Online repurchase Intention: empirical study on the household equipment market

This model was based on the ECM [Oliver, 1980], which evaluates consumers' satisfaction, post-purchase behavior and the marketing service in general. With the revised information systems continuance model, A. Bhattacherjee argues that consumers' information systems continuance intention is primarily determined by satisfaction and perceived usefulness [Bhattacherjee, 2001]. User satisfaction is determined by perceived usefulness and confirmation (expectations confirmed), and perceived usefulness is influenced by users' confirmation.

However, this model does not take into account other important factors such as trust, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment. In the Table 1, we are providing the summaries of the hypothesizes tested in the ECM.

Wen, Prybutok, Xu's Model. Based on [Davis, 1989] and [Bhattacherjee, 2001], Wen, Prybutok and Xu developed a specific model for e-commerce [Wen, Pry- butok, Xu, 2011].

Table 2

Hypothesis tested in the Wen, Prybutok, Xu's model

There is a positive relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, between confirmation and perceived usefulness, between confirmation and satisfaction and between perceived usefulness and satisfaction. The authors have also tested hypotheses concerning the relationships between perceived usefulness and trust, between trust and perceived usefulness, between perceived usefulness and online repurchase intention, between satisfaction and online repurchase intention and between perceived enjoyment and online repurchase intention. The only hypothesis which was not validated was that of the relationship between trust and online repurchase intention. Previous internet shopping experience is not included in this model although it might have a direct impact on customers' intention to repurchase online. This latter point was explained in Chen's model. In the Table 2 we provide summary of the hypotheses tested in the Wen, Prybutok, Xu's model [Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011].

Chen's Model. Similarly to [Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011], Y.-Y. Chen revisited the TAM and ECM models [Chen, 2012]. Chen extended the theoretical framework by considering social cognitive theory and social learning theory [Chen, 2012]. The social congnitive theory posits that learning occurs through the reciprocal interaction of the person, environment and behavior. The theory also states that self-confidence, controllability, motivation to succeed have an impact on individuals' cognition [Bandura, 1986]. The social learning theory posits that learning is a cognitive process that must be considered in its social context because individuals learn through observation of others.

Studied by [Radner, Rothschild, 1975; Kar- hanna, Straub, Chervany, 1999], perceived ease of use is defined as “the extent to which a consumer perceives the ease of interaction with the e-commerce website and is able to receive the product information that he or she needs” [Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011, p. 15]. An easy-to-use website will encourage consumers to revisit it. A website is considered user-friendly when users can easily find the information they need, when it is easy to navigate and is visually attractive [Rice, 1997].

Inversely, if customers have difficulties finding and ordering a product on a website compared to competitors' websites, the website is considered to be difficult to use [Chen, 2012].

According to [Chen, 2012], prior Internet shopping experience increases the probability of users' expectations to be confirmed and satisfied. And past experience also generates future expectations. H1. Positive Internet shopping experience has a positive impact on the perceived ease of use of household equipment websites.

Confirmation was defined by A. Bhat- tacherjee as a cognitive belief representing the extent to which consumers' ex-ante expectations of service use were met in reality and refers to this evaluation process [Bhattacherjee, 2001]. Prior online shopping experience has a strong impact on the users' future online shopping behavior [Chen, 2012]. A positive perceived experience has a positive effect on users confirmation, because it is a factor in satisfying current expectations and in creating future ones [Chen, 2012]. Users whose initial expectations were met are more likely to expect positive perceived usefulness and confirmation in future. H2. Positive Internet shopping experience has a positive effect on confirmation in household equipment online stores. Perceived usefulness was defined as “the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance” [Davis, 1989, p. 320].

Other similar definitions were given by [Ka- rahanna, Straub, Chervany, 1999]. In the TAM model presented by Davis and in [Chau, 2001], it is argued that perceived usefulness has a direct and significant effect on behavior intentions. Chen finds that past internet shopping experiences has an impact on perceived usefulness [Chen, 2012].

A website is perceived as useful if it is useful, effective, helpful, functional, necessary and practical [Zumpe, Van der Heijden, 2007].

H3. Positive Internet shopping experience is positively related to perceived usefulness in household equipment online shopping. The first definition of satisfaction was given by [Locke, 1976, p. 1300] as “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job”.

When they have positive experiences in online shopping, individuals become more proficient and less intimidated by the process, which considerably improves their satisfaction [Chen, 2012]. H4. Positive Internet shopping experiences have a positive effect on satisfaction in household equipment websites. D. Kim, D. Ferrin and H. Rao understand trust as “a multidimensional concept related to various targets: sales person, product, company and Internet trust”. They define online consumer trust as “the consumer's subjective belief that the selling party or entity on the Internet will fulfill its transactional obligations as the consumer understands them” [Kim, Ferrin, Rao, 2008, p. 554].

Definitions of trust have been given by various scholars (e. g. [Gefen, Karahanna, Straub, 2003; Kim, Ferrin, Rao, 2008; Zhu, Lee, O'Neal, 2011]). They argue that trust is more important in the e-commerce environment than in traditional commerce because of the distance and other personal factors [Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011].

Privacy and security practices, website design -- particularly navigation and presentation -- brand strength and order fulfill - ment are all antecedents of online trust because consumers wish to protect the confidentiality of their data and want their expectations to be met [Bart et al., 2005].

