BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 1

THE BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS TO BUY AS OBSERVED

FROM A COLLECTIVIST CULTURE: AN APPLICATION OF THE THEORY OF
PLANNED BEHAVIOR

by

Carl Joven C. Carranza

A Thesis

Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Advanced Studies

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of

Master of Science in Business Administration

Business and Management Programs

School of Advanced Studies

Saint Louis University

March 2022
BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 2 ENDORSEMENT

The thesis entitled THE BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE

SHOPPERS TO BUY AS OBSERVED FROM A COLLECTIVIST CULTURE: AN
 APPLICATION OF THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR prepared and
submitted by CARL JOVEN C. CARRANZA for the degree MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION has been examined and is recommended for
acceptance and approval for oral examination.

This is to certify further that CARL JOVEN C. CARRANZA is ready for oral
examination.

RICHEL L. LAMADRID, PhD

Adviser

This is to certify that the thesis entitled THE BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF

ONLINE SHOPPERS TO BUY AS OBSERVED FROM A COLLECTIVIST
CULTURE: AN APPLICATION OF THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR
prepared and submitted by CARL JOVEN C. CARRANZA for the degree MASTER
OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION is recommended for oral
examination.

JAIME T. BALLENA, PhD

Member
MA. JOAN P. BARLIS, MSBA
Member LEILANI I. DE GUZMAN, PhD Member

FARIDAH KRISTI C. WETHERICK, PhD ZENEDITH P. MONANG, PhD GPC for

Dean Business Management School of Advanced
School of Advanced Studies Studies Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 3

APPROVAL SHEET

Approved by the Committee on Oral Examination as passed on December 17, 2021.

JAIME T. BALLENA, PhD

Member
LEILANI I. DE GUZMAN, PhD Member MA. JOAN P. BARLIS, MSBA Member

Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Master of Science in Business Administration.

ZENEDITH P. MONANG, PhD

GPC for Business Management
School of Advanced Studies
Saint Louis University

This is to certify that CARL JOVEN C. CARRANZA has completed all

academic requirements and PASSED the Comprehensive Examination on January 9,
2019 for the degree of Master of Science in Business Administration.

ZENEDITH P. MONANG, PhD FARIDAH KRISTI C. WETHERICK, PhD GPC for

Business and Management Dean
School of Advanced Studies School of Advanced Studies Saint Louis
University Saint Louis University
BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to give my warmest and sincerest gratitude to my research adviser

Professor Richel L. Lamadrid, PhD for her patience in guiding me throughout this
process, not to mention her sharing with me her expertise and wisdom in research. Aside
from Professor Lamadrid, I would also like to extend my gratitude to my current and
former graduate program coordinator Professor Zenedith P. Monang, PhD and Professor
Asuncion G. Nazario, PhD and my three panel members Professor Jaime T. Ballena,
PhD, Professor Leilani I. De Guzman, PhD and Professor Ma. Joan P. Barlis, MSBA for
their support and guidance since the beginning.

I would also like to thank my family especially my mother who encouraged me to

enroll and finish this endeavor. Finally, I would like to thank God for the unending
strength, wisdom, and patience He provided me from the beginning to the end of my
research journey.
BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page …………………………………………………………………………. i

Endorsement ………………………………………………………………………. ii
Approval Sheet ……………………………………………………………………. iii
Acknowledgment ……………………………………………….………………… iv
Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………. v List
of Tables ……………………………………………………………………… vii List of
Figures …………………………………………………………………….. viii Abstract
……………………………………………………………………………. 1
Introduction………………………………………………………………………. 2
Methods……………………………………………………………………………. 21

Research Design …………………………………………………………… 21

Data Gathering Instrument ………………………………………………… 21
Population and Locale of the Study ……………………………………….. 24

Results and Discussion …………………………………………………………… 25

Online
The Extent of the Effect of a Filipino Asian Shoppers’ Attitude on their
Behavioral Intention to Buy…………………………………...……
26

their
The Extent of the Effect of Filipino Asian Shoppers’ Subjective Norm on
Online Behavioral Intention to Buy ………………………………….
28

The Extent of the Effect of Filipino Asian Shoppers’ Perceived Behavioral

Control on their Online Behavioral Intention to Buy …..………………….
30

Significant differences in Filipino Asian Online Shoppers’ Behavioral

intention to buy based on Socio-demographic variables…………………. 33

Correlation among the Three Constructs of the Theory of Planned

Behavior ………………………………………….………………………
36
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………… 38
Recommendation...……………………………………………………………… 41
Future Implications ……………………………………………………………… 43
BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 6 References

………………………………………………………………………… 46 Appendices
 ……………………………………………………………………… 60

Appendix A. Survey Questionnaire ……………………………………… 60

Appendix B. Reliability Analysis……………………………………….... 63

Appendix C. Sample Consent Form……………………………………. 64

Appendix D. Table 2 …………………………………………………….. 65

Curriculum Vitae ……………………………………………………………….. 67
BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 7 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. The Scale of Interpretation Used in the Study ………....………………. 23

Table 2. Profile of the Respondents……………………………………………… 65
Table 3. The Extent of the Effect of a Filipino Asian Shoppers’ Attitude on
their Online Behavioral Intention……………………………………... 26 Table 4. The
Extent of the Effect of Filipino Asian Shoppers’ Subjective Norm on their Online
Behavioral Intention………............................................ 28 Table 5. The Extent of the
Effect of Filipino Asian Shoppers’ Perceived Behavioral Control on his/her Online
Buying Intention………………... 30 Table 6. Online Buying Intention of Filipino
Asian shoppers Based on Socio demographic Variables
………………………………………………… 33 Table 7. Correlation among the
Three Constructs of the Theory of Planned
Behavior………………………………………………………………… 36
BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 8 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Conceptual Paradigm ………………………………………………….. 14

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 9 Abstract

The study used the three (3) constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior, namely:

attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, in order to examine the online

buying behaviors of shoppers from a collectivist culture. Under Hofstede’s Cultural

Dimension Theory, the concept of collectivism was used as the foundation in interpreting

the results of this study regarding the three constructs of TPB and the behavioral intention

of online shoppers to buy from a collectivist culture. The study used a quantitative

technique involving 464 respondents. Based on the results, the behavioral intention of

online shoppers correlates with the two (2) constructs of the TPB. Specifically, it shows

that attitude and subjective norm positively correlates with the behavioral intention to buy
of online shoppers. On the other hand, behavioral control has a tenuous relationship with

the behavioral intention to buy of online shoppers. Significantly, the younger online

shoppers have a different behavioral pattern in comparison with the older respondents.

