Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838

www.elsevier.com/locate/joep

A cross-cultural investigation of consumer

e-shopping adoption
a,1 b,*
Jayoung Choi , Loren V. Geistfeld
a
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Marketing Planning Group, Marketing Team,
19F Samsung Main Building, 250, Taepyung-Ro 2-Ka, Chung-Ku, Seoul 100-742, South Korea
b
Department of Consumer and Textile Sciences, The Ohio State University, 1787 Neil Avenue,
Columbus, OH 43210-1295, USA
Received 2 April 2002; received in revised form 19 August 2003; accepted 25 August 2003
Available online 6 November 2003

Abstract

This study examines how cultural values affect consumer decision-making with respect to
e-commerce (on-line shopping) adoption in the United States and Korea. The findings suggest
that cultural values are antecedents to perceived risk, perceived self-efficacy, and subjective
norm. Furthermore, the findings indicate that while the overall behavioral mechanism under-
lying choice is similar for the two countries, there are differences in the relative importance of
the factors determining consumers’ intention to adopt e-commerce.

2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

JEL classification: M31

PsycINFO classification: 2930
Keywords: E-commerce; Cross-culture; Theory of planned behavior

1. Introduction

The increase of business-to-consumer e-commerce transactions is a global trend.

Forrester Research (2000) estimates that American e-commerce will reach $3.2 tril-
lion in 2004, accounting for 13.3% of total sales. Thirty-nine million Americans, 17%

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-614-292-4582; fax: +1-614-688-8133.
E-mail addresses: jy181.choi@samsung.com (J. Choi), geistfeld.1@osu.edu (L.V. Geistfeld).
1
Tel.: +82-2-317-8205; fax: +82-2-317-8239.

0167-4870/$ - see front matter
2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.joep.2003.08.006
822 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838

of the population, shopped online in 1999. While online sales and the number of
shoppers are expected to continue to increase in the US, this phenomenon is not
unique to the US. Online sales are estimated to reach $205 billion in Korea by
2004, capturing 16.4% of total sales (Forrester, 2000). 16% of the Korean population
shopped online in 2000 spending $720 million (Korea, Japan lead Asia in B2C,
2000). As the Internet becomes an increasingly common medium for consumer mar-
ketplace transactions throughout the world, it becomes more important to identify
those factors affecting consumer adoption of e-commerce and how these factors
are affected by cultural differences.
Several cross-cultural studies (Lee & Green, 1991; Radford, Mann, Ohta, & Na-
kane, 1991) reported that people in cultures exhibiting strong collectivism tend to em-
phasize social context and seek to comply with the wishes of others when making
decisions. Research examining consumer innovation adoption found cultural differ-
ences with respect to uncertainty avoidance, which affects risk perception and inno-
vation (Shane, 1993; Steenkamp, Hofstede, & Wedel, 1999; Javenpaa & Tractinsky,
1999).
Koreans and Americans represent cultures exhibiting major differences with re-
spect to individualism–collectivism and uncertainty avoidance. Hofstede (1980) noted
that Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans, all of whom share a Confucian cultural back-
ground, exhibit higher levels of collectivism. Individualism is prevalent in North
America where people desire ‘‘uniqueness’’ and to be independent of others (Triandis,
2000). Individualism–collectivism differences have also been reported by Hofstede
(1991) who found that Americans exhibit pronounced individualism, while Koreans
exhibit considerable collectivism, and Lee and Green (1991) who reported that Kore-
ans exhibit stronger collectivism in their decision-making than Americans.
Hofstede (1980) reported high uncertainty avoidance for Koreans and Japanese,
and low uncertainty avoidance for Americans. Cultural differences have also been
found with respect to how individuals respond to a potential risk (Taylor, Franke,
& Maynard, 2000; Yamagishi & Yamagishi, 1994; Bontempo, Bottom, & Weber,
1997; Weber & Hsee, 1998). Individual’s cognitive propensity to risk differs across
culture and is likely to affect the perceptions of the presence of risks as well as the
evaluation of the risks (Tse, Lee, Vertinsky, & Wehrung, 1988).
The focus of this study is to explore how cultural values affect consumers’ adop-
tion of e-commerce. This is accomplished by adding a cultural value component to
the theory of planned behavior. The expanded model is then used to examine the de-
cision to engage in e-commerce for Koreans and Americans.

