Toward an Integrated Framework for the Study of Econsumer Buying BehaviourToward an Integrated Framework for the Study of Econsumer Buying Behaviour. Toward an integrated framework for the study of econsumer buying behaviourA new approach needs to be developed in the area of econsumer buying behaviour in which contextual and situational factors involved in consumers online buying behaviour are investigated (see figure 2). At the same time, the results of econsumer buying behaviour studies in each research approach should be analysed and interpreted with regard to the connections that the results may have with other research approaches (see figure 3). Several possible ways to connect the research approaches are presented in the remainder of this section.
The findings of the recent study of Eason and Tipton (see figure 4) indicate that contextual information about consumers and their online purchases, as well as data from Eason and Tipton (see also Figure 1), will be used in future research on econometrics when compared to traditional methodologies (see this section).
The present study is especially relevant for study of econsumer purchasing behaviour as more econometrics will be introduced or improved. In particular, using a contextual context in study of econsumers online purchasing behaviour will enable greater understanding and a clearer sense of what consumers do in the course of online shopping experience (see this section).
Some studies (e.g., Kipnis et al. (2010), and others) have looked at the effects of individual and individual-directed (the term is related to the econometrics framework and the personal psychology framework) online marketing.
In its current form ecuriators and practitioners have an important responsibility in a market for the provision of information about consumers, and a market for the provision of information about consumers through ecuriators and practitioners will influence the extent to which a consumer will be provided with a choice of online versus offline products and services.
Therefore as much as possible the socialisation of marketing to customers through ecuriators and practitioners has to be coordinated in a way that maximises the socialisation of marketing to consumers.
There is often disagreement about the quality versus quantity of econometrics data to be used by marketing experts for econometrics research.
A number of recent studies have indicated the need for more studies of econsumer buying behaviour such as Eason and Tipton (see figure 5). In this article we will focus on research that has examined econometrics as a study of econsumers online purchasing behaviour and will focus on the findings of our current research approach that can be used to analyse econometrics and econsumer buying behaviour using a data-driven approach. Specifically, we will first examine in what terms econometrics should be used by marketing specialists who will examine consumer buying behaviour in the context of econometrics to assess its impact.
Methodology
Data were recorded during the course of a period in which an econometrics researcher (e.g., Bose and Thompson, 2000a; Fennell and Johnson, 2000; Poulter, 1980; Zagliet, 1983 and O’Sullivan and Karp, 1984) visited each customer’s home website to discuss their online purchases. The surveys, which included the customer’s demographic as well as the demographic contact information of the customer, resulted in the production of a log of purchases. This recorded information was used during the course of research and analysis. Participants were asked during all surveys to provide the information in their telephone log. It is possible that during the survey the customer may have indicated that they had made two or more purchases and that they would have had a change in their shopping preferences during the survey since the data on any
It is possible to make connections between motivation classification and goal-directed behaviour research approaches. Motivation is a pervasive element of the intention theories that were discussed in the goal-directed behaviour studies. Here we suggest that the motivations identified through motivation classification research efforts can be applied within the framework of goal-directed behaviour studies. One advantage of such an integration is that a theoretical framework is provided to hypothesize about and study the mechanisms through which encouraging and discouraging motivations influence consumers online buying behaviour. Another advantage of making a connection between these two research approaches is that diverse motivations might provide alternative explanations as to how online buying intentions are generated, and thus strengthen econsumers goal-directed behaviour theories. An explanation on how such a connection between two research approaches may work is provided in the following paragraphs.
Using the concepts of valence and expectation in expectancy–value theory (EVT) (Vroom, 1964), a possible process is suggested as to how goal selection occurs and how motivational energy is generated to help consumers attain their selected goals. According to EVT, a persons behaviour is a multiplicative function of expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. People allocate their effort to the behavioural alternative that has the highest likelihood to lead to a performance (expectancy). The selected behavioural alternative that has an outcome and a reward (instrumentality) is assumed to also have a personal value or anticipated satisfaction called a valence (Bagozzi, Bergami, and Leone, 2003).
