Online buying perceptions in Spain: can gender make a difference?

Internet has led to radical changes in commercial relations and especially in consumer buying habits. Considering the peculiar characteristics of Internet shopping, it is difficult to engender consumer online trust and consumer face an adverse selection problem when having to choose the best web sit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Electronic markets 2011-12, Vol.21 (4), p.267-281
Main Authors: San Martin, Sonia, Jimenez, Nadia H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adverse selection
Brand loyalty
Business and Management
Buying
Consumer behavior
Consumer behaviour
Consumers
Decision making
Distribution channels
e-Commerce/e-business
Electronic commerce
Electronics
Gender
General Research
Internet
IT in Business
Markets
On-line systems
Online
Perception
Privacy
Quality of service
Quality standards
Satisfaction
Shopping
Signalling
Spain
Structural equation modeling
Trust
Variables
Websites
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Summary:Internet has led to radical changes in commercial relations and especially in consumer buying habits. Considering the peculiar characteristics of Internet shopping, it is difficult to engender consumer online trust and consumer face an adverse selection problem when having to choose the best web site to buy from. This problem may be mitigated by signaling the high-quality and good behavior of the e-vendor or by consumer satisfactory experiences. As gender can make differences in the decision-making processes of individuals, the purpose of this study is to find out if there are gender differences regarding the effect of three specific signals of quality—service quality, warranty, and security and privacy policies– on e-satisfaction and e-trust, and on the relation between satisfaction and trust. The research questions were tested using information gathered from Spanish online buyers and using structural equation modeling. Results suggest that suitable gender-based signaling strategies could conceivably be prepared in accordance with the target population, which holds interesting implications for both the academic and the professional world.
ISSN:1019-6781
1422-8890
DOI:10.1007/s12525-011-0074-y