The study provides implications among scholars, business owners, and marketers about

important insights concerning marketing strategies that can be applied to shopping

platforms.

Keywords: Behavioral intention, Theory of Planned Behavior, collectivist culture,

online shopping, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 10 Introduction

The study on consumer behavior is significant since customers play crucial roles

in the organization's success. The customers allow the organization to generate revenue

because they buy, use, and influence other people to purchase products and services. Any

business could not operate without customers. All business activities end with customers

and, ideally, customer satisfaction (Brosekhan & Velayutham, 2007). Because of these,

companies would want to know what makes customers to buy or not to buy their products

and services (Khaniwale, 2015).

Since its beginning, the topic of consumer behavior has been widely studied. The

understanding of consumer behavior entirely is not that easy because it is closely related

to the human mind (Lautiainen, 2015). However, predicting people's purchasing behavior

can be forecasted through past buying decisions. Customers make buying decisions daily,

and people are not even aware of the factors that affect them in making those decisions

(Lautiainen, 2015).

In marketing, the study of consumer behavior provides valuable information in

constructing smarter marketing-related strategies by knowing what affects the decision

making process of customers (Khaniwale, 2015). Schiffman and Kanuk (2010, as cited in
Stávková et al., 2008) mentioned that consumer behavior research allows better

understanding and forecasting of the subject of purchases and buying motives and

purchasing frequency. Thus, we must highlight the importance of studies relating to

consumer behavior. The knowledge of consumer behavior helps businesses analyze the

way customers think, feel and select from alternatives like products, brands and the like,

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 11 and how their environment

influences them, their reference groups, family, salespersons, etc. (Brosekhan &

Velayutham, 2007).

As observed, the business’ world is dynamic, and new trends emerge here and

there that could affect consumer behavior. For example, the advent of the internet has

dramatically and immediately affected our lives and how many businesses operate. The

marketing activities that were done have impacted businesses that made them resort to

embrace e-commerce. Cost-effectiveness and practicality are some of the benefits that the

internet affords organizations (Nezamabad, 2011). Honeycutt et al. (1998, as cited in

Nezamabad, 2011) mentioned that the internet had been an essential part of electronic

commerce’ initiative playing an ever-increasing role in the global marketplace now and in

the future.

Over the past two decades, the development of the internet hastily went alongside

the development of a relevant digital economy that is driven by information technology.

This long-term development of the internet had led to the rapid growth of web users and

high-speed internet connections. Some of these new technology has been utilized for web

development, which enabled firms to enhance the images of their offerings through the

website (Kaur, 2013). The advent of the internet comes with the fast growth of online

shopping, be it for clothes, electronics, or even pets. Online shopping is getting popular

every day and has risen massively because of the Covid 19 pandemic. Websites are
opening every day to address the rising demand for comfort, convenience, safety, and

security.

Online shopping is fast as a means to make all your purchases, whether at the

home, office, or in a different country (Dost et al., 2015). Customers buy several types of

items from online shopping stores. People can purchase just about anything from those

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 12 companies that provide

products online. These are books, clothing, household appliances, toys, hardware,

software, and health insurance are just among the hundreds of products that customers

can buy (Kaur, 2013).

Many studies regarding online shopping behavior revolved around the factors

affecting purchase behavior. The study of Dost et al. (2015) found that trust is the most

crucial factor affecting customers' buying behavior towards online shopping for the

younger generation. In the same study, the sense of privacy did not affect consumer

behavior. Likewise, the study of Bucko et al. (2018) on online shopping found that those

identified factors affected them in the same manner. However, the study has limitations

wherein it focused solely on Gen Y, in which case, the researcher thought of determining

the most significant factor that affects the purchasing decision of online shoppers across

all generations and among native internet users. The study assumed that there would not

be a significant difference in members' online purchases from different generations.

In recent years, several researchers have investigated online customers' shopping

behavior by exploring specific online shopping areas. Online shopping behavior has been

dissected using different models or theories, including the Theory of Planned Behavior

(Tan & Urquhart, 2006). Several opinion platforms have discovered that many customers

hesitate to buy products online because they are primarily concerned about the

confidentiality of their information, specifically their identity given to online sellers

(George, 2004). In the study, George used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as its

basis. His study's main point is to investigate several factors affecting internet purchasing,

including perceived behavioral intent, which is one tenet of the TPB. However, his study

suggested other factors that need to be considered as antecedents of internet purchasing,

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 13 like social relationships, as

another tenet of the Theory of planned behavior for future studies.

The study of Ajzen (2015), who originally formulated the TPB, used the TPB to

study customer attitude and behavior relating to food purchasing. His study used the

theory where it claimed that customers are bombarded with several factors that affect

their buying behavior in their daily lives. The TPB helped explain customers' intentions

and behavior. However, this study was only applied to consumer behavior in purchasing

food items. Ajzen mentioned that the TPB could also be applied to different food brands

or completely different kinds of products; hence this study applied it to products in an

online purchasing context.