Consumers have more trust in websites they have previously used for shopping [Bart et al., 2005] and when an online vendor is available [Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011]. D. Gefen and D. Straub integrated the construct of trust within the TAM framework and explained that trust influenced usage intention directly and indirectly via the perceived ease of use [Gefen, Straub, 2003].

H5. Positive perceived ease of use positively influences trust in household equipment websites. As already mentioned, the perceived ease of use of a website encourages users to revisit it [Rice, 1997]. The online shopping is not only means of acquiring goods or services but it can also provide enjoyment [Kim, Ammeter, 2008]. If a website brings enjoyment to consumers through positive perceived ease of use, they will be more likely to return to that website and to make other purchases.

H6. Positive perceived ease of use is positively related to perceived enjoyment in household equipment websites. According to TAM, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are considered as predictors of behavioral intentions [Davis, 1989]. Perceived ease of use is an antecedent of perceived usefulness [Davis, 1989; Gefen, Karahanna, Straub, 2003]. If users interact easily with a website, can easily find product information or pay online, they will consider their online shopping more useful [Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011].

H7. Positive perceived ease of use is positively related to perceived usefulness of household equipment websites. In the ECM, A. Bhattacherjee pointed out that in the post-acceptance stage, the perceived usefulness was influenced by users' confirmation level [Bhattacherjee, 2001].

A. Bhattacherjee notes that customers' pre-purchase expectation and a positive perceived performance of the product once they have received and used it will confirm their expectations of the product (confirmation) and will increase their satisfaction [Bhattacherjee, 2001].

Expectation and perceived performance are two antecedents of confirmation [Chen, 2012]. If customers are satisfied and if the product or service meet their expectations, they will be satisfied. H. Kuan, G. Bock and V. Vatthanophas explained that perceived quality information, such as the website's content, accuracy, and format, positively influence users' satisfaction [Kuan, Bock, Vatthanophas, 2008]. If the performance of the product meets the customers' expectations, the latter will be confirmed and the customers' satisfaction will increase, which will influence them to visit the website again and to purchase products from it again. Bhattacherjee also argues that confirmation is an antecedent of customers' satisfaction [Bhattacherjee, 2001]. H9. Confirmation of expectations is positively related to satisfaction in household equipment websites. Trust was defined as a predictor of perceived usefulness of a website because it helps enhance the users' shopping comfort [Zhu, Lee, O'Neal, 2011]. When e-vendors improve consumers' trust by meeting their expectations, consumers will then perceive the website as useful. According to [Gefen, Karahanna, Straub, 2003], trust positively influences perceived usefulness of a website.

H10. Trust in a household equipment website is positively related to its perceived usefulness. Intention of continued purchase was defined as “the likelihood that an online customer will return to the website and purchase again in the future” [Davis, 1989]. As mentioned previously, trust in e-commerce is extremely important and influences consumers' intention to purchase online [Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011]. Gefen, Karahanna and Straub have argued that online customers are influenced by their trust in the e-vendor [Gefen, Karahanna, Straub, 2003]. Zhu, Lee and O'Neal find that trust in an online vendor has a significant impact on purchase intention by reducing the user's perceived risk of online shopping [Zhu, Lee, O'Neal, 2011]. Wen, Prybutok, Xu's study did not confirm the relationship between trust and online repurchase intention [Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011]. Validation of the hypothesis requires further empirical studies in other industry contexts.

H11. Trust is positively related to intention of continued purchase from an online household equipment store. As mentioned above the construct “perceived enjoyment” refers to the extent to which using an online store is enjoyable.

H12. Perceived enjoyment is positively related to users' intention of repurchasing household equipment online. When websites are perceived as useful, clients are more likely to be satisfied, and therefore to visit the online store again and make new purchases [Bhattacherjee, 2001; Hong, Thong, Tam, 2006; Liao, Palvia, Chen, 2009; Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011]. Several articles [Devaraj, Fan, Kohli, 2002; Chen, 2012] argued that perceived usefulness had an impact on satisfaction in the e-commerce context.

H13. Perceived usefulness is positively related to satisfaction in household equipment websites. We make a clear distinction between online purchase intention and online repurchase intention.

H14. Perceived usefulness is positively related to intention of repurchasing household equipment online. The relationship between satisfaction and continued intention was examined in Bhattacherjee's ECM [Bhattacherjee, 2001]. Wen, Prybutok and Xu define satisfaction as “the summary psychological state resulting when the emotion surrounding discon- firmed expectations is coupled with the consumer's prior feelings about the consumption experience” [Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011, p. 16]. Similarly to [Bhattacherjee, 2001; Hong, Thong, Tam, 2006; Liao, Palvia, Chen, 2009; Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011], we anticipate that there is a positive relationship between satisfaction and information systems continuance usage intention.

H15. Satisfaction is positively related to users intention to purchase household equipment online again. Based on classic theories and models such as the TAM [Davis, 1989], the information systems continuance and ECM [Oliver, 1980; Bhattacherjee, 2001] and more recent models developed by Chao Wen and co-authors [Wen, Prybutok, Xu, 2011] and Chen [Chen, 2012], we have formulated fifteen hypotheses summarized in Table 5. We have also developed the corresponding conceptual framework that incorporates all discussed constructs that influence online repurchase intention in the household equipment market (Fig. 1).

Table 5

Hypothesizes and the support from the literature