Lòng tin và hành vi mua của người tiêu dùng trực tuyến tt tiếng anh

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY - LE NGUYEN BINH MINH TRUST AND CONSUMERS’ BUYING BEHAVIOR ON INTERNET Major: Marketing/Business Management Code : 62 34 01 02 DOCTORAL THESIS IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Hochiminh city, 2020 i The dissertation was completed at: HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY Supervisor: Associate Professor Hoang Thi Phuong Thao, Ph.D Reviewer 1: Reviewer 2: Reviewer 3: This doctoral thesis will be defended at the Examination Committee at: Time: This dissertation can be found at: ii AUTHOR’S PUBLICATIONS RELATED TO THIS DISSERTATION Le Nguyen Binh Minh & Hoang Thi Phuong Thao (2020), Measuring Trusts And The Effects On The Consumers’ Buying Behavior, Journal of Distribution Science, 18(3), 5-14 Le, Nguyen Binh Minh Le & Hoang, Thi Phuong Thao (2020), Online Buying Behaviors on E-Retailer Websites in Vietnam: The Differences in the Initial Purchase and Repurchase, In Solanki, V.K., Hoang, M.K., Lu, Z.J., Pattnaik, P.K (Eds.) Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing: Intelligent Computing in Engineering, Springer, 845851 Tran Van Hung, Le Nguyen Binh Minh & Vo Thi Ngoc Lien, (2020), Factors affecting the confidence of online shoppers on e-commerce platforms in Vietnam, Economic Research, 500 (1), 19-27 (Vietnamese) Hoang Thi Phuong Thao & Le Nguyen Binh Minh (2019), The Relationship of Reputation, Risk Perception, Online Consumer Trust and Shopping Behavior, Economic Research, 498 (11), 38-48 (Vietnamese) Le Nguyen Binh Minh & Hoang Thi Phuong Thao (2019), Online Buying Behaviors on E-Retailer Websites in Vietnam: The Differences in the Initial Purchase and Repurchase, The 4th International Conference on Research in Intelligent and Computing in Engineering (RICE 2019) Le Nguyen Binh Minh (2018), E-commerce and consumer spending behavior on Vietnam's retail websites, Binh Duong Economics-Technology, 23, 72-79 (Vietnamese) Le Nguyen Binh Minh & Tu Minh Khai (2018), The influence of trust on buying behavior on retail websites in Vietnam, Journal of Industry and Trade, 11, 372-379 (Vietnamese) Le Nguyen Binh Minh & Hoang Thi Phuong Thao (2017), How Trust Affects Vietnamese Consumers Purchasing Behavior at E-retailer, The 2nd International Conference on Business with Leading and Innovating Sustainable Business Development, Open University, Hochiminh City CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Theoretical and Practical Foundations 1.1.1 E-commerce at a glance Vietnam is considered to be one of the countries with the highest growth of internet users in the world (28%, ranked 4th) (Wearesocial, 2018) Vietnam has a population of 95 million, of which 50 million are internet users with an average daily internet access time of hours 53 minutes on computers, laptops, and tablets, and hours 33 minutes on mobile phones while spending only hour 26 minutes watching television (Wearesocial, 2017) Also according to Wearesocial (2017), the total value of Vietnam's e-commerce industry in 2016 reached (US)$ 1.8 billion, and revenue per consumer is estimated at (US)$ 55 Currently, the number of online consumers in Vietnam is about 33 million, accounting for 35% of Vietnam's population; therefore, the market capacity is still very large which will be a great opportunity for e-commerce and online retail industry to increase growth in the future (Wearesocial, 2017) 1.1.2 Theoretical perspective Although e-commerce has much special potential in the retail industry, it also has many barriers that need to be overcome The study was done by Hoang and Swierczek (2008) stating that Vietnam's market still has many barriers related to laws, regulations, payment systems, security technologies, risks, scams, and technology crimes Moreover, according to previous studies, trust is an important factor that encourage consumers to make their purchases in the internet environment (Corbitt, Thanasankit, and Yi, 2003; Ho and Chen, 2013) Some authors argue that to succeed in Internet-based business, online retailers need to build and maintain customer trust (Pappas, 2016; Pavlou and Fygenson, 2006; Suh and Han, 2003; Vos et al., 2014) While, other authors found negative impacts of perceived risks on purchasing decisions (Hong and Cha, 2013; Kamarulzaman, 2007) related to products (Ward and Lee, 2000) and retailers' websites (Jiang, Jones, and Javie, 2008) Thus, how the concepts of trust and perceived risk will interact and affect buyers, to answer this question, more research is needed to understand the relationship between consumer trust, perceived risk, and buying behavior Besides, the results of this research will help online retailers strategically cope with consumers' trust and perceived risks effectively 1.1.3 Background to the research Currently, studies on trust have not been consistent The concept of trust is often measured as a general and simple construct while only a few studies measure this concept as higher order construct Although many studies suggest that the concept of trust is a multi-dimensional construct and complex but few studies argue