Based on empirical results, the TPB comes to mind as an appropriate framework

to apply the intention of this research. The TPB was rooted in the Theory of Multi-

attribute Attitude (TMA) and Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), which are social-

psychological theories that aim to describe and explain the rationale behind human

beings' decisions make with the intention of understanding and forecasting the behavior

of specific individuals. The TPB aims to explain that the will of individuals affects the

fulfillment of human behaviors (Zhang, 2018). The TPB of Icek Ajzen (1991, as cited in

Raygor, 2016) concerns itself in the motivational factors of individuals given a unique set

of contexts in trying to explain why people manifest specific behaviors. Ajzen (1991, as

cited in AL-Nahdi et al., 2015) mentioned that TPB is used to discern intentions to

perform a specific human behavior. The intention represents a person's willingness to act
out a specific behavior which is an immediate antecedent of behavior. Attitudes towards

the behavior affect these intentions, the social pressure to do this behavior, which is

referred to as subjective norm,

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 14 and control over the

behavior, referred to as behavioral control (Ajzen, 1991). The possibility of the three

constructs of the TPB affecting online shoppers' behavioral intention to buy was

leveraged going into the research framework of this study.

While there are many studies regarding the different factors that affect the online

shopping behavior of specific generations, this paper aims to explore why people across

generations act the way they do in online shopping using TPB based on the concept of

collectivist culture. Having respondents from across generations will allow this paper to

interpret the online behavioral intention of online shoppers to buy as observed in the

context of a particular population, in this case, are Filipino Asians with generally a

collectivist culture.

From our grandparents to our parents to our siblings and much younger relatives,

different generations would have different defining political, cultural, and behavioral traits

that characterize them, including their shopping habits both in an online and traditional

context. The study of Dhanapal et al. (2015) claimed that generation is a strong

determinant of online purchasing behavior, further stating that Generation Y, among all

other generations, contributes to the highest percentage of online purchasing, which goes

with the study of Bucko et al. (2018). Reiterating the point that previous research focused

on a specific generation's online buying behavior like Generation Y, only a handful of

research deal with the differences between and among generational cohorts in online

shopping (Lissitsa & Kol, 2016). Lissitsa and Kol (2016) further claimed that to

understand how customers behave thoroughly, an analysis of different traits of people and
their impact between and among the different generational cohorts is of utmost

importance.

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 15 The generational cohort

schism has existed for a long time now. It has been used to divide a population into

segments, often called a generational cohort, based on the specific era in which a person

was born (Lissitsa & Kol, 2019). For this paper, the generational cohorts would be

identified based on the study of Lissitsa and Kol (2019), where Baby Boomers are

claimed to be born between 1446 and 1965; Gen X, born between 1966 and 1980; Gen Y,

born between 1981 and 1994; and Gen Z, born in 1995 and after. Among the different

cohorts and their engagement in online buying, baby boomers represent the lowest

percentage of online shoppers (Dhanapal et al., 2015). Parment (2013) claimed that baby

boomers value traditional brick-and-mortar retail experience more than online shopping

perks than their counterparts from other generations, albeit baby boomers have

comparable purchasing power. A consumer report in 2018 shows that although many

baby boomers engage in online shopping, they, by far, prefer shopping in traditional

stores when making actual purchases. For that reason, this paper excluded baby boomers

in its scope. Lissitsa and Kol (2019) also mentioned that members of the same

generational cohort historically have the same set of beliefs and values in general and

tend to remain the same throughout an individual's life which provides a specific identity

to that cohort. This identity may significantly affect their purchase decisions and

behaviors.

The differences in the online buying behavior of these cohorts have been identified

in previous research. Lachman and Brett (2013) claimed that Generation Y takes shopping

more seriously than other generations. It was found that they were spending more time

searching for sales and other attractive deals online. This is supported by the findings of
the Consumer Behavior Report in 2008 (as cited in Dhanapal et al., 2015), which

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 16 mentioned that Generation

Y is more immersed in mobile and online activities, specifical activities about social

media.

Kruh (2017) claimed that Generation X, many of whom were more established in

their careers and building homes and families, are likely to buy more consumer goods

among other types of goods than the younger millennials in online and offline shopping

settings. Jackson et al. (2011, as cited in Lissitsa & Kol, 2016) claimed that Generation X

is most educated and described as technological and media savvy, skeptical, and

pragmatic. On the other hand, Generation Z, according to Aldhmour and Sarayrah (2016,

as cited in Isa et al., 2020), has grown to become a relevant part of the customer market.

Generation Z is claimed to be characterized by being internet savvy with high computer

literacy being born in an era of digital progress. As a result, members of Generation Z are

already used with almost no time delay in interaction and communication worldwide

which influences their behavior and perspective in their daily life, including their

shopping preference and shopping behavior (Mulyani et al., 2019). Generation Z has

always had more choices in the marketplace and was used to that compared to their

predecessors, so their thought process in the online buying choices may also be different.

This paper, encompassing online shoppers from across generations, generalized

the collectivist society of the Philippines and tried to predict the online buying behavior

of online shoppers. As such, the discussion on the cultural aspect of the target population

is indispensable because culture, like the generational cohorts, is a determinant of

consumption values that a member of a society has (Sakarya, 2013). This claim was

supported by the study conducted by Chai and Pavlou in 2002, which pitted the online

shopping behavior of individuals from the United States and China from a cultural
 BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 17 perspective, validating that

a customer's online shopping behavior could be affected by the differences in culture that

people have. However, Chai and Pavlou suggested digging deeper into understanding the

effect of cultural differences on online shopping behavior. Looking at differences

between and among societies in a cultural context would be relevant since studies like

that of Chai and Pavlou confirms that there are indeed differences in how people behave

as customers compared to their counterparts in other parts of the world.

Culture is an important term in many fields such as sociology, political sciences,

international business, and cross-cultural studies (Lebron, 2013). Kluckkohn (1951, as

cited in Lebron, 2013) mentioned that culture includes a specific manner of thinking

attained mainly by symbols. Culture establishes the broadest influence on many human

behavior dimensions (Soares et al., 2006). One specific theory that connects culture and

TPB is Hofstede's cultural dimension theory.

