Enticing online consumers: an extended technology acceptance perspective

The business-to-consumer aspect of electronic commerce (EC) is the most visible business use of the World Wide Web (WWW). A virtual store allows companies to provide product information and offer direct sales to their customers through an electronic channel. The fundamental problem motivating this study is that: in order for a virtual store to compete effectively with both physical stores and other online retailers, there is an urgent need to understand the factors that entice consumers to use it. This research attempted to provide both theoretical and empirical analyses to explain consumers' use of a virtual store and its antecedents. By applying the technology acceptance model (TAM) and innovation diffusion theory (IDT), this research took an extended perspective to examine consumer behavior in the virtual store context. The data from a survey of online consumers was used empirically to test the proposed research model. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to examine the reliability and validity of the measurement model, and the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was used to evaluate the causal model. The implication of the work to both researchers and practitioners is discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.