8/13/2019 Exploring Impact of Consumer and Product Characteristics on E-Commerce Adoption: A Study of consumers in India

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INTRODUCTION

Marketing as a business function has witnessed several changes

during the last three decades. One key change relates to adop-

tion of internet technology for carrying out marketing and busi-

ness functions. With more and more customers opting for online transac-

tions, traditional brick and mortar retail formats have started giving way to

emergence of virtual stores that exist in the cyberspace and offer merchan-dise and services through an electronic channel to their customers with a

fraction of the overhead required in a brick-and mortar retail store (Chen

Exploring Impact of Consumer and Product

Characteristics on E-Commerce Adoption: AStudy of Consumers in India

Abstract

The paper aims at examining the impact of various consumer and product characteristics

on adoption of e-commerce among consumers in India. The study is based on primary

data collected through survey of consumers residing in and around Delhi. A structured-non-disguised questionnaire has been employed for collecting the information from the

respondents about their demographics, shopping orientations, security and privacy

concerns, technological familiarity, past online shopping experiences and intentions tobuy various types of products through internet in future. Past online shopping satisfaction,

recreational shopping orientation, education and income emerge as significant factors

affecting consumer past online purchases. In respect of future online shopping intentions,only three consumer related factors viz., past online shopping satisfaction, past online

shopping frequency and education, are found as significant predictors. Amongst product

characteristics, product expensiveness is found to be negatively related to consumerfuture online purchase intentions. While consumers appear quite willing to buy services

online that are high in their intangible value proposition, they appear somewhat ambivalent

in their intentions to buy online the 'frequently purchased products'. Some of the consumerand product characteristics do influence consumer adoption of e-commerce. Study

findings entail interesting implications for the marketers. They need to give adequate

attention to consumer and product characteristics while designing their e-marketingstrategies. As compared to goods, the surveyed respondents have expressed greater

willingness to buy services online in future. Services thus appear to be more promising

product category for sale through internet channel in future.

Sanjay K. Jain

Delhi School of Economics, Delhi

Manika Jain

ARSD College, Delhi

Journal of Technology

Management for

Growing Economies

Vol. 2 No. 2

October 2011

pp. 35-64

2011 by Chitkara

University. All Rights

Reserved.

8/13/2019 Exploring Impact of Consumer and Product Characteristics on E-Commerce Adoption: A Study of consumers in India

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Jain, S.K.

Jain, M.

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Journal of Technology Management for Growing Economies,Volume 2, Number 2, October 2011

et al., 2004). India is no exception to the phenomenal growth of e-com-

merce. Business firms have started increasingly embracing e-commercetechnologies and the internet in the country. Even though internet usage is

not that wide spread in India as is the case with many other countries, e-

commerce sites have fast come up everywhere to sell everything from

groceries to bakery products, books and computers (Asia Today, 1999).

Growing popularity of e-commerce as a means of marketing goods

and services to the consumers has drawn considerable attention of research-

ers in the past few years. A wide array of issues relating to e-commerce

adoption among the business firms (e.g., Premkumar et al., 1994; Iacovou

et al., 1995; Igbaria et al., 1997; Min and Galle, 1999; Grewal et al., 2001;

Chong, 2004; Joo and Kim, 2004; Kaynak et al., 2005; Alam et al., 2007;

Bakker et al., 2008) and consumers (Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1996; Alba etal., 1997; Li et al., 1999; Swaminathan et al., 1999; Tan and Teo, 2000;

Lee et al., 2001; Lynch and Beck, 2001; Li and Zhang, 2002; Cheung et

al., 2003; Heijden, 2003; Koyuncu and Lien, 2003; Lim, 2003; Park and

Jun, 2003; Su, 2003; Yoh et al., 2003; Chen et al. 2004; Constantinides,

2004; Dillon and Reif, 2004; Monsuw et al., 2004; Yang, 2005; Ghazali

et al., 2006; Lee, 2006; Liao et al., 2006; Lopes and Dennis, 2006; Richards

and Shen, 2006) have been examined in the past.

Identification of consumer and product related characteristics that af-

fect e-commerce adoption among consumers has been a thrust area of past

researches (Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1996; Alba et al., 1997; Peterson et al.,

1997; Li et al., 1999; Swaminathan et al., 1999; Phau & Sui, 2000; Lynch

and Beck, 2001; Li and Zhang, 2002; Cheung et al., 2003; Koyuncu and

Lien, 2003; Lim, 2003; Park and Jun, 2003; Su, 2003; Yoh et al., 2003;

Dillon and Reif, 2004; Monsuw et al., 2004; Yang, 2005; Ghazali et al.,

2006; Richards and Shen, 2006). Despite growing popularity of e-com-

merce in the country, it is disconcerting that not much empirical work has

been done in the field in India. In the absence of such studies and authen-

tic information about the characteristics and behaviour of e-shoppers, it is

difficult for the e-marketers to correctly identify the target customers and

design appropriate marketing mix strategies. The present study aims at

filling this gap. More specifically, the study aims at an empirical examina-tion of the impact of consumer and product characteristics on e-commerce

adoption among consumers in India. The paper is organised around five