In Hofstede's original study, data came from a large multinational corporation

(IBM) with subsidiaries in 64 countries. The data included answers to questions about

their work situation's values and perceptions (Bergiel et al., 2012). These data were used

to validate Hoftede's proposed cultural dimensions. One of Hofstede's cultural dimension

theory dimensions is individualism vs. collectivism. As broadly explained, achievement

and personal freedom are the emphases of individualism. Therefore, individualist culture

gives due importance to personal accomplishments like innovations, breakthrough

discoveries, and other achievements that make a person stand out from others in contrast

with collectivism which emphasizes the connection and relationship of individuals to

other people or groups of people (Gorodnichenko & Roland, 2012).

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 18 Furthermore, Hofstede's

measure of individualism shows that Asian countries, including the Philippines, with no
data about Middle Eastern countries, have a very low individualist index. This was

further supported by Kim and Markus's experiment in 1999 (as cited in Gorodnichenko &

Roland, 2012). They concluded that Asians preferred targets representing conformity,

reflecting a collectivist behavior.

A study in 2016 by Kang and Sohaib compared Australians' online shopping

behavior showed different attitudes between the perceptions of trust in online shopping

among generations. Darwish and Huber (2003) mentioned that Australia is an example of

a very high individualist index society. Since Australia is a society considered

individualist, Kang and Sohaib's study results cannot be extended to countries with a

collectivist culture like Asian countries, specifically the Philippines. The gap which, to

date, no study has been made regarding the online shopping behavior of a collectivist

society served as one of the research motivations of this paper.

The quest for explaining human behavior in all its complexity is a difficult task

that includes buying behavior (Ajzen, 1991). This paper examined the three constructs of

the TPB, which could affect Asian online shoppers' behavior, which has long traditions

of collectivist cultures (Oh et al., 2014).

One of the three constructs of TPB is attitude. Varied marketing-related efforts

created by marketers relating to activities, experiences, and benefits of products or

services affect a customer's behavior to act in a specific manner regarding how they buy,

use or dispose of the same (Noor et al., 2020). In the study of Noor et al. (2020), attitude

in an online purchasing context did not affect behavioral intention to buy, which is in

contrast with the study of Redda (2019), which claims that attitude is essential and is an

immediate

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 19 antecedent of the actual

shopping behavior of customers in an online environment. One of the intentions of this

study was to confirm whether attitude affects the behavioral intention to buy of shoppers

with a collectivist culture relating to online purchasing. The contradicting results from

these studies are some of the recognized research gaps that this current study attempted to

address.

Perceived behavioral control is another construct of TPB that this study examined.

Perceived behavior control represents the ideas of individuals or organizations that

involve themselves in products or services which may happen unintentionally (Noor et

al., 2020). The perceived behavioral control of people concerning online shopping, from

a collectivist society, would be an indispensable tenet of the TPB that this paper explored.

A significant factor in the TPB is a person's behavioral intention to act out a given

behavior. Behavioral intentions are claimed to encapsulate the different factors that affect

consumer behavior. They represent the willingness of customers to try and how much

effort they want to put into acting out a specific behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Ajzen's TPB's

flexibility can be extended to collectivist cultures and the three constructs affecting

customer buying behavior, the subjective norm being the third. Furthermore, this paper

examined the possible effect of the Filipino Asians' collectivist culture on TPB's

constructs and the consequent effect on their online behavioral intention to buy.

In this study, the subjective norm only included family influence and reference

group influence. Durmaz and Durmaz (2014) outlined two dimensions of social

influences: reference groups and family. Family members such as children, parents, or

even spouses may influence a customer's purchasing behavior. Peer pressure is likewise

an essential factor that affects a customer's purchasing choices. In one way or another,

everyone relates

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 20 to a group, be it their

family, friend, or colleagues. Rather than get left behind, people buy products to fit in,
thus looking into the subjective norm of the Asian culture (Durmaz & Durmaz, 2014).

Several studies have explained the subjective norm's role in purchasing behavior in Asian

countries. In 2018, Ismail and Lim claimed that subjective norms could influence the

behavioral intention of the younger generation on products, specifically music services.

They also suggested that subjective norms should be integrated into promotional efforts

to attract more customers. A study by Hasan et al. (2019) claimed that family and friends,

encapsulated under the subjective norm, positively impact Asians' behavioral intention to

buy in their pursuit of Pharmacy-provided medication therapy management services.

Furthermore, according to Lim et al. (2016), most research subjects on online

shopping focused on university students or members of generation Y only as respondents.

Online shopping, especially with the ongoing pandemic, has been ubiquitous, and not only

university students are purchasing online nowadays. This paper capitalized on the

collectivist culture of Filipino Asians in general, with members coming from different

generations as respondents in trying to find out if the three constructs of the TPB would

impact the online shopper's behavioral intention to buy.

Research Objective

This study aimed to look at the predictive power of the TPB in the online

shopping context of the Filipino Asian Collectivist culture and the consequent effect of

the three (3) constructs of TPB on shoppers' behavioral intention to buy. Specifically, it

aims to answer the following questions:

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 21 1. What is the extent of the

effect of Filipino Asian shoppers' attitudes on their online behavioral intention to

buy?

2. What is the extent of the effect of Filipino Asian shoppers' subjective norm on

their online behavioral intention to buy?

 3. What is the extent of the effect of perceived behavioral control of Filipino Asian

shoppers on their online behavioral intention to buy?

4. How do socio-demographic profiles of Filipino Asian shoppers play on their

online behavioral intention to buy?

Asian countries, including the Philippines, have been described as having a more

collectivist-co-operative mindset than their western or American counterparts. Thus, it

should be noted that the results of studies that utilized European or American respondents

may not be extended to that of the Asian collectivist culture like the Philippines.

According to an article from AFS-USA, the Philippines, in general, is a collectivist

society where people prioritize family needs over personal needs. Furthermore, Filipino

Asians value interpersonal connections and social harmony and make an effort to

maintain the same.

