International Consumer Behaviour in E-Commerce

Within only a few years, business use of the Internet has grown from a cautious experiment to a major element of the world economy. Online auction Web sites have become one of the fastest growing areas of international e-commerce. Yet, relatively little is known about the online auction phenomena in different parts of the world. While a large number of consumers worldwide frequently participate in online auctions, research on this international consumer behaviour and on the question of "what drives them to participate" is limited. This book by Stefan Bodenburg aims to predict consumer acceptance of online auction Web sites in New Zealand and Germany by proposing a set of key drivers for engaging consumers in online auctions. The framework uses the constructs of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a basis, extended by selected exogenous factors. The results indicate that the core TAM holds its explanatory power well in New Zealand and fundamentally so in Germany. However, the findings for the extended TAM demonstrate differences between consumers of the two countries, particularly with regard to their trust and risk perceptions. This book and its revised extended models can provide multinational business development strategists, Web site marketers and academics with an improved understanding of strategies and practices to employ.