Understanding consumer online shopping behaviour from the perspective of transaction costs

Table 4.12 Privacy and Security Concerns Measurement Items
 
 
PSC1. I am concerned over the security of personal information exchange via the Internet.
PSC2. I am concerned that my personal information may be shared with business without my 
consent as a result of purchasing via the Internet.
PSC3. When sending a message or transmitting information via the Internet, I am concerned 
that it may be read or stored by some other person/entity/company without my knowledge.
PSC4. I am worried about the security of financial transactions carried out via the Internet.
PSC5. I am uncomfortable giving my credit card number via the Internet. 
 
 
4.6.11 Environmental Uncertainty 
Environmental uncertainty of online shopping is defined as the unpredicted changes in 
circumstances surrounding an online transaction and the difficulty in determining the 
potential impact of external environment on online shoppers (Rindfleisch and Heide 1997). 
Discussions with pre-test participants indicated that the respondents’ concerns about the 
external environment beyond the direct control by the two transaction parties mainly derive 
from the uncertainty of the effectiveness of governmental regulation in protecting consumers’ 
interests, the credibility of media reports and reliability of online consumer reviews.
Drawing from a review of online environment uncertainty literature (Cheung and Lee 2002, 
Edwards
 et al.
2002, Negash
 et al.
2003, Do-Hyung
 et al.
2007), this study developed seven 
items (see table 4.13) to measure a consumer’s environmental concern. The items reflect the 
possible sources of environmental uncertainty that a consumer might encounter with respect 
to laws and regulations, mass media report as well as online reviews about 
product/service/store. Respondents were asked to rate the level of difficulty in ensuring 
whether existing laws and regulations are good enough for protecting them from problems on 
the Internet, protecting their interests, and regularizing the online vendors’ behaviour, 
whether media reports are credible and can well supervise e-retailers, and whether online 

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reviews are authentic and provide facts in support of their position on a seven-point scale (1 
=‘strongly disagree’ and 7=‘strongly agree’). A high score was indicative of a great concern 
about external environment.