and develop this construct explicitly, as well as the mechanism of its formation in the online environment in Vietnam The reason to reconsider measuring this concept is that an inadequate measurement will not capture the concept correctly This study is based on theoretical arguments, empirical studies, and qualitative research to develop scale of measurement for the construct of trust Moreover, many studies have only stopped at measuring initial or ongoing trust, but few studies measured both stages to see the impact of trust and perceived risk on buying behavior The findings in prior research are varied in term of the relationship among perceived risk, trust and buying behavior in the context of online shopping In addition, many e-commerce studies measure consumer buying intention while only a few evaluate consumer buying behavior This study proposes to measure buying behavior in two forms, (1) considering the purchase behavior as a latent concept embodied in various observable and measurable behaviors (such as placing an order, confirming orders, etc.), measuring through statements and Likert scales, (2) considering the purchase behavior as a simple action of making a purchase therefore, it is considered the value of the order of a product (or many products) to be a scale The values are then transferred to the Likert scale to measure in a structural equation model The results of these two approaches will be compared and contrasted in this thesis 1.2 Problem statement The concept of trust has been studied in many different areas and aspects such as social exchange, organizational behavior, communication, strategic alliance, and service marketing (Morgan and Hunt, 1994) The thesis continues to explore trust in marketing and consider its impact on the online shopping behavior of consumers This concept is also being focused by researchers due to the complexity of different beliefs and opinions in approaching it Several studies indicate that the concept of trust should be approached in a process with different stages (Johns, 1996; Kim, 2012) Accordingly, trust is divided into two situations, namely "initial trust" and "ongoing trust" Initial trust is a concept that indicates a customer generating trust with a retailer without prior experience in interaction or with the partner's product or service (primary information) (Kim, 2012; McKnight, Cummings, and Chervany, 1998) but relying heavily on other information to build trusts such as reputation, structural assurance, warranty policies, third party guarantees (secondary sources) and propensity to trust Ongoing trust, on the other hand, is built on different bases which depend primarily on the experience and prior interactions (primary sources) to evaluate the retailer's competence, benevolence and integrity Ongoing trust will be gained after the customers make their first purchase Although many studies suggest that the concept of trust is complex and difficult to measure but few studies argue and understand the formation of this concept explicitly, as well as the mechanism of its formation in the online environment in Vietnam The reason why it is necessary to reconsider the measurement of this construct is that an inadequate measurement will not capture the concept correctly The author based on theoretical arguments, empirical studies, and qualitative research to develop scale of measurement for the construct of trust Moreover, many studies have only stopped at measuring initial or ongoing trust, but few studies measured both stages to see the impact of trust and perceived risk on buying behavior; and there is still much controversy about whether to include both the risk factor and trust in measuring online purchasing behavior In addition, measuring the purchasing behavior of online consumers instead of their purchasing intention is also a new and meaningful contribution This study will approach the concept of trust as a dynamic construct, going from the initial trust formation stage to the ongoing trust to see its impact on consumer purchasing decisions That means the initial trust induces customers to trust and buy for the first time, then it continues and lead to repeat purchases The components of trust will be explored and measured as well as provide a model whereby we can see the effect of trust on the online purchase behavior of consumers 1.3 Research Questions and Research Objectives 1.3.1 Research objectives The objectives of the research are: (1) To identify factors from retailer’s website that affects consumer’s trust; (2) To analyze components of consumer’s trust (initial trust and ongoing trust); (3) To identify perceived risk that affects consumer’s trust in online shopping; (4) To examine the relationship between trust (initial trust and ongoing trust) and buying behavior (first purchase and repeat purchase), between trust and customer satisfaction, as well as between buying behavior and customer satisfaction; (5) To explore the moderating effects of gender, uncertainty avoidance, and experience on the relationship between perceived risk and initial purchase and between consumer’s trust and initial purchase; (6) To give recommendations