George (2004, as cited in Redda, 2019) conducted a study to empirically test the

constructs of TPB on internet purchasing in the United States. He found that only two of

the three constructs of TPB affect online shopping: attitude and perceived behavioral

control. However, the positive relationship between subjective norms and behavioral

intention to transact is stronger in collectivist cultures than in individualist cultures (Tan

et al., 2006). An essential aspect of collectivist cultures is that individuals may feel

normative pressure to conform to a collective in-group's goals, including family, tribe, or

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 22 religious groups (Gregory

& Munch, 1996). This claim served as an essential basis for emphasizing the TPB's

subjective norm in this study. The claim of George (2004) that subjective norms do not

affect the behavioral intention of shoppers is in direct contrast to the claim of Tan et al.

(2006). This contradiction served as a valuable motivation for this paper. Furthermore,

the inclusion of members of different generational cohorts would afford this paper to
generalize the whole population's behavior, unlike existing research like that of Bucko et

al. (2018) and Lim et al. (2015), which focused on one specific generational cohort.

The three constructs of TPB, namely: attitude, subjective norm, and perceived

behavioral control are indispensable in studies that relate to consumer behavior. George

(2004) utilized a research framework similar to the one used in this study. He argued that

internet purchasing could be influenced by the very same three constructs of TPB, albeit

George's paper also hypothesized that the three constructs could also be influenced by

other factors, which this paper did not cover. Gu and Wu (2019) also used the three

constructs of TPB to explain online behavioral intention in their study but made no

further conclusions as to what influences the constructs and only had Generation Z as

their paper's subject of interest.

Research Framework

With the intention and emphasis on the dimension of the construct subjective

norm, not disregarding attitude and perceived behavioral control and their effect on

online shopper’s behavioral intention to buy, the following conceptual paradigm was

utilized as a guide in the study:

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 23 Figure 1

Conceptual Paradigm
 Beha
vioral Intention to Buy. The inclination of customers to avail of products or services is
encompassed in the construct of behavioral intention to buy (Arifani & Haryanto, 2018).
Yunhi and Heesup (2010, as cited in Lindblom & Mitronen, 2018) mentioned that people
are more likely to act if there is a strong behavioral intention to engage in a specific
behavior. In other words, behavioral intention is a reliable predictor of actual behavior,
although the relationship between behavior and intention is not perfect.
Attitude. Allport (1954, as cited in Ajzen, 2015) argues that the attitude construct

occupies a central role in theories and research regarding consumer behavior. Blackwell

et al. (2006, as cited Rachbini, 2018) stated that attitude evaluates the performance of

specific behavior that may involve our purchase decisions. Attitudes can be defined as the

different feelings, ideas, and tendencies of an individual who is permanent about specific

aspects of his environment. Attitude is also an evaluative bias towards an object or

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 24 subject that has

consequences, namely how a person is faced with an object of attitude. This is congruent

with the statement that attitude is a pleasant evaluation of something or someone shown

in a person's beliefs, feelings, or behavior (Pardana et al., 2019). Turan (2012, as cited in

Gu & Wu, 2019) argued that if a customer perceives a positive outcome from online

shopping, the same is more likely to engage in online shopping. Gu and Wu further

claimed that customers are more likely to make online purchases if they have higher
positive perceptions or attitudes towards that behavior. Conversely, the more robust

customers' negative attitudes toward online shopping, the less likely they will shop

online. This paper explored whether the attitude of people with a collectivist culture, in

general, and not only limited to college students who are the subject of interest of Gu and

Wu's paper, would affect online shoppers’ behavioral intention to buy.

Perceived behavioral control. Perceived behavioral control plays an integral part

in the TPB (Rachbini, 2018). The TPB differs from the Theory of Reasoned Action in its

addition of perceived behavioral control (Ajzen, 1991). Like subjective norms and

attitudes towards a specific act, perceived behavioral control is assumed to be affected by

factors that "deal with the presence or absence of requisite resources and opportunities"

(Ajzen, 1991, p.196). Giantari (2013, as cited in Gu and Wu, 2019) claimed that

perceived behavioral control significantly affects customers' online behavioral intention

and buying behavior. However, again this study focused on college students as the

subject of interest. This paper examined whether the online behavioral intention to buy of

Filipino Asians would be affected by their perceived behavioral control.

Subjective norm. Subjective norm describes the social influences and pressures

individuals perceive about their behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Subjective norms reveal

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 25 individuals' beliefs about

how their reference groups and family view them if they perform a specific behavior (Al-

Swidi et al., 2013). Ajzen and Driver (1980, as cited in Hasbullah et al., 2016) stated that

subjective norm is "the perceived pressure imposed by others such as a neighbor, friends,

peers, etc. who perform the behavior of interest and such action have either directly or

indirectly influence on respondent's behavior." It refers to people's perception that they

should or should not engage in a specific behavior based on what other people, usually

people of importance to them, think towards that behavior. Jamil and Mat (2011, as cited
in Lim et al., 2016) claimed that actual online purchase behavior is not significantly

affected by subjective norm but has a significant impact on the online behavioral

intention of individuals. The results implied that reference groups and families only have

a minor impact on actual online purchasing behavior. Another study by Tseng et al.

(2011, as cited in Lim et al., 2016) claimed that subjective norm does not play an

important role when internet shopping is still in the initial adoption stage. This paper

attempted to establish the effect of subjective norm on Filipino Asians' online behavioral

intention to buy from a collectivist point of view.

Family influence. The decisions for purchasing a product are usually made by a

single person and a group of persons in a family (Chaudhary, 2018). Durmaz & Sebastian

(2012, as cited in Al-Azzam, 2014) defined a family as "two or more people living

together related by blood or marriage." A family serves as a platform for members to

form and develop attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions towards different topics. With a

family, many customers develop their first perceptions about brands, products, services,

and customer habits (Lautiainen, 2015).

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 26 Reference group

influence. The term reference group refers to the social circle to which we belong. It

includes friends, peer groups, and colleagues. Their opinions are of utmost importance

for us, as these create a significant part of our preferences for a particular product or

service (Chaudhary, 2018). Schiffman and Kanuk (2010, as cited in Durmaz & Durmaz,

2018) claimed that reference groups give their members information about goods,

services, and brands, affecting their purchase behavior. Reference groups affect their

members about the norms of the group.

