Introduction

Introduction:

    • It has been suggested that the Internet will lead to fundamental changes in the structure of marketing channels.
      • Predictions include simple substitution of electronic channels for
        • traditional ones (e.g., using Amazon.com instead of a physical bookstore),
        • disintermediation (e.g., buying tickets on an airline’s web site instead of through a travel agent), and
        • cyber mediation,
          • either to replace traditional intermediaries (e.g., online travel agencies replacing traditional travel agents)
          • or to provide new services (e.g., aggregation of personal financial information) (Madnick et al. 2000).
      • These predictions all assume that customers will choose electronic channels over traditional channels.
    • But the choice of channels is not a monolithic decision.
      • Rather, the purchase process consists of several distinct stages and consumers can disaggregate their choice to “move from one channel to another at different stages of a single transaction” (Steinfeld et al. 2002, p. 93-94).
      • Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) capture the distinction between using the web for information gathering and for purchasing.
      • Anecdotal evidence indicates that a larger proportion of consumers use the web to search for invoice pricing on new cars than actually purchase the car on the web.
      • Over 75 percent of online consumers abandon their shopping carts before purchase (BizRate 2000).
      • Therefore, rather than assuming that consumers will use the same channel (electronic or traditional) for all stages of the purchase process, it is important to gain a more nuanced understanding of consumer channel choices.
      • Thus the objective of this paper is to investigate consumers’ decisions to adopt electronic channels at each of four stages in the purchase process:
        • Requirements
        • Determination,
        • Vendor Selection,
        • Purchase,
        • After-Sales Service.
    • Drawing on innovation diffusion theory, we posit that consumers will adopt electronic channels for a specific stage only if they perceive a relative advantage (RA) over traditional channels for that stage.
    • In innovation diffusion theory, relative advantage is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct that captures the benefits of an innovation on such dimensions as lower costs, savings in time and effort, and decrease in discomfort (Rogers 1995).
    • Consistently, we posit that relative advantage of electronic channels is multidimensional and involves a cumulative assessment of the perceived relative merits of channels on three dimensions:
      • convenience,
      • trust, and
      • efficacy of information acquisition.
    • Having conceptualized relative advantage as a multidimensional construct and purchasing as a multistage process, the question arises:
      • Do consumers assess relative advantage of channels across stages (e.g., electronic channels have an advantage over traditional channels for requirements determination), across dimensions (e.g., electronic channels are more convenient overall), or across a combination of the two (e.g., electronic channels are more convenient than traditional channels for transactions but not for requirements determination)?
    • The central assertion, and intended contribution, of this paper is to show that the relative advantage of electronic channels, and the influence of each dimension of relative advantage on the adoption of electronic channels, will vary across the different stages of the purchasing process.
      • That is, some dimensions will be more important determinants of the relative advantage of electronic channels for some stages of the purchasing process than for others.
    • This study addresses three gaps in prior literature.
      • First, while two of the posited dimensions of RA—trust and efficiency—have been widely discussed, the third—efficacy of information acquisition—has not.
      • This is an important consideration, given that a large part of the use of the web is for information search and acquisition and as the use of the web moves toward more complex transactions and products, as we discuss later.
      • Second, prior studies have largely viewed the purchase process as monolithic and adoption of electronic channels as a unitary decision. We disaggregate the purchase process into stages and suggest that consumers make an adoption choice for each stage.
      • Finally, by blending the multidimensional nature of RA with a multistage purchase process, we examine if the influence of each dimension of RA varies with the stage of the purchasing process.