for e-retailers in building consumer’s trust and eventually affects buying behavior and customer satisfaction; 1.3.2 Research questions Research questions: (1) Which factors from retailer’s website that affects consumer’s trust? (2) What are the components of consumer’s trust? (3) Does perceived risk affects consumer’s trust in online shopping? (4) Is there any relationship exist between trust (initial trust and ongoing trust) and buying behavior (first purchase and repeat purchase), between trust and customer satisfaction, as well as between buying behavior and customer satisfaction; (5) Is there any moderating effects of gender, uncertainty avoidance, and experience on the relationship between perceived risk and initial purchase and between consumer’s trust and initial purchase; (6) Is there any recommendation for e-retailers in building consumer’s trust and support for buying behavior and customer satisfaction; 1.4 Delimitations of scope 1.4.1 Research problem The object of the research is the impact of online consumer trust on buying behavior on the retailers’ website using different forms of payment (online payment or cash-on-delivery (COD)) Thus, the unit of analysis will be consumers who buy products online (B2C model) via the retailer's website In this research, the author focuses on products offered on popular e-commerce websites 1.4.2 Scope of research The research focuses on online buying behavior with common items traded by e-commerce websites (consumer goods, household appliances, electronics, electronics, and fashion, etc.) Moreover, it collects data from people who go shopping on popular websites such as Tiki, Lazada, Adayroi, Shopee This research study the online customer trust with e-retailers who selling popular items online in Vietnam The studied companies are those with a website offering consumer goods (B2C) and the studied customers are those with shopping experience on these websites These transactions history can be retrieved from their account database and buyers can access this information to respond, and the target participant is one who directly conducts the search and buy items on the website Based on results from qualitative research, the author builds models, scales, and questionnaires to survey and re-examine the relationships and the effects of factors on trust in customers’ purchasing decisions In terms of time, the topic will focus mainly on customers who have purchased online in the last years The customers with the first purchase and repeat purchase within months are interviewed so that the respondents can remember and describe exactly their feelings when they made the first purchase 1.5 Research issues contribution 1.5.1 Theoretical contribution First, this research reviews the theory of trust, risk, consumer behavior and suggesting that measuring the concept of trust is a multidimensional construct consisting of two components: trusting beliefs and trusting intention, in which trust beliefs includes other components: competence, benevolence and integrity Second, the author discovers the change of consumer trust over time (before and after purchase) The initial trust and ongoing trust is distinguished by the buying behavior of consumers Third, this research measures buying behavior instead of buying intention In this study, the buying behavior is measured as a latent construct and through order values, then results of these two measures are compared and contrasted Fourth, this thesis explores the initial buying behavior and repeat buying behavior which takes into account the impact of other concepts on the first purchase and repeat purchasing process on the internet Compare the average value of first-time orders and repeated orders Other concepts that influence trust and buying behavior in this research are website quality (information, design, navigation), risk perception, reputation, and satisfaction Fifth, the research identifies the outstanding points of price in the first and repeat purchases Lastly, the author explores the moderating impact of personal traits such as gender, uncertainty avoidance, and online shopping experience in the relationship between trust and first purchase and between perceived risk and first purchase 1.5.2 Practical contribution The topic provides useful information for online retailers for better understanding the role of consumer trust and thereby have sufficient solutions in building and strengthening customers' trust during their online purchase process The research benefits to most of the companies due to the development of technology and more and more companies about to join e-commerce E-retailers should pay more attention to building a quality website in terms of information, navigation, and website interface to attract consumers and create trust from the first exposure Moreover, this research help companies understand the importance of trust and strategy to build customer trust over time 1.6 Methodology The author uses a combination of different research tools and methods to yield practical and theoretical results Both qualitative and quantitative research were employed in which the qualitative research will discovers