Collectivism. The Cultural Dimension Theory, developed by Geert Hofstede, has

been used and widely cited in studies regarding psychology, human behavior, and
management since all dimensions can be related to work. The concept of individualism

collectivism is one of the dimensions under Hofstede's Cultural Dimension theory used in

this study to describe online shoppers’ behavioral intention to buy. The dimension of

individualism-collectivism refers to how individuals see, describe and value themselves

about other people or groups of people. People high in the individualism index tend to be

more self-oriented, focusing on personal goals and gratification, than people with a high

collectivism index who generally describe themselves in connection with other people.

Additionally, people high in the collectivism index tend to think as part of a group and

also think of collective goals rather than just thinking about themselves.

The research framework of this study was grounded on Hofstede's concept of

collectivism. Collectivism essentially entails the preference of a specific group of people

to form close interpersonal relationships. To reiterate, people from collectivist societies

generally have a "we" image of themselves instead of "I." This means that individuals in

collectivist societies are tightly integrated into social relationships such as family, peers,

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 27 friends, and other social

groups, including online ones. In contrast, individualism focuses on the self-interest of

people and their general independence from interpersonal relationships, which is

drastically different from the concept of collectivism. With these differences, it can be

speculated that the decisions of online shoppers belonging to either culture, collectivist

or individualist, might be different. Consequently, the results of past research regarding

online shopping with individualist respondents might not be extended to collectivist

societies.

The results of this study examined the conformities and contradictions regarding

the collectivist nature of the respondents concerning the three constructs of TPB

regarding their online behavioral intention to buy.

Significance of the Study

The advent of the internet has forever changed our way of life. Its advent is so

disruptive that industries were created around it. One of the changes that it has brought

about in Marketing and the business world is the introduction of online shopping

platforms. Online shopping has been on the rise since the 90s, which is now a multi

trillion-dollar industry (Do et al., 2019). There are many reasons attributed to this rise not

only for the buyers but also for the sellers. These benefits include unlimited shopping

rarely available in the traditional setting, convenience, less costly in terms of travel

expenses, great deals, and a wide selection of offerings available across online platforms

(Cheema et al., 2013).

With the pandemic that the world started to experience late in 2019 and ongoing in

2022, online shopping has become even more ubiquitous. One of the reasons why

online shopping has been booming during the pandemic when most industries are going

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 28 down is the risk associated

with the COVID-19 (Aggarwal & Kapoor, 2020). In 2020, Bhatti et al. (as cited in

Aggarwal & Kapoor, 2020) claimed that more and more people are avoiding traditional

brick and mortar shopping; hence the dependence on online shopping platforms for

commodities they claim would continue even after the pandemic ends.

With the increasing popularity of online shopping and customers' dependence on

it, more and more businesses are also extending their operations to the online setting.

This study would give an insight to business owners who have an online presence or are

planning to have an online presence regarding what affects customers' online behavioral

intention to buy.

According to Faraoni et al. (2021), culture is an antecedent that can be used to

explain the actual behavior of online shoppers; thus, this paper also incorporated
Hofstede's cultural dimension, specifically the concept of collectivism, which would give

insights into online shoppers' behavioral intention to buy according to the three constructs

of TPB. Conformities and contradictions between expected and actual results regarding

the respondents' online behavioral intention to buy online were identified, which would

empirically contribute to the body of knowledge specifically to consumer behavior of

collectivist societies.

Additionally, as its contribution to the body of knowledge, this paper explained the

similarities and possible differences between online shoppers from varied generational

cohorts regarding their behavioral intention to buy and their consequent behavior.

Differences in the buying behavior of the different generations in the traditional brick-

and-mortar shopping have already been identified before this study; however, this

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 29 paper is unique since it pits

the different generational cohorts from a collectivist culture and describes their online

behavioral intention to buy with the concept of collectivism in mind.

The results of this paper would also give light to the predictive power of TPB,

specifically online behavioral intention to buy and, consequently, buying behavior of

online shoppers. The results of this paper would guide the different marketing strategies

any business would make online directed towards online shoppers in general or directed

towards a specific generational cohort if the target market is demographically specific.

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 30 Methodology

Research Design

This research adopted an explanatory approach to analyze the behavioral intention

to buy of the different generational cohorts concerning online shopping, which is not

well-researched yet. An explanatory study was used to increase the understanding of

businesses and online sellers as to what affects the online behavioral intention to buy of
specific generational cohorts and to what extent based on TPB and its three constructs in

Filipino Asian collectivist culture. This research also highlighted the relationship between

and among the three constructs of TPB to increase further the understanding of online

shoppers' behavioral intention to buy.

Data Gathering Instrument

A questionnaire was floated to online shoppers of varied generational cohorts to answer

the research questions of this study. Since this paper's topic has not been extensively

studied, primary data were gathered through a questionnaire. A questionnaire provides

quantitative data to be collected standardized to be internally consistent and relevant for

analysis. Questionnaires are relatively cheap to design and administer. As a tool for data

gathering, a questionnaire is an economical way to collect data as it is relatively

inexpensive and is efficient in using the time (Roopa & Rani, 2017). The questionnaire of

Gu and Wu's (2019) study was adapted to come up with this paper's questionnaire. For

Part I of the questionnaire, the questions regarding family income and previous

engagement with online shopping were removed from Gu and Wu's study, and age was

changed to the year of birth to capture the respondents' generational cohort. The

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 31 scale was also changed

from 5 to a 6-point Likert scale. Gu and Wu's study revolved around TPB and online

purchasing, with only university students as respondents.

Two approaches were utilized to gather data through questionnaires. One was

through online means, specifically Google forms, and the other approach was the

traditional pen-and-paper. Before the actual data gathering, the questionnaire was

subjected to both validity and reliability tests. Three experts in the field of marketing

validated the questionnaire to ensure that the results from the instrument were consistent

with the objectives of this paper. Using Aiken's Validity Coefficient, the computed
coefficient of validity is 0.91, greater than the threshold of 0.70. Hence the questionnaire

was said to be valid. The instrument was likewise floated to 30 respondents to test the

reliability. Using the Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient, the computed coefficient of

reliability is 0.856, greater than the threshold of 0.70. Thus, the questionnaire is said to be

reliable.