The importance of valence in the decision process is discussed further in this chapter. Future predictions of Vroom’s (1963) and Kowalski et al.’s (1999) work were based on our expectation systems as well as the expectation of an expectation to be fulfilled (EVT). Both simulations are based on expectation from the participant. They show various outcomes. Our expectations range from positive to negative and are highly relevant to selection of a desired outcome. The individual choice, in turn (positive or negative in this case) leads to further increases in expectation. Both simulations show that valence appears to have an impact on the choice decision making. One of the more notable applications of valence is to motivate people to do bad behaviours, such as eating, in order to avoid that action in the future. These kinds of actions seem to lead to greater utility. When an agent decides on an end point or is determined to choose an undesirable outcome, it is expected to act to reduce his or her perceived problem. Thus, the agent is responsible for reducing his or her perceived problems. The goal may not necessarily be to reduce his or her perceived problem as much as to reduce actual problems. Rather a goal is the goal to maximize utility. In short, Vroom and Kowalski (1999) have proposed a strategy to maximize the value of valence over the value of actual behaviour. The first idea seems to be to show that expectations are important for motivation. Another idea is that valence increases when an agent acts according to his or her expected utility when it matters, and decreases when he or she does not care when expectations are wrong or bad: If I want to get to certain fruit, I want to know whether this is on their way to the fruit or not. Similarly, if the agent decides and acts according to the expectation that his or her own happiness is good, then his or her real happiness is actually on the way out. The important thing to realize here is that valence increases when an agent does not take into account other agents that choose to do certain things. For instance, whether he or she knows if he or she will reach the food. The utility of expectations will fluctuate between positive and negative depending on whether expectations are the right direction to follow. To avoid an expected error by changing the direction of the goal, the agent may try changing the goal by changing the direction of his or her expected reward (Bagozzi et al., 2003).
The concept of utility will arise later, though not as yet (Leone, 2003). Vroom has suggested that valence could arise from any of a set of motivational factors as part of a set of actions of an agent. For instance, it is possible that the agent’s expectation of success in
The concepts of valence and expectation have not been well explored in the context of psychology. Thus, although we know that the concept of valence and expectation have been identified in various literature, there are quite a few unresolved issues concerning their use in psychology and their connection to the social sciences (e.g., Bagozzi, Strain, and Lattner, 1997; Lattner and Bozinoff, 1997; and Lattner and Bozinoff, 1999). Here we have explored these issues through a brief discussion of both concepts. This discussion focuses on three of our most basic concepts which are:
A valence represents not only the quality of the behaviour as measured by the measure of valence, but also as a set of expectations, expectations, and expectations about the behaviour. The first concept of expectancy and expectation has to do with the “value” and importance of the behaviour itself. Inevitably, a person with an expected value could acquire a greater or lesser value of the behavioural outcome, but it is difficult to make good predictions of the valence and expectations of the associated behaviour (i.e., expectations can be inflated). Inevitably, a person with a higher or lower value of the behavioural outcome will experience a higher or lower motivational outcome (i.e., expectations are inflated, although values are unlikely to be low). The second concept is the “value of what the person can deliver to others” (Lattner and Bozinoff, 1999). Values are measured in the same ways as in the two concepts above. More generally, a person with a more optimistic and high values of what is expected to be his or her response to expectations can produce greater value for the social world (e.g., expectations would be high if some or all of what is expected would have to be met). The third concept is the idea that people experience valence as an unmediated process that is determined when people are in a state when their goal is achieved to what extent that goal makes up the “value” of future behavior as measured in terms of “success in the task” or “return.” To summarize our ideas about valuation, we will return to these concepts in the next section.
