Understanding individuals’ initial and continued use of online auction marketplaces

Abstract

Purpose – The current study aims to systematically review the existing literature, identify the main determinants that impact individuals’ perceptions, attitude, intention and behavior and meta-analytically evaluate their respective strength. Moreover, this study examines the specific mechanism through which more distal factors, such as trust, risk, experience and enjoyment influence individuals’ decision in the context of online auction markets. Finally, the moderating effects of contextual and methodological factors that could potentially influence the relationships are explored. During the past two decades, a large number of empirical studies examined the factors that hinder or foster individuals’ initial and continued acceptance of online auction marketplaces. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the effect sizes reported, 91 studies, including 95 independent samples (N = 36.788), the current study utilizes bivariate meta-analysis, meta-analytic structural equation modeling and weighted least squares regression moderator analysis to examine the nature of the identified relationships, the mechanisms through which they operate and the boundary conditions under which they do or do not hold. Findings – The results show that trust and experience explain individuals’ initial usage intention, while risk and experience explain actual usage behavior, indicating that these variables are viable extensions to the technology acceptance model in the context of online auction marketplaces. The results also demonstrate that, once individuals participate in online auction markets, trust and enjoyment are important predictors of satisfaction, which, in turn, is the strongest determinant of loyalty intention. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that cultural context acts as moderator and, to some degree, explains the mixed empirical findings in prior research. Originality/value – This study contributes to the existing literature by identifying the main determinants and their average direct and indirect effect on the individuals’ decisions in online auction marketplaces. The findings provide critical insights into the complex network of relationships which impact individuals’ perceptions, attitude, intention and behavior to initially and continuously use online auction marketplaces. Furthermore, the result contributes to the existing research by examining the effect of contextual and methodological boundary conditions – moderating factors that are difficult to test in primary studies.

Consumer to Consumer (C2C) Online Auction Transaction Intentions: an Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

“…Thus, online auctions provide consumers with a convenient, easy and enjoyable way to purchase online. However further emphasis should be placed on the attitude-intention relationship (Ajzen, 2015;Schlaegel, 2015) and how attitudes influence transaction intentions (Schlaegel, 2015). Therefore, the current study tests the following hypothesis:…”

“…Not all previous research explores the link between intentions to use online and actual usage; some have only examined the antecedents of intentions (Huang et al, 2011). However, one recent meta-analytic study of online auctions reports the important role of intentions in predicting online auction usage but it recommended that more research needs to be conducted exploring the role of motivational factors and intentions on behaviours (Schlaegel, 2015). The TPB (Ajzen, 1991) theory provides a valuable approach to understanding these links.…”

“…Past research has successfully demonstrated the utility of the TPB model in explaining various online intentions and behaviours such as online trading intentions (Gopi and Ramayah, 2007), banking adoption (Lee, 2009), internet banking (Sanayei and Bahmani, 2012), self-protection intentions around online privacy (Yao and Linz, 2008), online shopping behaviours (Hsu et al, 2006;Pavlou and Fygenson, 2006;Hansen, 2008;Huang et al, 2011;Schlaegel, 2015) and behaviour (King, Dennis and Wright, 2008;Schlaegel, 2015). However, applying an expanded TPB (Ajzen, 1991) approach to understand online auction behaviours such as to sell or buy a product has been quite limited.…”

“…However, applying an expanded TPB (Ajzen, 1991) approach to understand online auction behaviours such as to sell or buy a product has been quite limited. Despite the limited application of Theory of Planned Behaviour to explain the influences on online auction behaviour, its merit and value as a tool to examine and explain behaviour is evident and longstanding (Schlaegel, 2015). Similarly, alternative online auction research has investigated intentions to use online auctions Lu, 2008a, 2008b;Chiu et al, 2009;Huang et al, 2011) but also importantly the role of trust (Schlaegel, 2015) and security .…”

The impact of Internet on the artist reputation

“…In fact, recent studies such as Dass et al (2011) and Schlaegel (2015) analyze changes in auction prices of works of art in the field of online auctions; those researches identify which variables influence in order to improve artworks pricing models and generate bidding strategies for the buyer of works of art in the secondary market.…”