Dijital Tüketimin Politik Ekonomisi: E-Ticarette Tüketici Davranışını Kolaylık Ekonomisi Çerçevesinden Yeniden Düşünmek

Öz

E-ticarette tüketici davranışı, hâkim teorik çerçevelerin açıklama kapasitesinin ötesine geçen bir karmaşıklık taşımaktadır. Eleştirel bütünleştirici inceleme yönteminden yararlanan bu çalışma, klasik ve neoklasik rasyonel tüketici varsayımlarını dijital alışveriş ortamlarının gerçeklikleriyle karşılaştırmaktadır. Keynesyen yaklaşım, davranışsal iktisat, işlem maliyeti teorisi, sinyal teorisi ve ağ ekonomisi çerçevelerinin her biri doğrudan bir değerlendirme süzgecinden geçirilmektedir. Küresel e-ticaret verileri ve ampirik literatüre dayanan çalışma, fiyatın tüketici kararlarındaki ağırlığını korumakla birlikte artık tek belirleyici olmadığını ileri sürmektedir. Teslimat hızı, ödeme kolaylığı, platform güveni ve algoritma destekli kişiselleştirme, farklı ürün kategorileri ve tüketici profilleri için giderek daha belirleyici roller üstlenmektedir. Çalışma ardından mevcut teorik çerçevelerin dijital tüketimi açıklamadaki boşluklarını sorgulamakta ve kolaylık ekonomisi kavramı etrafında örgütlenmiş özgün bir kavramsal model önermektedir. Model, dijital ortamlardaki tüketicilerin kararlarını toplam çaba maliyetini minimize etme ekseninde örgütlediklerini ileri sürmektedir; bu kavram fiyat, zaman, bilişsel yük, fiziksel sürtünme ve duygusal yükü kapsamaktadır. Kolaylık ekonomisi modeli mevcut teorik geleneklerden birkaç temel noktada ayrışmaktadır: fiyatı tek belirleyici değil toplam çaba maliyetinin beş bileşeninden biri olarak konumlandırmakta, algoritmik tasarımın yarattığı yapay maliyetleri kapsama dahil etmekte ve tüketicinin seçim kümesini daraltan platform mimarileri ile tüketici özerkliği arasındaki gerilimi teorik olarak çerçevelemektedir. Modelin ampirik olarak test edilmemiş olması ve mevcut literatürün ağırlıklı olarak gelişmiş ekonomilere yönelmesi bu çalışmanın başlıca sınırlılıklarını oluşturmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Tüketici Davranışı
• E-Ticaret
• Kolaylık Ekonomisi
• Toplam Çaba Maliyeti
• Dijital Tüketim
• Platform Ekonomisi
• Karar Mimarisi.

The Political Economy of Digital Consumption: Rethinking Consumer Behavior in E-Commerce Through The Convenience Economy Framework

Öz

Consumer behavior in e-commerce carries a complexity that surpasses the explanatory reach of prevailing theoretical frameworks. Drawing on a critical integrative review methodology, this study compares classical and neoclassical rational consumer assumptions with the realities of digital shopping environments. The Keynesian approach, behavioral economics, transaction cost theory, signaling theory, and network economics frameworks are each subjected to direct evaluative scrutiny. Building on global e-commerce data and empirical literature, the study argues that while price retains its weight in consumer decisions, it is no longer the sole determinant. Delivery speed, payment convenience, platform trust, and algorithm-driven personalization play increasingly decisive roles across different product categories and consumer profiles. The study then interrogates the explanatory gaps in existing theoretical frameworks and proposes an original conceptual model organized around the concept of convenience economy. The model holds that consumers in digital environments organize their decisions around minimizing total effort cost, a construct encompassing price, time, cognitive load, physical friction, and emotional burden. The convenience economy model diverges from existing theoretical traditions in several fundamental respects: it positions price as one of five components of total effort cost rather than the sole determinant, incorporates artificial costs generated by algorithmic design, and theoretically frames the tension between platform architectures that narrow the consumer's choice set and consumer autonomy. The absence of empirical testing and the predominantly developed-economy orientation of the existing literature constitute the primary limitations of this study.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Consumer Behavior
• E-Commerce
• Convenience Economy
• Total Effort Cost
• Digital Consumption
• Platform Economics
• Decision Architecture.

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