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impact of TCs on a consumer’s decision to be loyal towards an online vendor in a continuing
transaction context. Empirical evidence derived from this study shows that a rational
economic actor (i.e., online shopper) evaluates the utility of the
transaction with an online
vendor and experiences the lowest TCs associated with purchasing at the most efficient
online vendor. By assessing the perceived TCs, it would become easier and more effective for
consumers to decide whether or not to purchase at and patronize the online store in future.
Meanwhile, from an academic point of view, the study contributes to a clearer understanding
of the complex online consumer behaviour by explicating it from the TC perspective.
Fifthly, to explain the mechanism underlying the impact of TCs on customer loyalty, this
study posits that customer satisfaction is the underlying link for an individual customer’s
loyalty building towards an online store. The results reveal that customer satisfaction acts as a
partial mediating role in the relationship between TCs and loyalty.
It clarifies how and why
customer satisfaction matters in the contribution of TCs to loyalty by showing its mediating
role. In fact, previous studies have highlighted the importance of customer satisfaction in
exchange processes and indicated that satisfaction has a strong effect on customer loyalty
development (Deng
et al.
2010, Kassim and Abdullah 2010, Chang and Wang 2011, Flint
et
al.
2011). This study illuminates an alternative mechanism for the TCs- loyalty relationship
whereby customer satisfaction mediates the effect of TCs on loyalty. In this regard, the
finding not only extends the transactional application of customer satisfaction by exhibiting
its partial mediating role but also makes important theoretical contributions to TCT literature
by clarifying the underlying process of TCs influencing consumers’ post-purchase behaviour.
Sixthly, this study examines the factors that moderate the
impacts of consumer TCs on
behavioural consequences. This consideration has been largely ignored in the past research.
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In an attempt to shed some light on this issue and provide more precise managerial
implications concerning how cost-reduction activities can be conducted to entice purchasers
to shop online more frequently and ultimately improve their loyalty, the study identifies a
consumer’s risk-bearing propensity and perceived enjoyment of online shopping as the key
moderators of the effects of TC on a consumer’s decision to purchase from or be loyal to, an
online vendor. Although the empirical results failed to support the moderating role of the
consumer’s risk-bearing propensity in the relationship between
consumer TCs and online
purchase behaviour, and the moderating effect of the perceived enjoyment on the relationship
between TCs and loyalty, the findings confirm that the risk-bearing propensity moderates the
relationship between TCs and loyalty, and that enjoyment perception moderates the effects of
TCs on online purchase behaviour. To the best of researcher’s knowledge,
the study is among
the first to test the interactive effects between consumer TCs, risk-bearing propensity, and
perception of enjoyment of online shopping, when estimating their cumulative impacts on
online purchase behaviour and customer loyalty.
Seventhly, the model is tested across two product categories, thereby providing some
evidence of the generalizability of the research model. Exploring the differences of the
hypothesized relationships in two product categories is noteworthy
because the knowledge
generated from the product comparisons enables online vendors to formulate and implement
more effective and accurate strategies to solve existing problems and improve the company’s
performance. The findings provide empirical evidences to marketing professionals by
expounding on which product category consumers are more willing to purchase online and
are more likely to be satisfied with and repurchase from online stores in future. The findings
have also contributed to the consumer TC research by distinguishing the similarities and
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differences in consumers’ perceptions of antecedent variables between the search products
and the experience products.
Finally, previous research on TCs has commonly used samples from Western countries. By
adopting and testing the TCT in an Asian country, this study demonstrates its
applicability in
a non-Western context. In developing countries, such as China, e-commerce has been
growing at an amazing speed in recent years. The findings of the study reveal the main
reasons for this phenomenon, provide in-depth explanations based on the analysis of
consumer TCs, and contribute to understanding developing countries (e.g. China).
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