MEDIATING ROLE OF PERCEIVED USEFULNESS OF WEBROOMING IN THE IMPACT OF PERCEIVED EASE OF SEARCHING ONLINE ON ATTITUDE TOWARD WEBROOMING

Year 2024, , 215 - 232, 18.12.2024

Mehmet Kürşat Tüzemen , Gülçin Bilgin Turna

https://doi.org/10.17753/sosekev.1446538

Abstract

“Webrooming” refers to the practice where consumers search products online before purchasing them in a physical store. Webrooming is a complex behavior driven by the need for detailed research, the desire for a tangible product experience, convenience, trust, and social considerations. The main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of Internet users’ perceived ease of searching online (PESO) on their attitudes toward Webrooming (ATW) while analyzing the possible mediating role of perceived usefulness of webrooming (PUW) in this effect. Besides, difference analyses are adopted to understand whether PESO, ATW and PUW values change according to gender, age, education, marital status and income level. 322 surveys collected online by convenience sampling method were analyzed. The results show that perceived ease of search in the online environment affects the attitude toward webrooming. In addition, the perceived usefulness of webrooming is a full mediator in the effect of perceived ease of searching online on attitude toward webrooming. This finding suggests the convenience and effectiveness of online research translate into a perceived benefit, enhancing the overall attractiveness of webrooming.

Keywords

Webrooming, Perceived ease of searching online, Attitude toward webrooming, Perceived usefulness of webrooming, Mediation

Algılanan Çevrimiçi Arama Kolaylığının Webrooming Kavramına İlişkin Tutum Üzerindeki Etkisinde Webrooming Kavramının Algılanan Faydasının Aracılık Rolü

Abstract

“Webrooming”, tüketicilerin bir ürünü fiziksel bir mağazadan satın almadan önce çevrimiçi ortamda araştırmalarını ifade etmektedir. Webrooming, ayrıntılı araştırma ihtiyacı, somut bir ürün deneyimi arzusu, kolaylık, güven ve sosyal kaygılardan kaynaklanan karmaşık bir davranıştır. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, İnternet kullanıcılarının algılanan çevrimiçi arama kolaylığının (PESO), webrooming davranışına yönelik tutum (ATW) üzerindeki etkisini incelemek ve bu etkide webrooming davranışının algılanan faydasının (PUW) olası aracı rolünü analiz etmektir. Ayrıca PESO, ATW ve PUW ölçeklerindeki değerlerin cinsiyete, yaşa, eğitime, medeni duruma ve gelir düzeyine göre değişip değişmediğini anlamak için fark analizleri yapılmıştır. Kolayda örnekleme yöntemiyle çevrimiçi ortamda toplanan 322 anket analize tabi tutulmuştur. Sonuçlar, çevrimiçi ortamda algılanan arama kolaylığının webrooming davranışına yönelik tutumu etkilediğini göstermektedir. Webrooming davranışının algılanan faydasının, çevrimiçi arama yapmanın algılanan kolaylığının webrooming davranışına yönelik tutum üzerindeki etkisinde tam bir aracı olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bu bulgu, çevrimiçi araştırmanın rahatlığı ve etkililiğinin, webrooming davranışının genel çekiciliğini artırarak algılanan bir faydaya dönüştüğünü göstermektedir.

Keywords

Webrooming, Çevrimiçi ortamda araştırma yapmaya yönelik algılanan kolaylık, Webrooming davranışına yönelik tutum, Webrooming kavramının algılanan kullanışlılığı, Aracılık etkisi