2. Conceptual framework and hypotheses

2.1. Theory of planned behavior

The theory of planned behavior has been extensively used by social psychologists
and consumer behavior researchers. This model suggests three factors affect inten-
tion to engage in a behavior: attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm and
 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838 823

perceived behavioral control. Attitudes are determined by attitudinal beliefs (cogni-

tive knowledge) about a particular behavior and the importance of the belief with
respect to the desired outcome associated with the behavior. Subjective norm reflects
the normative belief that a reference group will approve or disapprove of a behavior
and one’s motivation to comply with the approval or disapproval of the reference
group. Perceived behavioral control is determined by control beliefs related to re-
source availability and ability to perform the behavior and the importance of the
control belief to realizing the desired outcome associated with the behavior (Ajzen,
1991; Taylor & Todd, 1995a, 1995b; Mathieson, 1991).
For this study the behavioral intention is the adoption or use of e-shopping. In the
following paragraphs, specific aspects of the theory of planned behavior model relat-
ing to the intention to use e-shopping are discussed.
An important behavioral attitude related to technology adoption is perceived risk.
Javenpaa and Tractinsky (1999) reported that risk perception toward an Internet
store was negatively associated with consumers’ willingness to buy over the Internet.
Van den Poel and Leunis (1999) reported that perceived risk associated with online
retail stores was negatively associated with willingness to adopt online purchasing.
Parasuraman (2000) noted that insecurity negatively affects technology adoption.
Literature related to online shopping (Miyazaki & Fernandez, 2001; Furnell &
Karweni, 1999; Baker, 1999; Liang & Huang, 1998) also showed that risk compo-
nents such as privacy concerns, security uncertainty, ordering or delivery concerns,
and distrust of e-tailers were associated with unwillingness to adopt online purchas-
ing.
Subjective norm, or the influence of others, has also been found to affect consum-
ers’ willingness to adopt a technology. Taylor and Todd (1995a, 1995b) reported that
subjective norm positively affects consumers’ adoption of innovative products.
Green (1998) found that normative pressures have a significant positive effect on
technology acceptance.
Self-efficacy is an important aspect of perceived behavioral control. Several schol-
ars found self-efficacy to be an antecedent of technology adoption (Hill, Smith, &
Mann, 1987; Venkatesh & Davis, 1996; Tabak & Barr, 1999; Eastin & LaRose,
2000). Tabak and Barr (1999, p. 252) suggested that ‘‘consumers with high self-effi-
cacy are more active, attempt to proactively manage situations, and more likely to
initiate innovative decisions, as opposed to those with low self-efficacy who avoid
difficult tasks and are passive.’’ Hill et al. (1987) also reported that self-efficacy
was significantly related to the decision to use technology. Enhanced self-efficacy
leads to increased technology adoption since people feel more comfortable with
using the technology and have less technology anxiety (Igbaria & Iivari, 1995; Venk-
atesh & Davis, 1996).

2.2. Culture and planned behavior

The importance of cultural influences on decision-making has been discussed ex-

tensively in the literature (Henry, 1976; McCort & Malhotra, 1993; Radford, Mann,
824 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838

Ohta, & Nakane, 1993; Tse et al., 1988). These studies showed that culture plays a
significant role in individual decision-making since culture affects attitudes, norms
and other cognitive processes, intention, and behavior. Segall, Lonner, and Berry
(1998) noted that culture is an antecedent to psychological processes and human be-
havior. Radford et al. (1993) suggested that culture, in addition to personality and
situational influences, has an impact on individual responses in the decision-making
process.
The effect of culture on behavioral intent is not reflected in the preceding discus-
sion. However, there is evidence from the literature that culture affects consumers’
behaviors. Several cross-cultural studies (Javenpaa & Tractinsky, 1999; Mitchell &
Vassos, 1997) found a relationship between the cultural value of uncertainty avoid-
ance (UA) and risk perception toward a product purchase. Mitchell and Vassos
(1997) reported that Greek consumers have greater concern for security than British
consumers because Greeks have a higher level of uncertainty avoidance than the
British. Javenpaa and Tractinsky (1999) pointed out that uncertainty avoidance
may increase perceived risk toward online shopping.
The cultural value of individualism–collectivism can also affect risk perception.
The effect of individualism–collectivism on risk perception is likely to be situation
specific. Taylor et al. (2000) noted that privacy in a collectivist culture is not impor-
tant among in-group members since they are expected to share personal thoughts
and feelings and trust one another. Weber and Hsee (1998) identified a cushion effect
among Chinese who exhibit strong collectivism. They have risk-seeking tendencies
because in a collectivist society, family and other in-group members are expected
to help a person bear the possible adverse consequences of risky choices. Javenpaa
and Tractinsky (1999) found that collectivists (Israel) exhibited lower risk perception
toward online shopping than individualists (Australia), partly because of cushioning
with respect to negative consequences. Yamaguchi (1998) pointed out that people
tend to perceive less risk when others are exposed to the same risky situation. He
suggested that the ‘‘group diffusion effect in risk perception’’ (p. 124) could lead to
reduced perceived risk.
Individualism–collectivism also affects subjective norm and compliance (Rad-
ford et al., 1991). Hui and Triandis (1986) and Steenkamp et al. (1999) reported
that collectivists are different from individualists in relation to the effect of social
pressure when making a decision. This research suggests that when making a de-
cision, people exhibiting higher levels of collectivism are more concerned with
others’ opinions than are people exhibiting higher levels of individualism. More-
over Hui and Triandis (1986) suggested that collectivists are more likely to com-
ply with others than are individualists. Steenkamp et al. (1999) noted that
collectivists emphasize social approval when performing a behavior and seek con-
formity to group norms. In contrast, individualists emphasize personal goals, in-
dependent of others.
There is limited research on how culture affects self-efficacy or self-confidence.
Schaninger (1976) noted that perceived risk was negatively associated with self-
esteem and risk taking propensity. A study by Kleinhesselink and Rosa (1991) noted
that self-efficacy was inversely associated with perceived risk.
 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838 825