The protection of the participant's privacy and confidentiality was thoroughly

observed as there is a tendency to respond truthfully if their identities are kept private

(Roopa & Rani, 2017).

The first part of the questionnaire aimed to obtain demographic information relative to

the respondents' use of the internet, determine the frequency of their online shopping,

and know to which generational cohort the respondents belong. The survey questions in

the second part were presented in multiple-choice forms. The second part of the survey

was constructed to identify online shoppers' behavioral intention to buy with the three

constructs of TPB. The questions were constructed in a graduated 6-point Likert scale: 1:

Strongly Disagree, 2: Disagree, 3: Somewhat Disagree, 4: Somewhat Agree, 5:

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 32 Agree, and 6: Strongly

Agree. The responses on questions 2 to 6 under perceived behavioral control have been

reversed since the questions were constructed negatively. This was done to achieve

consistency. The following scale of interpretation was used in the study to interpret the

mean ratings.

Table 1

The Scale of Interpretation Used in the Study

Mean Rating Interpretation

5.15 - 6.00 Strongly Agree

 4.32 - 5.14 Agree

3.49 - 4.31 Somewhat Agree

2.66 - 3.48 Somewhat Disagree

1.83 - 2.65 Disagree

1.00 - 1.82 Strongly Disagree

Table 1 explains that the higher the mean rating, the more positive the perception

is towards a specific construct indicator and, consequently, the constructs themselves.

Inversely, the lower the mean rating, the more negative the same perception.

Before treatment and data analysis, the retrieved questionnaires were inspected

for completeness. Any retrieved questionnaires with incomplete responses were

disregarded.

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 33 Descriptive and inferential

statistics were used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics such as the weighted mean

were used to determine the extent of the effect of Filipino Asian online shoppers'

attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on their online behavioral

intention to buy.

Independent-samples t-test was used to determine the significant difference

(implying significant association) in the extent of the effect on Filipino Asian online

shoppers' attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control on their behavioral

intention to buy when grouped according to gender. In contrast, analysis of variance

(ANOVA) was used for the variables "internet usage frequency," "experience with the

internet," and "year of birth." Pearson correlation was used to determine the significant
correlation among the three constructs of the TPB as factors affecting online shoppers’

behavioral intention to buy. All statistical tests were conducted at a 0.05 level of

significance.

Population and Locale of the Study

Online shopping is a trend continually rising in the Philippines and other Asian

countries. A report from United Nations ESCAP in 2018 mentioned that Asia's growth in

the global e-commerce marketplace is among the fastest, representing the largest share in

the e-commerce market in the entire world. Recently, online platforms such as Lazada,

Shopee, and Zalora, not to mention the Facebook Marketplace, have become more and

more popular among shoppers for the many benefits they give to customers.

The respondents of this research were mainly Filipino Asians who are engaged in online

shopping. According to Oh et al. (2014), historically, East and Southeast Asian nations

have a collectivist culture. In this sense, engagement would mean Filipino Asians

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 34 who have tried online

shopping before and regularly consider online shopping as a medium of buying products

when shopping. The respondent's generational cohort was used to separate them as we

are trying to see if there are generational differences in shoppers' behavior in the online

setting. In order to achieve the objectives of this research, the researcher used non-

probability sampling that is purposive to deliberately look for respondents who engage in

online shopping under the generational cohorts covered in this paper (Etikan, 2016).

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 35

Results and Discussion

The survey results show the extent of the effect of the three constructs of TPB on

online shoppers’ behavioral intention to buy. The socio-demographic characteristics of

 the respondents, specifically the generational cohorts that respondents belong to, were

tested to see any significant differences with each construct of TPB. Moreover, the

correlation of the three constructs of TPB was extracted using correlation analysis to see

if any significant correlation exists.

Part I shows that 464 respondents completed the questionnaire from varied

generational cohorts. Of the 464 respondents, 149 were males, and 315 were females.

One hundred thirty-seven were from Gen X, 134 were from Gen Y, and 193 were from

Gen Z. Furthermore, most of the respondents use the internet daily and have been using

the internet for more than five years.

Table 3 shows that the respondents intended to shop online based on their attitude.

Based on the means of the indicators under attitude, respondents agree that online

shopping is an efficient method of shopping, saves them time, and enables them to gather

product information from other stores simultaneously. With a mean of 4.11, the

respondents somewhat agree that they always have a satisfactory experience with online

shopping, which suggests that online shopping generally gives them satisfaction. The

intention to shop again also produced a strong agreement with a mean of 4.97. Lastly, the

idea that products purchased online are delivered to the respondents’ address of choice

yielded the most robust results among the attitude indicators with a mean of 5.21.

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 36 Table 3

The Extent of the Effect of a Filipino Asian Shoppers’ Attitude on their Online Behavioral

Intention to Buy

Mean Interpretation

1. Online shopping is an efficient method of

shopping. 4.84 Agree 2. Online shopping saves me time. 4.89 Agree
3. I like the idea of online shopping because I
can visit several shops from one location. 5.04 Agree 4. I like online
shopping because I am able to
gather product information from other stores 5. I like the idea that products purchased online
simultaneously. 4.91 Agree

are delivered to my address of choice. 5.21 Strongly Agree

6. I have always had a satisfactory experience
with online shopping. 4.11 Somewhat Agree 7. I would definitely shop online
again. 4.97 Agree

Overall Mean 4.85 Agree

These results suggest that respondents generally think that online shopping gives them

convenience in terms of time spent shopping and consequent product delivery, which is

expected among people that belong to collectivist societies. As one of the many

consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people were stuck at home with their

families. Collectivism would explain that people take this saved time and spend it with

family members, friends, and peers. Spending time with people can also be done virtually

through popular platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Akkus (2017) explains that

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 37 collectivist societies

emphasize interpersonal harmony and value social communities concerning family and

other social entities. More saved time would also entail that people would have more time

to build harmonious relationships or strengthen existing ones which are among the

primary characteristics of collectivist societies, according to Alampay and Jocson (2011,

as cited in Broomhall & Phillips, 2020).

