Understanding consumers' purchase intention towards online group buying in China

Abstract

Many new online business models have emerged in recent years. In China, online group buying (OGB) is widely used as an effective marketing method. This paper provides a research model to examine the technology acceptance factors, social and psychological factors on Chinese customer's purchase intention towards online group buying. Questionnaire survey and statistical analysis method are used in this paper and 232 valid samples are collected. With the help of software SPSS 17.0, the research model and hypotheses are tested and some key factors affecting Chinese consumers' purchase intention towards OGB are found out. The results demonstrate that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, word-of-mouth, perceived low-price, and perceived playfulness positively affect consumers' purchase intention towards OGB in China, perceived risk has not a negative influence on purchase intention towards OGB in China and perceived low-price does not show the influence on perceived risks. Finally, based on the above results, some management inspirations are put forward. This study extends the application of technology adoption model (TAM) to study the adoption behavior in developing countries. Also, the findings provide specific directions for online group buying websites to improve their service and enhance their competitions.