Ethical Statement

Makale, etik kurallara uygun bir şekilde yazılmıştır

Supporting Institution

Yoktur

Thanks

Anket katılımcılarına teşekkür ederiz

References

• Alba, J., Lynch, J., Weitz, B., Janiszewski, C., Lutz, R., Sawyer, A., & Wood, S. (1997). Interactive home shopping: Consumer, retailer, and manufacturer incentives to participate in electronic marketplaces. Journal of Marketing, 61(3), 38-53.
• Andrews, D., Criscuolo, C., & Gal, P. N. (2016). The best versus the rest: The global productivity slowdown, divergence across firms and the role of public policy. OECD.
• Arora, S., & Sahney, S. (2017). Webrooming behaviour: A conceptual framework. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 45(7/8), 762-781.
• Arora, S., & Sahney, S. (2018). Consumer’s webrooming conduct: An explanation using the theory of planned behavior. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 30(4), 1040-1063.
• Arora, S., & Sahney, S. (2019). Examining consumers’ webrooming behavior: An integrated approach. Journal of Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 37(3), 339-354.
• Aw, E. C. X., Basha, N. K., Ng, S. I., & Ho, J. A. (2021). Searching online and buying offline: Understanding the role of channel-, consumer-, and product-related factors in determining webrooming intention. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, 102328.
• Barkhi, R., & Wallace, L. (2007). The impact of personality type on purchasing decisions in virtual stores. Information Technology and Management, 8, 313-330.
• Baron, M., & Keny, D. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1173-1182.
• Cao, L., & Li, L. (2015). The impact of cross-channel integration on retailers’ sales growth. Journal of Retail, 91(2), 198-216.
• Chiou, J. S., Wu, L. Y., & Chou, S. Y. (2012). You do the service but they take the order. Journal of Business Research, 65(7), 883-889.
• Chiu, H. C., Hsieh, Y. C., Roan, J., Tseng, K. J., & Hsieh, J. K. (2011). The challenge for multichannel services: Cross-channel free-riding behavior. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 10(2), 268-277.
• Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, & user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13, 319-340.
• De Keyser, A., Lemon, K. N., Klaus, P., & Keiningham, T. L. (2015). A framework for understanding and managing the customer experience. Marketing Science Institute Working Paper Series, 85(1), 15-121.
• Deloitte, (2017). Pre-Thanksgiving pulse survey. November 20. https://bit.ly/2IOKEg6.
• Fauzi, F. I., & Pratomo, L. A. (2023). Factors affecting luxury consumers on webrooming intention. Jurnal Ekonomi Trisakti, 3(2), 2683-2692.
• Flanagin, A. J., Metzger, M. J., Pure, R., Markov, A., & Hartsell, E. (2014). Mitigating risk in ecommerce transactions: Perceptions of information credibility and the role of user-generated ratings in product quality and purchase intention. Electronic Commerce Research, 14(1), 1-23.
• Flavián, C., Gurrea, R., & Orús, C., (2016). Choice confidence in the webrooming purchase process: The impact of online positive reviews and the motivation to touch. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 15(5), 459-476.
• Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. (2013). Multivariate data analysis. Pearson Education Limited.
• Harris, P., Riley, F. D. O., & Hand, C. (2018). Understanding multichannel shopper journey configuration: An application of goal theory. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 44, 108-117.
• Hayes, A. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. The Guildford.
• Huang, P., Lurie, N. H., & Mitra, S. (2009). Searching for experience on the web: An empirical examination of consumer behavior for search and experience goods. Journal of Marketing, 73(2), 55-69.
• Huré, E., Picot-Coupey, K., & Ackermann, C. L. (2017). Understanding omni-channel shopping value: A mixed-method study. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 39, 314-330.
• Islam, H., Jebarajakirthy, C., & Shankar, A. (2019). An experimental based investigation into the effects of website interactivity on customer behavior in online purchase context. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1-24. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2019.1637923
• Jebarajakirthy, C., & Shankar, A. (2020). Impact of online convenience on mobile banking adoption intention: A moderated mediation approach. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, 102323. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j. jretconser.2020.102323
• Jebarajakirthy, C., Yadav, R., & Shankar, A. (2020). Insights for luxury retailers to reach customers globally. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 38(7), 797-811. https://www.doi.org/10.1108/MIP-10-2019-0493
