts 0.73
Education status It is usable 0.72
High school or below 71 17 Provides online purchase information 0.69
College student 97 23 Running cost is minimum/no cost 0.85
Graduate or above 252 60 Suitable for user 0.65
Occupation Feasibility 0.85 0.75
Public service 88 21 Facilitates information 0.69
Business 72 17 Practicality works properly for online shopping 0.82
Not currently employed (e.g. student, 260 62 Contains adequate information 0.70
retired, housewife) Works in physical and/or online contexts 0.75
Length of Internet experience (years) Perceived flow 0.87 0.73
1–3 156 37 I felt totally captivated while using the QR code 0.79
4–6 134 32 Time seemed to pass very quickly while using 0.82
6–8 88 21 the QR code
Above 8 42 10 Nothing seemed to matter to me while using 0.63
Total hours spent on the Internet in a week the QR code
0–3 46 11 Customer satisfaction 0.86
4–8 51 12 I was very satisfied while using the QR code 0.78
9–12 134 32 I feel positive attitude while using QR codes 0.76
Above 12 189 45 for shopping
My interaction with the QR code was very 0.82
satisfying
Purchase intention of customer 0.89 0.72
implemented. An online Web-based questionnaire was I want to transact with QR codes in near 0.83
future
designed in three main parts to capture the information
If I get any chance, I will use QR codes during 0.84
regarding shopping via QR code. The first section con- shopping
sisted of some general questions to make sure that respon- If I get any chance, I predict that I shall use QR 0.81
dents of this study had shopping experience via QR code codes in the near future
in the past 6 months. Therefore, in this study, only
QR: quick response; FL: factor loading; CR: composite reliability;
those respondents who had shopping experience via QR AVE: average variance extracted.
code were included. The next part of the questionnaire
was considered to capture respondents’ demographic
characteristics such as gender, income, age, and marital
status. The respondents’ detailed demographic profile In China, users of QR codes are growing rapidly,61 and
with percentage is presented in Table 1. The last part of these codes are used in many daily activities including
the survey included main questions to evaluate respondent marketing, social platform (such as WeChat), m-pay-
perceptions regarding the main variables of this study. QR ment,61 online shopping, and ticket management. So we
codes were measured using the three dimensions, useful- selected China as our research context. Primary data were
ness, feasibility, and acceptability and operationalized collected by online Web-based questionnaire from Novem-
with four, five, and four items correspondingly. 59 ber to December 2017.
Perceived flow was measured by three items,28 whereas Data collection process was adopted from prior stud-
satisfaction and purchase intentions of respondents were ies.28,37 A survey invitation link was sent to 3000 potential
also measured with three items for each.37,60 A Likert- respondents, among them 476 followed the survey link.
type scale (five-point scale) option from 1 ¼ strongly Additionally, the link of the questionnaire also subse-
disagree to 5 ¼ strongly agree6,37 was used for collecting quently and repeatedly shared and post on a variety of
information. Prior to the final data capturing, a pretest social sites, such as WeChat, Facebook, and Imo. From
(sample size ¼ 20) and pilot test (sample size ¼ 45) were those sources, a total of 520 responses were received. After
conducted. After pretest and pilot test, we modified some removing and filtering systematic missing data, 420
statements in the original questionnaire. respondents were finally selected for analysis. Among the
Hossain et al. 7

Table 3. Squared intercorrelation among the constructs.a symbolize the shared variance among the study vari-
ables and do not exceed the square root of average
1 2 3 4 5 6
variance explained.
1 Usefulness 0.72
2 Acceptability 0.03 0.75
3 Feasibility 0.02 0.23 0.82 Discussion
4 Perceived flow 0.23 0.21 0.19 0.85 The relationships between constructs in our proposed
5 Customer satisfaction 0.41 0.31 0.02 0.21 0.73
6 Purchase intention 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.83
study model were test analyzed via covariance-based
structural equation model using Amos 22.0. Figure 3
a
All correlation values are significant at 0.01 level. indicated that the w2 value was 723.19 with 344 degrees
of freedom (p < 0.001); 3.12 was ratio of the w2 and the
degrees of freedom. Relationship of all fit indicated a good
420 respondents, 41% were male and 59% were female; model fit (goodness-of-fit index (GFI) ¼ 0.79, adjusted
the most common age-group of respondents was 26–35, GFI ¼ 0.78, confirmatory fit index ¼ 0.93, normed fit
the most common education level was graduate school index ¼ 0.91, root mean square error of approximation
or above, and the most common occupation was not ¼ 0.052). Only the GFI value (0.79) was at the marginal
currently employed. Once finalized, nonresponse bias level of acceptance.63 Figure 2 shows the structural model
(those respondents who had no shopping experience via estimates. The estimation parameters are standardized path
QR code) analysis of data was analyzed using wave coefficients at the level of 95%, and all of the path coeffi-
analysis.37 cients were significant.
Figure 3 represented analytical results that indicated
that usefulness, acceptability, and feasibility are posi-
Measurement items tively connected with perceived flow; as a result, H1a–c
For convergent validity of the measurement, our pro- was supported. In the online shopping context, perceived
posed study model was analyzed. That was performed flow is positively associated with customer satisfaction
via factor loadings (FLs), composite reliability (CR), and purchase intention. H2a and b was also supported,
and average variance extracted (AVE). 37,62 Table 2 and customer satisfaction via QR code is positively con-
shows that with some exceptions, most of these mea- nected with purchase intention of consumers. This study
surement items’ FLs value were higher than the recom- showed that QR codes’ usefulness, acceptability, and fea-
mended minimum value (0.7).62 However, for getting sibility have an impact on perceived flow, which then
accurate values for CR and AVE, those exception items influences satisfaction and their purchase intention. From
were stored. Values of CR which is the latent construct Table 4, we got that the total effects of the usefulness of
indicator were also greater than the recommended min- QR codes on perceived flow, customer satisfaction, and
imum value (0.7).62 AVE represented that the overall customer purchase intention were 0.193, 0.033, and 0.102,
variance of the indicators calculated for latent construct respectively. The total effect of QR codes’ acceptability
was also higher than the recommended minimum value on perceived flow, customer satisfaction, and purchase
(0.5).37,63 Table 3 showed the squared inter-correla- intention was 0.241, 0.011, and 0.022, respectively, and
tions of the variables. Those squared inter-correlations the total effect of QR codes’ feasibility on perceived flow,

