FACTORS AFFECTING ONLINE PURCHASING BEHAVIOR

8innovations. Indeed many researchers have argued that cultures high onuncertainty avoidance are less likely to be early adopters of any innovation.ConceptualizationThe technology today has becomes more sophisticated and internet offers anunlimited marketplace to marketers. Billions of advertising messages travelalong the huge commercial networks that make up only part of the internet. Tothe consumers, the case for shopping on the internet is compelling. Consumerscan both save time by shopping at places that are internet access and also avoidcrowded shopping malls. However, online purchasing does not appeal to allconsumers. Studies showed that when it comes to online purchasing,personality variables play an important role in influencing consumers to purchaseonline. The two personality variables that will be discussed in this paper are riskpropensity and convenience.Risk propensityThe concept of risk is important for understanding how internet consumers makechoices. Individual faces risk when a decision, action, or behavior can lead todifferent possible outcomes (Bem 1980). Shopping environments on the internetmay be uncertain for the majority of online shoppers, especially if they arenovices. Online buyers may not be to physically inspect the product that theyintend to buy and this can be a drawback to the electronic business.Therefore, perceived risk can thus be considered a function of uncertainty aboutthe potential outcomes of a behavior and the possible unpleasantness of theseoutcomes (http://www.auburn.edu/~forsysa/NTC/archive.htm). When it is relatedto online shopping, the risk may then be defined as the subjectively-determinedexpectation of loss by an online purchaser in contemplating a particular onlinepurchase. Amongst the identified perceived risk are financial, productperformance, social, psychological and time/ convenience loss.Financial risk stems from paying more for a product than being necessary or notgetting enough value for the money spent (Roehl and Fesenmaier 1992). Whileperformance risk or quality risk referred to the belief that a product will notperform as well as expected or will nor provide the benefits desired (Bo-chiuan,Su 2003).Physical risk involves the potential threat to a consumer’s safety or physicalhealth and well-being. When a purchase made fails to reflect on its purchaser’sself-image or personality then that is considered as psychological risk. Whilesocial risk is concerned with an individual’s ego and the effect that will have onthe opinions of reference groups. Risk propensity can be defined as thefrequency with which people do or do not take different kinds of risks. It is also arisk taking behavior of an individual across time and situations. Based on the