FACTORS AFFECTING ONLINE PURCHASING BEHAVIOR

52000). In fact several organizations were already actively involved in cyber ads.As such it is interesting to study the relationship between the cultural dimensionsand purchasing behavior through the cyber ads. This study suggests that thereis a significant relationship between cultural dimensions and purchasing behaviorthrough cyber ads. That leads to the following hypotheses.Internet advertising or cyber advertising (ads) is a form of advertising wherecompanies or organizations promote their products or services through the newmedium or the Internet (Belch & Belch 2004). Advertising on the Internet employsa variety of forms such as banners, sponsorships, pop-ups, interstitials. This newform of advertising has allowed companies to “push” their message to consumersinstead of waiting for consumers to locate them.Cyber advertising is becoming an important element in the Internet era. Asreported by Na Li and Ping Zhang (2002), online shopping has become the thirdmost popular Internet activity after e-mail using and web browsing. In fact, it wasconsidered more popular than browsing for entertainment and news. Onlineshopping behavior or also known as online buying behavior and Internetshopping refers to the process of purchasing products or services via the Internet.Past research has shown a similar pattern, according to the Pew ResearchCenter, 46 percent of Internet users use email everyday, and 36 percent of emailusers receive unwanted messages, 72 percent of which are sales solicitations(Witt, G.E. 1999.You’ve Got Spam. American Demographics. Sept. 22). Asreported by Korgaonkar and Wolin (2002), in the USA, 42.9 percent of allhouseholds or 45.9 million households are actively connected to the Web with 88million adults over the age of 18 surfing the Web. As such it is not at allsurprising that many companies are turning to the Web to advertise theirproducts or services.Indeed, the Internet has not only provides new ways for consumers to learnabout and acquire products and services online but has also reshape consumerbuying patterns. However, the figures are still very low. Apparently there havealso been extensive studies on online purchasing behavior in recent years.Internet users have not only used the Internet to research online purchases, butthey are also buying online albeit low in number.After a period of decline, online shopping is on the rise again. It was estimatedthat total US spending on online sales increased to US $ 5.7 billion in December