• Jing, B. (2018). Showrooming and webrooming: Information externalities between online and offline sellers. Marketing Science, 37(3), 469-483.
• Kacen, J. J., Hess, J. D., & Chiang, W. Y. K. (2013). Bricks or clicks? Consumer attitudes toward traditional stores and online stores. Global Economics and Management Review, 18(1), 12-21.
• Kalyanam, K., & Tsay, A. A. (2013). Free riding and conflict in hybrid shopping environments: Implications for retailers, manufacturers, and regulators. The Antitrust Bulletin, 58(1), 19-68.
• Kang, J. Y. M. (2018). Showrooming, Webrooming, and user-generated content creation in the omnichannel era. Journal of Internet Commerce, 17(2), 145-169.
• Kushwaha, T., & Shankar, V. (2013). Are multichannel customers really more valuable? The moderating role of product category characteristics. Journal of Marketing, 77(4), 67-85.
• Lee, C. K., Yoon, Y. S., & Lee, S. K. (2007). Investigating the relationships among perceived value, satisfaction, and recommendations: The case of the Korean DMZ. Tourism Management, 28(1), 204–214. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j. tourman.2005.12.017
• Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. (2016). Understanding customer experience throughout the customer journey. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 69–96.
• Mehra, A., Kumar, S., & Raju, J. S. (2017). Competitive strategies for brick-and-mortar stores to counter showrooming. Management Science, 13(2), 1-15.
• Neslin, S. A., Jerath, K., Bodapati, A., Bradlow, E. T., Deighton, J., Gensler, S., … & Zhang, Z. J. (2014). The interrelationships between brand and channel choice. Marketing Letters, 25(3), 319-330.
• Noble, S. M., Griffith, D. A., & Weinberger, M. G. (2005). Consumer derived utilitarian value and channel utilization in a multi-channel retail context. Journal of Business Research, 58(12), 1643-1651.
• Pantano, E., & Viassone, M. (2015). Engaging consumers on new integrated multichannel retail settings: Challenges for retailers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 25, 106-114.
• Park, E. J., Kim, E. Y., Funches, V. M., & Foxx, W. (2012). Apparel product attributes, web browsing, and e-impulse buying on shopping websites. Journal of Business Research, 65(11), 1583-1589. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j. jbusres.2011.02.043
• Peck, J., & Childers, T. L. (2003). To have and to hold: The influence of haptic information on product judgments. Journal of Marketing, 67(2), 35-48.
• Rohm, A. J., & Swaminathan, V. (2004). A typology of online shoppers based on shopping motivations. Journal of Business Research, 57(7), 748-757.
• Santos, S., & Gonçalves, H. M. (2019). Multichannel consumer behaviors in the mobile environment: Using fsQCA and discriminant analysis to understand Webrooming motivations. Journal of Business Research, 101, 757-766. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.12.069
• Seo & Kim. (1999). An empirical study in effects of cost advantage in online transaction: Customer perception of use of Internet shopping malls. Proceedings of Korean Academic Society of Business Administration, Spring Conference, 225-234.
• Shankar, A., & Datta, B. (2019). Measuring mobile commerce service quality: A review of literature. M-Commerce: Experiencing the Physical Retail, 319.
• Shankar, A., & Jain, S. (2021). Factors affecting luxury consumers’ webrooming intention: A moderated-mediation approach. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, 102306. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102306
• Sit, J. K., Hoang, A., & Inversini, A. (2018). Showrooming and retail opportunities: A qualitative investigation via a consumer-experience lens. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 40, 163-174.
• Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics: Pearson new international edition. Pearson.
• Van Bruggen, G. H., Antia, K. D., Jap, S. D., Reinartz, W. J., & Pallas, F. (2010). Managing marketing channel multiplicity. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 331-340.
• Verhoef, P. C., Kannan, P. K., & Inman, J. J. (2015). From multi-channel retailing to omnichannel retailing: Introduction to the special issue on multi-channel retailing. Journal of Retailing, 91(2), 174-181.
• Verhoef, P. C., Neslin, S. A., & Vroomen, B. (2007). Multichannel customer management: Understanding the research-shopper phenomenon. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 24(2), 129-148.
• Willmott, B. (2014). Retail showrooms, mobile sales. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 15(3), 229-232.
• Wolny, J., & Charoensuksai, N. (2014). Mapping customer journeys in multichannel decision making. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 15(4), 317-326.