customers' perceptions about trusted websites, customer’s trust, online transactions as well as scales to measure these concepts Meanwhile, the quantitative approach is used to test the scales and the relationship among these concepts in the research model The objectives of this research are finding the factors affecting consumers’ trust and buying behavior on the internet, the unit of analysis is online consumer 1.7 Outline of the report To accomplish the stated research objectives, this thesis structure consists of the following chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction, Chapter 2: Literature review, Chapter 3: Research methodology, Chapter 4: Qualitative research, Chapter 5: Quantitative research, Chapter 6: Conclusion, implication and limitation CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Basic concepts E-retailer: a retailer who sells products to consumers on the internet (Clarke, 2008; Collier & Bienstock, 2006) With the rise of the internet and new technologies, there are more tools and media than ever before to reach potential customers as well as to develop relationships with customers Belief: is defined as the subjective ability of an individual to perform a specific action that results in a certain outcome (Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1989; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) Trust: the perception that the trustee has trustworthy characteristics and is willing to take risks and rely on the partner (Mcknight et al, 2004; Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt, & Camerer, 1998) Hence, trust is a combination of belief (benevolence, competence, and integrity) and the intention of trust (willingness to rely on others) (Jarvenpaa et al., 2000; Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995; Mcknight et al, 2004; Rousseau et al, 1998) Initial trust: Swift trust is a unique form of trust that occurs in ‘‘short-lived, transient, and fleeting’’ temporary organizational structures (Meyerson, Weick, & Kramer, 1996) According to McKnight et al (1998) initial trust between parties shall not be based on any experience or knowledge of the other party Rather it will be based on the willingness of an individual to trust or on institutional signals that encourage one person to trust another without first-hand knowledge Ongoing trust: positive customer beliefs related to the reliability and integrity of retailers (Kim, 2012; Lee & Choi, 2011), ongoing trust is measured over a given period of time and includes repetitive buying behavior Trust related behaviors: actions that show a reliance on an online retailer that can leave them at a disadvantage or take risks related to personal information and themselves (Mayer et al, 1995; McKnight, Choudhury, & Kacmar, 2002a; Zand, 1972) According to McKnight et al (2002a), behaviors that express trust in e-commerce include sharing personal information, making purchases, and following website recommendations Perceived risk: is defined as the consumer’s subjective belief of suffering a loss in pursuit of a desired outcome (Bauer, 1960; Pavlou, 2003) Cheung & Lee (2000) also argue that perceived risk is the awareness of online consumers about the possibility of receiving unexpected results or consequences Thus risk perception consists of two components that are (1) uncertainty/risk or probability of possible losses and (2) the consequences or importance of the losses 11 other signals to assess the party while ongoing trust based on prior experience and interaction with e-retailers 2.4.6 Ongoing trust Ongoing trust is a trust that refers to beliefs based on different sources of information to build trust, which is based on the past experience, and history of interaction (firsthand knowledge) to assess the retailer's ability, benevolence, and integrity Ongoing trust is formed after customers make their first purchase with the e-retailer It is consumer’s belief about retailer's reliability and integrity (Kim, 2012; Lee and Choi, 2011), ongoing trust is observable interactions over time, and leads to repeated buying behavior Ongoing trust shows the importance of strengthening and maintaining relationships among the parties, and finally build customer loyalty (Gefen, 2000, 2002a; Kong and Hung, 2006; Wu, 2013) Therefore, ongoing trust is reinforced by the beliefs related to competence, benevolence, and integrity over time The concept of ongoing trust is close to the concept of loyalty, but focus more on attitude and belief about e-retailer which increases when consumers are satisfied and happy with previous shopping experience Thus, satisfaction should have significant impact over ongoing trust 2.4.7 Trust in online shopping/purchasing Based on the buying process in consumer behavior, integrated with theories of trust and customer behavior in e-commerce, the author proposes a conceptual framework about customer's online purchase process in which showing the role of online trust (see Figure 2.11) Figure 2.11 Conceptual framework of trust and online buying behavior Design First Buy/Try Initial Trust Ongoing Trust Navigation Web Need recognition Searching Information + Search engine + Friends and relatives + Social networks Information Perceived Risk Satisfaction Reputation Repeat Purchase Do not trust/do not feel safe/unsatisfied Refuse to purchase/switch to another option Source: Author proposed, 2017 12 2.5 Risk perception 2.5.1 Perceived risk Perceived risk means that the person believes that there are negative consequences if he or she makes the wrong decision The greater the risk if the product is more expensive and complex Moreover, there is risk when others know one’s choice and he/she will feel ashamed if the choice is incorrect (Solomon, 2017) Perceived risk is strongly correlate with that of consumer behavior because consumers often find ways to avoid mistakes rather than maximize the usefulness of shopping (Mitchell, 1998) The perceived risk of online shopping is higher than that of traditional trasaction (Cheung and Lee, 2000) Peter and Ryan (1976) suggest that perceived risk has two components including uncertainty or probability of loss and the consequences or severity of losses 2.5.2 The propensity to trust and risk The propensity to trust and distrust growth and co-exists within each individual as they cope with different situations in life Over time, a person develops a propensity to trust/doubt others and they use this experience to evaluate new relationships (Rotter, 1971) Although this propensity is relatively stable as a habit, it may also change (Mayer et al., 1995) when experiences, beliefs/distrust become more negative or more positive through events in that personal life 2.6 Satisfaction Oliver (1997) states that satisfaction is the reaction of consumers to the satisfied needs and wants In other words, the satisfaction is when customer use the products/services and comparing the consumption results with their expectations According to disconfirmation theory, when experiencing products, consumers will compare results or experiences with that of the expectations If consumers' expectations are greater than the performance, they will feel unsatisfied, if the results are matched they will feel satisfied, and in the case of great results than what they expected they will be surprised, and delighted 2.7 Cultural and personal traits 2.7.1 Cultural Hofstede (2001) defined culture as a program set in the minds of individuals in one group and distinguishing members of one group from another 2.7.2 Personal traits Personal characteristics of consumers include age, gender, shopping experience, education, etc These characteristics are often considered as important segmentation criteria in Marketing that helps businesses to group consumers into important segments so that they have different 13 marketing strategies and campaigns Moreover, via analyzing individual characteristics the study can achieve specific results for each target group Therefore, the author also put in personal characteristics to explore the differences in research results among group of customers 2.8 Develop a research model and hypotheses 2.8.1 The impact of website quality on trust and perceived risk H1: Website interface design positively affects consumers' initial trust H2: Website navigation positively affects consumers' initial trust H3: Website information positively affects consumers' initial trust H4: Website information negatively affects perceived risk 2.8.2 The impact of reputation on trust, perceived risk, and satisfaction H5: Website reputation positively impacts consumers' initial trust H6: Website reputation negatively affects consumer’s perceived risk H7: Website reputation positively impacts consumers' satisfaction 2.8.3 The impact of perceived risk on buying behavior H8: Perceived risk negatively impacts consumers’ buying behavior H9: Perceived risk negatively impacts consumers’ repeat purchasing behavior 2.8.4 The relationship between satisfaction and trust H10: Initial trust positively affects consumer satisfaction H11: Satisfaction positively affects consumers' ongoing trust 2.8.5 Trust, buying behavior and satisfaction H12: Initial trust positively affects consumers' first try/first purchase H13: Ongoing trust positively affects consumers’ repeat purchases H14: Consumers’ initial purchase positively affects consumers’ satisfaction H15: Satisfaction positively affects consumers’ repeat purchasing behavior 2.8.6 Culture, personal factors, and original trust H16a: Gender moderate the relationship between perceived risk and initial purchase H16b: Gender moderate the relationship between trust and initial purchase H16c: Uncertainty avoidance moderate the relationship between risk and initial purchase H16d: Uncertainty avoidance moderate the relationship between trust and initial purchase H16e: Experience moderate the relationship between perceived risk and initial purchase H16f: Experience moderate the relationship between trust and initial purchase 2.8.7 Compare the proposed model with previous studies The hypotheses H8, H9, H11, H12, H13, H14, H15 & H16 are new contributions in the research model 14 Figure 2.12 Proposed research model Design Navigation Information Reputation Uncertainty avoidance, Internet usage experience, gender H16(a,b,c,d,e,f) First H1 H12 Buy/Trial Initial