Understanding consumer online shopping behaviour from the perspective of transaction costs

Figure 3.3 The Consequences of Consumer TCs of online Shopping 
Following that, an alternative mechanism for the TCs- customer loyalty relationship is 
proposed whereby customer satisfaction mediates the effect of TCs on customer loyalty (see 
Figure 3.4). Customer satisfaction refers to how pleased the customer is with the online store 
where he/she purchased the products. It has often been used to measure e-commerce success 
and its positive influence on customer post-purchasing behaviours, such as customer loyalty 
(MacDonald and Smith, 2004).
H4a:
−
H4b: 
−
Online 
Purchase 
Behaviour 
Customer 
Loyalty 
Perceived Consumer 
TCs of Online 
Shopping

---

118
Figure 3.4 The Partially Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction 
Next, consumer risk-bearing propensity and perceived enjoyment of online shopping are 
proposed to moderate the direct relationships between consumer TCs and behavioural 
consequences (see Figures 3.5 and 3.6). Specifically, consumer risk-bearing propensity (i.e., 
individuals differ in their risk-bearing attitude; some are risk-taking, while others are risk-
averse) and perceived enjoyment (i.e., consumer’s perception of online shopping being fun, 
exciting, enjoyable and interesting) are proposed to exert interaction effects with consumer 
TCs on online purchase behaviour and customer loyalty.
H5: + 
H4b: 
−
H4c: 
−
Customer 
satisfaction 
Customer 
Loyalty 
Perceived Consumer 
TCs of Online 
Shopping

---

119
Figure 3.5 The Moderating Role of Consumer Risk-Bearing Propensity 
 
 
Figure 3.6 The Moderating Role of Perceived Enjoyment of online Shopping 
H7a: 
−
H4a: 
−
H7b: 
−
H8b: 
−
Online 
Purchase 
Behaviour 
Customer 
Loyalty 
Consumer’s 
Risk-bearing 
Propensity 
Consumer’s 
Risk-bearing 
Propensity 
H4b: 
−
H4a: 
−
H8a: 
−
Perceived Consumer 
TCs of Online 
Shopping
Online 
Purchase 
Behaviour 
Customer 
Loyalty 
Perceived 
Enjoyment of 
Online Shopping 
Perceived Consumer 
TCs of Online 
Shopping
H4b: 
−
Perceived Consumer 
TCs of Online 
Shopping
Perceived Consumer 
TCs of Online 
Shopping
Perceived 
Enjoyment of 
Online Shopping 

---

120
Finally, the study proposes that the effects of antecedent variables on consumer TCs and the 
effects of TCs on the behaviour-related consequences may differ across product categories 
(search product versus experience product). Search products tend to represent products for 
which information can be easily obtained prior to purchase while experience products tend to 
represent products for which attributes-related information cannot be known prior to 
purchase. 
In summary, the proposed conceptual model specifies perceived Internet expertise, Internet 
access availability, online buying frequency, product quality concern, site design, e-service 
quality, reputation of the online store, perceived convenience, privacy and security concerns, 
and environmental uncertainty as the antecedents of consumer TCs associated with online 
shopping, online purchase behaviour and customer loyalty as the consequences of consumer 
TCs, customer satisfaction as the mediating variable between TCs and customer loyalty, and 
consumer’s risk-bearing propensity as well as perceived enjoyment of online shopping as the 
moderating variables between TCs and behavioural consequences. Construct definitions for 
the model and the rationales for the proposed hypotheses are detailed in the following 
section. The conceptual framework based on previous research on TCT and extended 
research offers a means of explaining online consumer behaviour, which can be useful to 
both e-business practitioners and academics.