The overall mean of 4.85, compared to the highest mean rating of 5.21 regarding
product delivery, for all the questions about attitude show the respondents' positive

attitude towards online shopping in general. This means that attitude has a positive extent

of effect on the attitude of online shoppers. The finding of this paper on attitude is

consistent with the results of the study of Redda (2019), which claimed that attitude

directly affects shoppers’ actual online behavioral intention to buy, which is further in

line with the original claim of TPB. Furthermore, this result also confirms the study of

Gu and Wu (2019), which cited that people are more likely to buy something online if

they have a favorable or positive attitude towards online shopping. However, this result

contradicts the study of Noor et al. (2020), which stated that in terms of online behavioral

intention, attitude is not essential and does not influence online shoppers. Furthermore,

the same study claimed that subjective norm and perceived behavioral control affected

behavioral intention but not attitude.

Table 4 shows that the subjective norm of online shoppers from a collectivist

society positively affects their online behavioral intention to buy; on the other hand, it has

a weaker effect than that of attitude, with an overall mean average of 4.18. This means

that subjective norm still has a favorable positive effect on online shoppers' behavioral

intention to buy.

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 38 Table 4

The Extent of the Effect of Filipino Asian Shoppers’ Subjective Norm on their Online

Behavioral Intention to Buy

Mean Interpretation

1. I care about what other customers have to say

about their online shopping experiences. 5.05 Agree
2. I care what my friends have to say about their
online shopping experiences. 4.91 Agree
 3. I care what my parents have to say about
their online shopping experiences. 4.63 Agree
4. I feel that I have to shop online because
everyone else is shopping online. 2.84 Somewhat Disagree 5. I feel that I am
expected to shop online. 2.90 Somewhat Disagree
6. I care what online users are saying about
online shopping experiences 4.74 Agree Overall Mean 4.18 Somewhat Agree

Based on the means of the indicators under the subjective norm, the respondents care

about what other customers, online users, their friends, and parents say about online

shopping. Despite this, respondents somewhat disagree that they have to shop online

because everyone else is shopping online or because other people expect them to shop

online. This means that online shoppers care about what other people have to say about

their online shopping experiences, family and friends included. The collectivist nature of

the respondents explains this. Strictly speaking about social group expectations, research

by Gregory and Munch (1996) explains that, although the purchase decision of members

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 39 of a collectivist society is

affected by social groups, deviating from group expectations can also manifest when

deciding about a purchase.

Since the Philippines and other Asian countries have collectivist cultures,

respondents are closely tied with people they care about, including family members,

friends, and peers whom they can readily ask comments and insights about online

shopping. These comments and insights are valued and considered in online shopping,

but still, respondents do not feel pressured to shop online. Based on the literature, these

results are affirmed by the study of Kang and Sohaib (2016), who claimed that shoppers

from a collectivist society are more likely to consider other people's comments and other
 word-of-mouth insights when buying rather than making an independent purchase

decision.

The results also support the study of Ismail and Lim (2018), which claimed that

subjective norm, together with attitude, positively relates to the young people's intention

to buy something. This is also in congruence with the study of Gu and Wu (2019), which

found that family, peers, and friends impact online shoppers’ behavioral intention to buy.

Since the study of Gu and Wu are also from a collectivist society, the results also indicate

that the positive response towards subjective norm is associated with the social

acceptability of the intention to shop online and the eventual act to engage in online

shopping.

Table 5 shows that high positive values indicated agreement to the negative

statements about perceived behavioral control based on how the questions are constructed

for this construct.

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 40 Table 5

The Extent of the Effect of Filipino Asian Shoppers’ Perceived Behavioral Control on

their Online Behavioral Intention to Buy

Mean Interpretation

1. Online shopping sites are easy to use 4.85 Agree

2. It bothers me that I can’t physically examine
goods before purchasing them online. 2.21 Disagree
3. I’m afraid that others can steal my identity if
I shop online. 2.59 Disagree
4. I’m afraid that my debit or credit card
information can be stolen if I shop online. 2.47 Disagree 5. It bothers me that I
have to wait for
traditional mail services to return a product if I amnot satisfied.
6. It bothers me that I have to wait for a product know if I am satisfied with the product.
purchased online to arrive in the mail before I will 2.36 Disagree 2.52 Disagree

Overall Mean 2.83 Somewhat Disagree

The overall mean of 2.83 suggests that online shoppers think they have relatively weak

control over their online shopping activities. Based on this result, the extent of the effect

of perceived behavioral control is tenuous. It is found that what bothers online shoppers

the most is the fact that they cannot physically examine goods before purchasing them

online, with a mean of 2.21. In addition, indicators five and six under perceived

behavioral control with a mean of 2.36 and 2.52, respectively, suggests that respondents

are bothered that they have to wait for traditional mail services to return a product if

they are not satisfied as well as they have to wait for a product purchased

BEHAVIORAL INTENTION OF ONLINE SHOPPERS 41 online to arrive in the mail

before they know if they are satisfied with the product. This entails that satisfaction can

only be determined once the product purchased online has already been delivered hence

the weak control.

Respondents also agree that they are bothered by the third and fourth indicators with means of
2.59 and 2.47, which are about identity and financial identity theft. Despite this, respondents still
think that online shopping sites are easy to use, with a mean of 4.85. These results suggest that
respondents are aware of the different concerns that could bother and affect them, but they still
engage in online shopping. A study conducted in Thailand, another collectivist society, by
Mengli (2011) shows that customer perception about online shopping positively affects the
perceived ease of use. In the same study, Mengli also claimed that to further build the positive
perception of shoppers towards online shopping, businesses should focus on ease of use,
explicitly adding user-friendly