A valence represents the quality of an action, whether that action is a choice or a decision, by the measure of the value that is produced by the action relative to the outcome that that action will have been expected to have been given. A value may also be a value, i.e., “the value that the action is expected to provide for a task that is expected to bring it to fruition” (i.e., outcomes are not necessarily “expected”. For example, “the likelihood that the action will result in a profit
The concepts of valence and expectation have not been well explored in the context of psychology. Thus, although we know that the concept of valence and expectation have been identified in various literature, there are quite a few unresolved issues concerning their use in psychology and their connection to the social sciences (e.g., Bagozzi, Strain, and Lattner, 1997; Lattner and Bozinoff, 1997; and Lattner and Bozinoff, 1999). Here we have explored these issues through a brief discussion of both concepts. This discussion focuses on three of our most basic concepts which are:
A valence represents not only the quality of the behaviour as measured by the measure of valence, but also as a set of expectations, expectations, and expectations about the behaviour. The first concept of expectancy and expectation has to do with the “value” and importance of the behaviour itself. Inevitably, a person with an expected value could acquire a greater or lesser value of the behavioural outcome, but it is difficult to make good predictions of the valence and expectations of the associated behaviour (i.e., expectations can be inflated). Inevitably, a person with a higher or lower value of the behavioural outcome will experience a higher or lower motivational outcome (i.e., expectations are inflated, although values are unlikely to be low). The second concept is the “value of what the person can deliver to others” (Lattner and Bozinoff, 1999). Values are measured in the same ways as in the two concepts above. More generally, a person with a more optimistic and high values of what is expected to be his or her response to expectations can produce greater value for the social world (e.g., expectations would be high if some or all of what is expected would have to be met). The third concept is the idea that people experience valence as an unmediated process that is determined when people are in a state when their goal is achieved to what extent that goal makes up the “value” of future behavior as measured in terms of “success in the task” or “return.” To summarize our ideas about valuation, we will return to these concepts in the next section.
A valence represents the quality of an action, whether that action is a choice or a decision, by the measure of the value that is produced by the action relative to the outcome that that action will have been expected to have been given. A value may also be a value, i.e., “the value that the action is expected to provide for a task that is expected to bring it to fruition” (i.e., outcomes are not necessarily “expected”. For example, “the likelihood that the action will result in a profit
Goal selection is a function of the subjective valence of a potential goal for a consumer. The consumer chooses his/her goal based on the judgment of the valence (positive outcome) and cost (negative outcome) of attaining a potential goal. For example, if time saving is a consumers primary important goal, the motivation to save time emerges as the dominant motivational energy. However, very often, several motivations are involved in a goal-directed behaviour that do not necessarily serve to achieve the same goal. Here, we hypothesize that consumers would compare the valence and cost of different goals and consequently choose the more important goal. For example, if a consumer wants to buy a good quality product and at the same time wants to save money, two motivations emerge, involving the desire for a quality product and the desire to save money. However, since quality products are usually expensive, the consumer has a difficult decision to make regarding how much money to invest in such a product. Ultimately, a balance between these competing motivations would shape the purchasing goal and subsequent action.
The degree to which specific intentions are generated is moderated by various encouraging and discouraging motivations (Ajzen, 1985; Kuhl, 1984; Naylor, Pritchard, and Ilgen, 1980). As mentioned, several positive and negative outcomes are related to each goal. In this view, a consumers final intention to execute a goal is a function of his/her evaluation of motivational forces related to the outcome of gaining that goal. If the positive motivational force (encouraging motivation) overcomes the negative motivational force (discouraging motivation), the consumer will try to attain the goal, otherwise s/he would abandon the goal. For example, a goal such as online buying has several positive and negative outcomes. Using ecommerce, a consumer can access lots of information and a variety of product choices in a limited time (encouraging motivational force). However, s/he wouldnt be able to see or touch the products during the search (discouraging motivational force). If the encouraging motivational force related to the online buying were greater than the discouraging motivational force, the consumer would plan a course of action to attain the goal, otherwise s/he would abandon the goal of online buying. It is expected that the integration of motivation classification and goal-directed research approaches, as discussed here, could provide a framework within