2.3. Cultural factors

Hofstede (1980) defined culture as ‘‘the collective programming of the mind which
distinguishes the members of one human group from another’’ (p. 125). He identified
four cultural dimensions: individualism–collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, mascu-
linity, and power distance. The four dimensions have been related to basic anthro-
pological or social issues (Hofstede & Bond, 1984). Using the four dimensions of
culture, Triandis (1995), Dorfman and Howell (1988), and Matsumoto, Weissman,
Preston, Brown, and Kupperbusch (1997) found significant support for the existence
of the dimensions.
Based on the discussion in the preceding section, the cultural dimensions of indi-
vidualism–collectivism and uncertainty avoidance likely affect consumer’s propensity
to adopt a technology. Therefore, the effect of these two cultural dimensions is con-
sidered here.

2.3.1. Individualism–collectivism and consumer decision-making

Radford et al. (1991) reported that individualists seek to satisfy personal goals
when considering the attributes, alternatives, and resources associated with a deci-
sion. In contrast, collectivists tend to emphasize feelings or emotion, and social ac-
ceptance when making a decision.
Hui and Triandis (1986) reported that people in a collectivistic culture are more
likely to be conformists, adopt other’s opinions, and be involved in others’ lives.
In contrast, people in an individualistic society tend not to follow social norms
(Steenkamp et al., 1999). Lee and Green (1991) noted that reference groups, such
as the extended family, neighbors, and friends, have greater influence on purchase
decisions for Korean consumers than for American consumers.

2.3.2. Uncertainty avoidance and consumer decision-making

Uncertainty avoidance is ‘‘the extent to which the members of a culture feel
threatened by uncertain or unknown situations’’ (Hofstede, 1991, p. 113). Dawar,
Parker, and Price (1996) noted it is a reflection of risk orientation and that people
in a strong uncertainty avoidance country are highly intolerant of ambiguity, which
tends to make them distrustful of new ideas or behaviors. In contrast, people in
countries where uncertainty avoidance is low tend to feel ‘‘what is different is curi-
ous’’ (Hofstede, 1991, p. 119). Roth (1995) noted that consumers are more open
to variety and novelty in low uncertainty avoidance societies.
Culture has also been found to affect how an individual responds to a potential
risk (Taylor et al., 2000; Yamagishi & Yamagishi, 1994; Bontempo et al., 1997;
Weber & Hsee, 1998). Individuals’ cognitive propensity to risk differs across cultures
and is likely to affect the perceptions of the presence of risks as well as the evaluation
of the risks (Tse et al., 1988). Douglas and Wildavsky (1982) noted ‘‘the perception
of risk is a social process’’ (p. 6) suggesting that people in different societies and so-
cial classes respond differently to risky situations.
826 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838

2.4. Conceptual model and hypotheses

Fig. 1 presents in a schematic format the conceptual framework linking cultural

values and the elements of the theory of planned behavior to the adoption of e-tail-
ing. As noted above and as illustrated on the left side Fig. 1, uncertainty avoidance
and individualism–collectivism are antecedents with respect to the use of e-com-
merce. The expected relationships are summarized in the following hypotheses:

H1: Individualism–collectivism indirectly affects consumers’ intention to adopt on-

line purchasing through perceived risk.
H2: Uncertainty avoidance indirectly affects consumers’ intention to adopt online
purchasing through perceived risk.
H3: Uncertainty avoidance indirectly affects consumers’ intention to adopt online
purchasing through perceived self-efficacy.
H4: Individualism–collectivism indirectly affects consumers’ intention to adopt on-
line purchasing through subjective norm.

