Determinants of online shopping intention

The internet has become a key medium for the purchase of products and services in virtual markets and has effectively linked all countries and business. It has been estimated that the internet market is worth $300 billion in 1995. Through the internet, electronic commerce offers a tremendously wide variety of electronic business opportunities. One of them is online shopping which has become the third most popular internet activity after e-mail or instant messaging and web browsing. Malaysia is ranked 17th among 27 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America in terms of the percentage of internet users shopping online. Even though this method has started to win hearts of Malaysian consumers, the factors influencing the willingness to shop online are still unknown. Thus, the general objective of the study is to examine the factors that influence consumer's online shopping intention (dependent variable). The main independent variables are demographic, trusts, quality and loyalty to website visited. A 100 percent response rate was obtained from students sampled randomly. Findings indicate that quality and loyalty contributed 26.8 percent (R2 = 0.268) and 6.1 percent (R2 = 0.061) respectively to the variance in online shopping intention. Implications of the study are discussed

THE EFFECTS OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISEMENTS ON CONSUMERS: A CASE STUDY

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence ratio of outdoor advertisements on survey participants (consumers) who are living in Sivas city and to measure the effects on participants' purchasing behavior. The research also attempted to specify the different characteristics of outdoor advertisements in comparison to other advertising instruments. The other research aims are to designate the status of outdoor advertisements among the advertisement instruments which are thought to have an effect on the purchasing behavior of consumers and to determine the effects and dimensions of outdoor advertisements. A face-to-face interview survey is conducted on 400 person who live in Sivas city and who are selected with non-random sampling. Data were analyzed by using T-test, variant analysis and factor analysis. SPSS 15.0 for Windows was employed for the scale measurement. The result of the analysis shows that people generally have positive opinions about outdoor advertisements. They think that outdoor advertisements are more eye-catching and creative when compared to other advertisement types and their physical size lends them an effective visual impact. Respondents also stated that outdoor advertisements contribute to the cityscape in terms of variety and beauty, and they do not pollute the environment. However, awareness of outdoor advertisement amongst some people is relatively low. The results of the study indicate that outdoor advertisements which create different ideas, which are effective in informing and persuading people and which are sensitive to the environment can be viewed positively by consumers. In particular, amongst consumers with higher educational and income levels, outdoor advertisements are becoming striking and their visibility is increasing.outdoor advertisement, customer behavior, Turkey

Alter ego, state of the art on user profiling: an overview of the most relevant organisational and behavioural aspects regarding User Profiling.

This report gives an overview of the most relevant organisational and\ud behavioural aspects regarding user profiling. It discusses not only the\ud most important aims of user profiling from both an organisation’s as\ud well as a user’s perspective, it will also discuss organisational motives\ud and barriers for user profiling and the most important conditions for\ud the success of user profiling. Finally recommendations are made and\ud suggestions for further research are given

The UK geography of the E-Society: a national classification

It is simplistic to think of the impacts of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in terms of a single, or even small number of, 'digital divides'. As developments in what has been termed the ?e-society? reach wider and more generalisedaudiences, so it becomes appropriate to think of digital media as having wider-ranging but differentiated impacts upon consumer transactions, information gathering and citizen participation. This paper describes the development of a detailed, nationwide household classification based on levels of awareness of different ICTs; levels of use of ICTs; andtheir perceived impacts upon human capital formation and the quality of life. It discusses how geodemographic classification makes it possible to provide context for detailed case studies, and hence identify how policy might best improve both the quality and degree ofsociety?s access to ICTs. The primary focus of the paper is methodological, but it alsoillustrates how the classification may be used to investigate a range of regional and subregional policy issues. This paper illustrates the potential contribution of bespoke classifications to evidence-based policy, and the likely benefits of combining the most appropriate methods, techniques, datasets and practices that are used in the public and private sectors. It is simplistic to think of the impacts of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in terms of a single, or even small number of, 'digital divides'. As developments in what has been termed the ?e-society? reach wider and more generalisedaudiences, so it becomes appropriate to think of digital media as having wider-rangingbut differentiated impacts upon consumer transactions, information gathering and citizen participation. This paper describes the development of a detailed, nationwide household classification based on levels of awareness of different ICTs; levels of use of ICTs; and their perceived impacts upon human capital formation and the quality of life. It discusses how geodemographic classification makes it possible to provide context for detailed case studies, and hence identify how policy might best improve both the quality and degree of society?s access to ICTs. The primary focus of the paper is methodological, but it also illustrates how the classification may be used to investigate a range of regional and subregional policy issues. This paper illustrates the potential contribution of bespoke classifications to evidence-based policy, and the likely benefits of combining the most appropriate methods, techniques, datasets and practices that are used in the public and private sectors

Competition in markets for life insurance

This report presents an empirical analysis of competition in the market for life insurance. In this market, financial advisors play a large role. Therefore, the report devotes considerable attention to the functioning of the market for financial advice. The main findings are as follows. Empirical indicators of competition find only weak competition in the market for life insurance. There are substantial economies of scale, large X-inefficiencies, and limited competition as measured by the Boone-indicator compared to other services sectors. Also, the higher profitability of Dutch life insurers compared to their foreign peers suggests weak competition, although it should be pointed out that this indicator mainly reflects the situation in the past. Better functioning of financial advisors offers a key towards improving competition. Consumers who purchased annuities through advisors are found to achieve lower pay-outs than consumers who purchased directly from life insurers. This finding underlines the importance of more transparency of life insurance products and of independent advice.