QR code as online shopping tools

Usefulness Acceptability Feasibility

Funconality Usability

Figure 2. Usefulness, acceptability and feasibility of QR codes.

Source: Adapted from Rosario Raymundo (2017).22
8 International Journal of Engineering Business Management

Usefulness Customer
satisfaction

0.182
0.244

0.220 0.25
Acceptability Perceived
flow

0.116

Feasibility 0.342 Purchase

intention

Figure 3. Results of structural modelling analysis.

Source: w2: 723.19; degrees of freedom (df): 344; GFI: 0.79; AGFI: 0.78; CFI: 0.93; NFI: 0.91; NNFI: 0.95; IFI: 0.96; RMSEA: 0.052. GFI:
goodness-of-fit index; AGFI: adjusted goodness-of-fit index; CFI: confirmatory fit index; NFI: normed fit index; NNFI: non-normed fit
index; IFI: incremental fit index; RMSEA: root mean square error of approximation.

Table 4. Direct, indirect, and total effects—estimates.a

Usefulness Acceptability Feasibility Perceived flow Customer satisfaction

Direct effects calculation
Perceived flow 0.182 0.220 0.342 — —
Customer satisfaction — — — 0.233 —
Purchase intention — — — 0.113 0.257
Indirect effects calculation
Perceived flow 0.011 0.021 0.101 0.021 —
Customer satisfaction 0.033 0.011 0.020 0.011 —
Purchase intention 0.102 0.020 0.113 0.003 —
Total effect calculation
Perceived flow 0.193 0.241 0.443 0.021 —
Customer satisfaction 0.033 0.011 0.020 0.244 —
Purchase intention 0.102 0.020 0.113 0.116 0.257
a
All correlation values are significant at 0.01 level.

customer satisfaction, and purchase intention was 0.021, refers to very easy to use, easily connect with shopping
0.244, and 0.116, respectively. So we can say that in the site, very effective for online purchase, and user-friendly
online shopping context, QR codes’ usefulness, feasibil- design; acceptability refers to graphics matched with texts,
ity, and acceptability influence customer’s perceived flow usable, providing information, cost is minimum, and very
and the result again affects their own satisfaction and suitable for the user; and feasibility refers to facilitate
purchase intention. appropriate and timely information and practicality works
properly that work in physical and online context. This
research supports the QR codes’ usefulness, acceptability,
Conclusion and feasibility as online shopping tools that can influence
Vast growth of information and communication technolo- customer satisfaction and purchase intention. This study
gies and the knowledge-based economic evolution are driv- showed that QR codes are used for their usefulness, feasi-
ing organizations to implement technical approach to bility, and acceptability, which influence the perceived
business activities.64 Implementing QR codes in marketing flow that indicates consumers felt totally captivated, felt
activities is a great deal in modern business because QR very quickly time passing, and nothing seemed to matter
codes have great impact for online marketers; they can to them while using the QR codes, which then again influ-
easily increase sales volume because of QR code’s useful- ence online shoppers’ satisfaction (consumer felt positive
ness, feasibility, and acceptability. QR code’s usefulness attitude and satisfaction for using QR codes) and finally
Hossain et al. 9

purchase intention (consumers want to use QR code in near ORCID iD

future), so online marketers should share their advertise- Md Shamim Hossain https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1645-7470
ment with QR codes that will influence customer satisfac-
tion and purchase intention. Embedded QR code will help
marketer to achieve the desired goal. Embedded QR codes References
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