3. Method

3.1. Sample

College students were selected for this research since student samples facilitate
sample comparability across cultures (Douglas & Craig, 1983). Brislin and Baum-
gartner (1971) noted that the sample equivalence in cross-cultural studies is more im-
portant than a random sample of the relevant population. To increase the likelihood
of sampling equivalence across countries, student subjects were selected based on the
criteria such as age, major and residence.
Data for this study were collected at major urban universities in the American
Midwest and Korea. The sample consisted of upper-level undergraduate students

Perceived
risk

Uncertainty
avoidance

Perceived Intention to
self-efficacy online
purchasing

Individualism -
collectivism

Normative
belief

Fig. 1. Conceptual model.

 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838 827

enrolled in colleges of business and human ecology in both countries. The question-
naire was administered in a classroom setting.

3.2. Variables

Item scales used to measure the individualism–collectivism and uncertainty avoid-

ance cultural values were modifications of scales used in previous research where the
scales related to work-related values (Robertson & Hoffman, 2000; Dorfman & Ho-
well, 1988). A 7-point scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7)
was used. The individualism–collectivism scale consisted of five items (group success,
group welfare, being accepted by group members, group loyalty, and sacrificing per-
sonal goals). Cronbach’s alphas were 0.78 for the US and 0.69 for Korea. The un-
certainty avoidance scale also consisted of five items (the importance of having
requirements and instructions in detail, the importance of following instructions
and procedures, the importance of rules, and the importance of written procedures
and verbal instructions). Cronbach’s alphas were 0.83 for the US and 0.76 for Korea.
Items to measure behavioral intention, perceived risk, subjective norm, and per-
ceived self-efficacy were consistent with scales developed by Ajzen (1991) and Taylor
and Todd (1995a, 1995b). All belief items were weighted (multiplied) by appropriate
evaluative elements. The belief items were measured on a 7-point scale (1 ¼ very un-
likely and 7 ¼ very likely). The evaluative elements were also measured on 7-point
scale ranging from very unimportant (1) to very important (7).
Perceived risk items were modifications of previously used statements (Raab &
Bennett, 1998; Furnell & Karweni, 1999; Keeney, 1999). Perceived risk was mea-
sured with eight items (security of credit card information, confidentiality of per-
sonal information, trustworthiness of online retailers, on-time delivery, products
match the description, undamaged delivery, ease of return, and ease of contacting
customer service). Cronbach’s alphas were 0.87 for the US and 0.80 for Korea.
Perceived self-efficacy items were based on work by Taylor and Todd (1995a,
1995b). This scale consists of three items (being comfortable purchasing online, ease
of online shopping, and understanding the online shopping process). Cronbach’s al-
phas were 0.83 for the US and 0.81 for Korea.
Subjective norm items were also based on previous research (Madden, Ellen, &
Ajzen, 1992; East, 1993; Taylor & Todd, 1995a, 1995b). Two items (friend’s and
family’s influences) were used to measure subjective norm. Cronbach’s alphas were
0.75 for the US and 0.78 for Korea.
The intention scale was a modification of previous scales (Madden et al., 1992;
Taylor & Todd, 1995a, 1995b; Javenpaa & Tractinsky, 1999). Two items (short-term
and long-term intention) were measured. Cronbach’s alphas were 0.90 for the US
and 0.91 for Korea.

3.3. Data analysis

Path analysis using the structural equation modeling approach was used to test
hypotheses in this study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted in
828 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838

testing of each path in a specified causal structure of each sample (Korea and the
US). SEM was implemented using LISREL VII, which is based on maximum-like-
lihood estimation. The parameter estimates and the goodness of fit statistics (GFI,
AGFI, and RMSEA) were evaluated. Multiple regression was used to test for differ-
ences between the two countries with respect to direct effects on intention.

4. Results

4.1. Description of sample

The Korean sample was 386, and the American sample was 369. 43.3% of the Ko-
rean sample and 42.5% of the American sample were male. The average age of Ko-
rean and American respondents was 22 and 21, respectively. All Korean respondents
were of Korean ethnicity. 87.0% of the American respondents were Caucasian, 5.2%
were African American, and 4.5% were Asian American.
Respondents’ past experiences with online shopping are summarized in Table 1.
Nearly 15% of the Korean respondents reported that they had never visited an online
retailer, while about 73% reported visiting an online retailer at least once a month.
More than 8% of the American respondents reported never visiting an online
retailer, with nearly 73% visiting an online retailer at least once a month.
45.1% of the Korean sample reported at least one product purchase, while 69.5%
of the American sample reported at least one product purchase. Moreover, 26.2% of
the Koreans had purchased items more than twice, while 52.5% of the Americans
had purchased items more than twice.

4.2. Description of research variables and country differences

Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics of the research variables as well as the re-
sults of t-tests for country differences. As discussed earlier, perceived risk, perceived

Table 1
Past experience with online shopping
Variable Category Korea US
Frequency Percent Frequency Percent
Frequency of visiting Never 57 14.8 30 8.3
online retailer A few times a year 48 12.4 68 18.8
Once or twice a month 138 35.8 91 25.1
Once or twice a week 83 21.5 81 22.4
Several times a week 44 11.4 51 14.1
Daily 16 4.1 41 11.3
Experience buying Never 212 54.9 114 31.5
products over the Once 73 18.9 57 15.7
Internet 2–5 89 23.1 152 42.0
6–10 9 2.3 24 6.6
10+ 3 0.8 14 3.9
Note: Korean N ¼ 386; American N ¼ 369.
 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838 829

self-efficacy, and subjective norm are measured in a multiplicative form – beliefs

multiplied by the importance of the belief. Table 2 presents each belief subscale,
the importance of each belief subscale, and the multiplicative form of these two com-
ponents. For example, belief of uncertainty (belief) and evaluation of importance of
uncertainty (importance of belief) are the two components which, when multiplied
together, give perceived risk.
Significant differences between Koreans and Americans were found with respect
to all variables but one. The exception was the subscale ‘‘evaluation of the impor-
tance of uncertainty’’ (t ¼
1:64, p ¼ 0:102).
Belief of uncertainty was higher for Koreans with higher scores reflecting greater
uncertainty with respect to online shopping. However, as noted above, there was no
significant difference between the countries with respect to the importance of the un-
certainty belief. The mean value for perceived risk was also larger for Koreans sug-
gesting perceived risk was greater for them.
Belief of self-efficacy and self-efficacy evaluation were lower for Koreans. Per-
ceived self-efficacy was much lower for Koreans relative to Americans indicating
Koreans likely have a lower level of self-efficacy with respect to online purchas-
ing.
The normative belief subscale was lower for Koreans while the compliance sub-
scale was higher for Koreans suggesting Americans tend to believe that others influ-
ence decisions, while Koreans are more likely to comply with the expectations of
others. The mean subjective norm was lower for Koreans.
Koreans had a lower individualism–collectivism score than did Americans (higher
scores reflect greater levels of collectivism) and the uncertainty avoidance subscale
was also lower for Koreans. In addition, Koreans were found to have a lower inten-
tion to make online purchases.

Table 2
Descriptive analysis of research variables and country differences
Variables Korea US t P
Mean SD Mean SD
Belief of uncertainty 4.49 0.81 3.68 0.99 12.29 <0.001
Evaluation of uncertainty 5.94 0.64 6.02 0.68 )1.64 0.102
Perceived risk 214.50 47.37 176.75 54.55 10.08 <0.001
Belief of self-efficacy 3.67 1.42 5.44 1.32 )17.65 <0.001
Evaluation of self-efficacy 5.34 0.99 5.80 0.98 )6.41 <0.001
Perceived self-efficacy 59.51 27.29 95.77 30.63 )17.15 <0.001
Normative belief 2.64 1.27 4.01 1.42 )14.05 <0.001
Compliance 3.77 1.37 3.28 1.35 4.91 <0.001
Subjective norm 20.52 13.54 26.57 16.24 )5.56 <0.001
Individualism–collectivism 3.92 0.83 4.23 1.08 )4.43 <0.001
Uncertainty avoidance 4.93 0.80 5.59 0.88 )10.88 <0.001
Intention to online purchasing 4.09 1.83 4.89 1.97 )5.75 <0.001
Note: Korean N ¼ 386; American N ¼ 369.
830 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838

4.3. Direct effects of perceived risk, perceived self-efficacy, and subjective norm on
consumer’s intention to online purchasing

As can be observed from Tables 3 and 4, and Figs. 2 and 3 the direct path between
perceived risk and intention was significant and negative for both countries
(bKorea ¼
0:117, t ¼
2:27, p < 0:05; bUS ¼
0:182, t ¼
2:074, p < 0:05). This
suggests that the higher the level of perceived risk, the lower the intention to adopt
online shopping.
Perceived self-efficacy was found to significantly and positively affect intention
to adopt online shopping for both countries (bKorea ¼ 0:561, t ¼ 9:09, p < 0:0001;
bUS ¼ 0:579, t ¼ 6:96, p < 0:0001). This indicates that the more an individual per-
ceives the ability to successfully use online shopping, the greater the intention to
use it.
A significantly positive relationship was found between subjective norm and the
intention to engage in online purchasing for both countries (bKorea ¼ 0:238,
t ¼ 4:28, p < 0:001; bUS ¼ 0:102, t ¼ 2:01, p < 0:05). This implies that the greater
the perception that others affect decisions, the greater the intention to engage in on-
line shopping.

4.4. Indirect effects of cultural values on consumer’s intention to online purchasing

The cultural value of individualism–collectivism had a significant indirect effect

on intention (Tables 3 and 4, and Figs. 2 and 3). This suggests individualism–

Table 3
Path analysis: Korea
Dependent variables Independent variables Direct Indirect Total R2
effects effects effects
Intention 0.55
Perceived risk )0.117* – )0.117*
Perceived self-efficacy 0.561*** – 0.561***
Subjective norms 0.238*** – 0.238***
Individualism–collectiv- – 0.159* 0.159*
ism
Uncertainty avoidance – 0.106 0.106
Perceived risk 0.08
Individualism–collectiv- )0.169* – )0.169*
ism
Uncertainty avoidance 0.142* – 0.142*

Perceived self-efficacy 0.02

Uncertainty avoidance 0.111 – 0.111
Subjective norms 0.04
Individualism–collectiv- 0.203* – 0.203*
ism
Note:  P < 0:05, 
P < 0:01, 
P < 0:001.
 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838 831

Table 4
Path analysis: US
Dependent variables Independent variables Direct Indirect Total R2
effects effects effects
Intention 0.59
Perceived risk )0.182* – )0.182*
Perceived self-efficacy 0.579*** – 0.579***
Subjective norms 0.102* – 0.102*
Individualism–collectivism – 0.082* 0.082*
Uncertainty avoidance – 0.197 0.197
Perceived risk 0.05
Individualism–collectivism )0.128* – )0.128*
Uncertainty avoidance 0.068 – 0.068
Perceived self-efficacy 0.05
Uncertainty avoidance 0.173* – 0.173*
Subjective norms 0.07
Individualism–collectivism 0.201* – 0.201*
Note:  P < 0:05, 
P < 0:01, 
P < 0:001.

Perceived
.142* risk

Uncertainty -.117*
avoidance -.169*

.561*** Intention to
Perceived online
.111 self-efficacy purchasing
.18

Individualism- .238***
collectivism
.203*
Subjective
norm

Note : * P<.05, ** P<.01, *** P<.001

Fig. 2. Path diagram (LISREL): Korea.

collectivism is a prior variable affecting the relationship between the belief structure
and intention. The analysis also revealed that individualism–collectivism had a sig-
nificant negative effect on perceived risk and a significant positive effect on subjective
norms for Koreans and Americans, thus, H1 and H4 were supported for both coun-
tries.
832 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838

Perceived
.068 risk

-.128*
Uncertainty -.182*
avoidance
.579*** Intention to
Perceived
online
.173* self-efficacy
.15 purchasing

Individualism- .102*
Collectivism

Subjective
.201* Norm

Note : * P<.05, ** P<.01, *** P<.001

Fig. 3. Path diagram (LISREL): US.

Uncertainty avoidance had significant indirect effects on the relationship between

the belief structure and consumers’ intention to use online purchasing. Uncertainty
avoidance was found to have an effect on perceived risk for Koreans but not for
Americans. The results indicate that for Koreans higher levels of uncertainty avoid-
ance leads to higher perceived risk which in turn reduces the level of intention to en-
gage in online shopping. H2 was supported for Korea, but not for the US.
Uncertainty avoidance significantly affects perceived self-efficacy for Americans
but not Koreans. For Americans higher uncertainty avoidance leads to higher per-
ceived self-efficacy which in turn increases intention toward online purchasing inten-
tion. H3 was supported for the US, but not for Korea.

4.5. Model fit

For the estimated model, goodness-of-fit-index (GFI) and adjusted goodness-of-

fit index (AGFI) were used to judge goodness of fit (Mueller, 1996). GFI and AGFI
were 0.927 and 0.905, respectively, for Korea, and 0.928 and 0.903 for the US. These
values suggest the model is acceptable for both countries since the data is considered
to fit a model when the values of GIF and AGFI are greater than 0.9 and 0.8, respec-
tively (Byrne, 1998).

4.6. County effect

The path analysis suggests the possibility of differences in socio-psychological

variables between the two countries. For example, the magnitude of the perceived
risk effect on intention was larger for Americans than for Koreans. To identify sig-
 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838 833

Table 5
Regression analysis: A country effects of belief structures on intentions
Independent variables B b t-Value P
Perceived risk )0.007 )0.213 )0.6.326 0.000
Perceived self-efficacy 0.031 0.542 11.282 0.000
Subjective norms 0.035 0.271 5.991 0.000
Country · Perceived risk )0.003 )0.190 )1.862 0.063
Country · Perceived self-efficacy 0.005 0.134 1.174 0.241
Country · Subjective norms )0.021 )0.192 )2.931 0.003
R2 0.469
Adjusted R2 0.465
Dependent variable: Online shopping intention; Country: 0 ¼ Korea, 1 ¼ US.

nificant magnitude differences between the two countries, multiple-regression analy-

sis was conducted with intention as the dependent variable and perceived risk, per-
ceived self-efficacy and subjective norm, along with interaction terms between
country and belief variables, as independent variables (Korea coded 0 and US coded
1). The findings are reported in Table 5.
Perceived risk, perceived self-efficacy and subjective norm all had the same signif-
icant relationship with intention to engage in online shopping as found in the path
analysis. With respect to the interaction effect between country and belief variables,
there was one significant interaction term. This was the interaction between country
and subjective norm (b ¼
0:192, p < 0:01). Since the estimated coefficient is nega-
tive and the US is coded as 1, the effect of subjective norm on intention is weaker for
Americans than for Koreans.

5. Discussion

The findings suggest that perceived risk has a direct and negative effect on con-
sumer’s intention to adopt online purchasing. This finding is consistent with prior
research (Javenpaa & Tractinsky, 1999). As perceived risk increases, the likelihood
of making online purchases decreases. Perceived self-efficacy was also found to affect
the intention to adopt online purchasing. Higher levels of perceived self-efficacy were
found to be associated with higher levels of intention to adopt online purchasing.
This finding is also consistent with previous research (Taylor & Todd, 1995a,
1995b; Igbaria & Iivari, 1995; Venkatesh & Davis, 1996). Subjective norm was found
to have a direct and positive effect on consumers’ intention to adopt online purchas-
ing which is consistent with Green (1998) and Taylor and Todd (1995a, 1995b).
Taken as a whole, the direct effect findings support the underlying premise of TPB
for the two countries.
Perceived self-efficacy had the largest direct effect on intention for both countries
but there was no significant difference in this effect between them. There was a sig-
nificant difference between the countries with respect to the effect of subjective norm
on intention. Subjective norm had a significantly larger effect on online shopping
834 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838

intention for Koreans than for Americans. This finding was not surprising given
what was reported in Section 1 concerning individualism–collectivism differences be-
tween the two countries and that individualism–collectivism was found to have a sig-
nificant indirect effect on intention through subjective norm for both countries.
With regards to the indirect effects of the cultural values on behavioral intention,
the findings suggest that individualism–collectivism has an indirect effect on the
relationships between perceived risk and purchase intention for both countries.
Lower levels of collectivism result in higher levels of perceived risk, which reduces
the intention to adopt online shopping for both countries. Individualism–collectiv-
ism was also found to have an indirect effect via subjective norm for both countries.
Higher levels of collectivism result in higher levels of subjective norm, which
increases intention to adopt online purchasing. This finding is consistent with
Steenkamp et al. (1999) who noted that subjective norm was related to individual-
ism–collectivism.
The indirect effects of uncertainty avoidance on intention were significant for
Korea but not for the US. Uncertainty avoidance indirectly affected the relationship
between perceived risk and intention for Koreans. Higher levels of uncertainty
avoidance result in higher levels of perceived risk, which reduced the intention to
adopt online purchasing in Korea. This is consistent with Douglas and Wildavsky
(1982) who noted that level of risk tolerance is affected by a society.
High levels of uncertainty avoidance led to higher levels of perceived self-efficacy,
which increased intention to adopt online purchasing for Americans but not for
Koreans. A tendency toward caution in uncertain situations enhances perceived
self-efficacy and increases intention to adopt online purchasing for Americans.

6. Conclusions

A key aspect of this study was to explore how cultural values play a role in con-
sumer decision-making in the context of e-commerce adoption. The findings of this
study suggest that while the overall behavioral mechanism underlying choice is sim-
ilar across countries, there are differences in the relative importance of factors deter-
mining consumers’ intention to adopt online purchasing and in the effects of the
antecedents to perceived risk and perceived self-efficacy.
Several conclusions can be drawn based on the findings of this study. First, the
modification of the TPB conceptual framework by adding cultural values as anteced-
ents to the socio-psychological variables is applicable to a cross-cultural study. The
data fit the modified model well for both countries. This study provides a cross-cul-
tural validation of a model explaining consumer’s intention to adopt online purchas-
ing.
Second, even though the behavioral mechanism is similar across both countries in
the context of online purchasing, the two cultures exhibit differences in the impor-
tance of factors determining online purchase intention. When consumers make a de-
cision regarding online purchasing, subjective norm affects Korean intention to use
more so than American intention to use.
 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838 835

Third, the cultural values were found to be antecedents to the socio-psychological

variables. Individualism–collectivism was found to be closely related to subjective
norm and perceived risk for both countries. Uncertainty avoidance was found to
function differently as an antecedent to perceived self-efficacy and perceived risk
for each country. Uncertainty avoidance is significantly related to perceived risk
for Koreans but not for Americans, while uncertainty avoidance is significantly as-
sociated with perceived self-efficacy for Americans, but not for Koreans.

7. Implications

The findings of this study provide insight into the adoption of e-commerce from a
global perspective. Among the socio-psychological dimensions, perceived self-efficacy
is the most important determinant of consumers’ adoption of online purchasing. Con-
sumers tend to place importance on their level of comfort with transactions over the
Internet when deciding whether to use e-commerce. The frustration or annoyance of
using e-commerce could be an important barrier to consumer’s use of e-commerce.
This suggests a need for e-business practitioners to provide ‘‘easy-to-use’’ web sites that
minimize confusion associated with the online shopping process for global consumers.
Country differences in the importance of socio-psychological factor effects on con-
sumers’ intention could also be important to international marketers. Subjective
norm was found to be more important for Korean consumers than for American
consumers. This suggests that it might be more important for Korean e-business
practitioners, than American practitioners, to focus on normative beliefs. Social re-
inforcement such as a word-of-mouth strategy or a referral program might be effec-
tive in increasing consumers’ intention to use e-business. Since Korean consumers
tend to place more importance on others’ suggestions and experiences when making
decisions, such a marketing strategy concerning social influence might encourage the
use of e-commerce in Korea more than in the US.
The individualism–collectivism cultural value plays a significant role as an ante-
cedent to the formation of consumer beliefs and attitudes. As the level of collectivism
increases, the effects of perceived risk on consumer’ intention decreases and the
effects of subjective norm on consumer intention increases. Korean society tends
to be collectivist while American society tends to be individualist.
In the context of e-commerce adoption, greater collectivism may facilitate the use
of e-commerce in the context of consumer decision-making process. That is, a higher
level of collectivism may lead to sharing opinions and information, which could lead
to less perceived risk and greater subjective norm. This tendency might facilitate the
use of e-commerce. The very essence of the Internet allows users to easily share infor-
mation or opinions with others. The opinions and purchasing behaviors of others are
easily exposed to Internet users via various types of Internet sites (informal review
sites, professional review sites, and e-business rating sites such bizrate.com). Thus,
people who have a strong tendency toward collectivism might have less perceived
risk and greater subjective norm, which lead to higher levels of intention and
adoption.
836 J. Choi, L.V. Geistfeld / Journal of Economic Psychology 25 (2004) 821–838

8. Study limitations

This study focuses only on the influence of cultural values on socio-psychological

variables affecting consumers’ intention to adopt online purchasing. Factors related
to e-commerce infrastructure were not examined although they might affect belief
structures and behavioral intention differently between the two countries.
A second limitation is that this study was conducted with restricted sample char-
acteristics using college students from both countries. The use of a single cohort may
limit the ability to generalize findings. If other cohorts (e.g. people aged 40–50) were
examined, there could be different findings between Koreans and Americans with re-
spect to the effects of cultural values on the adoption of e-commerce.

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