Ongoing H2 Trust Trust H14 H8 H11 H3 H4 H9 H13 H5 Perceived H10 Risk Repeat H15 H6 Satisfaction Purchase H7 Source: Author proposed, 2017 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research process Figure 3.1 Research process IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS AND OBJECTIVES Literature Review STEP REVIEW THEORIES AND RELATED DOCUMENTS STEP In-depth interview (n=30) QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Develop measuring scale Build a questionnaire STEP QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH Preliminary survey (n=250) Scale reliability check EFA Analysis Testing research model Primary survey Refine questionaire CONCLUSION STEP CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS Source: Author proposed, 2017 3.2 Qualitative research 3.3 Quantitative research CHAPTER 4: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND FINDINGS 4.1 Results from an in-depth interview In short, the online buying process is quite similar to the traditional purchasing process, but trust plays an important role in the consideration stage and focuses more on building trust on the internet The author synthesizes, summarizes, and illustrates customer trust building process or online shopping process through Figure 4.1, in which potential customers seek 15 product information from sources such as social networks, search engines, family, or friends and display ads Then visit the retailer's specific website, if the retailer's website appears to be a trustworthy site that makes an initial impression then they will buy for the first time after considering the risk factor If they are satisfied with the shopping experience the first time they will come back to buy more products or other products from this site, the process will continue over and over again, if they are not satisfied with experience or product in a previous purchase, they may turn to other retailer's websites or choose a different form of shopping As such, the first purchase is important and after trusting the retailer's competence, the retailer needs to maintain the trust of the customer at a later stage by showing that he/she is a responsible supplier and integrity because they have already proven their capability on the first purchase Figure 4.1 The process of building customer confidence Source of information Social Network Search Engines Display ads/email Family and friends Trust building factors Reputation Branded Products Friend & family suggestions Retailer’s Website Web design/interface Warranty Policies Customers’ Reviews Online supports Trust building and reinforcement process Perceived Risk First time order/ Trial Satisfaction Repeat purchase Dissatisfaction Switch Source: From qualitative research, 2017 4.2 Modifying scales for constructs As presented for the qualitative research design in Chapter 3, in which several experts and subjects were selected (including 10 respondents in the interview and experts see Annex D) adjust the questionnaire These discussions were made after the in-depth interview that mentioned above (some participants were selected from the interview) Other discussion for experts were taken place in offices, cafes, or at their home After collect and consolidate the opinions and comments of the interviewees related to the suggested scale, the author adjusted and added some questions after the process of learning about the online purchasing behavior of consumers Twenty-two of these were excluded because these statements were not clear when translated from the original scale, some of them confusing and obscure, and not knowing how to answer, some answered find it hard to observe and evaluate or hard to remember for evaluation Twenty-one statements need to be adjusted in terms of sentences and ideas to make them easier to understand and suitable for the surveyed object Nineteen statements are kept unchanged There are 16 added statements to the questionnaire to compensate to items that have been eliminated 16 CHAPTER 5: QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH AND FINDINGS 5.1 Preliminary research results 5.2 Statistics and summary of data Table 5.1 Sample characteristics Group N Age 40 Marital Status Single Married, without children Married, with children Education Primary & Secondary High School Undergraduates Graduates Others Place of Residence Ho Chi Minh Ha Noi Hue – Da Nang Others F 595 % 100 20 3,4 365 61,3 125 21,0 66 11,1 19 3,2 492 82,7 19 3,2 84 14,1 0,3 25 4,2 462 77,6 101 17,0 0,8 525 88,4 23 3,9 40 6,7 Income (million) 30 Occupation Students Staff Freelancers Teachers Entrepreneurs Managers Vendors Factory workers Homemakers Engineers Retired Others Gender Male Female F % 272 45,7 166 27,9 69 11,6 40 6,7 23 3,9 1,3 17 2,9 239 40,2 171 28,7 69 11,6 47 7,9 25 4,2 23 3,9 1,2 0,3 0,3 0,3 0,3 209 35,1 386 64,9 Order Value (unit: thousand dongs) Source: Author’s analysis, 2018 Figure 5.1 Frequency of purchase value (first time) 10000 2700 900 545 350 260 189 120 80 20 1000; 2,7% 500; 9,4% 300; 9,1% 200; 16% 150; 4,5% 100; 7,2% 20 40 60 Frequency 80 100 Source: Author’s analysis, 2018 17 Order Value (unit: thousand dongs) Figure 5.2 Frequency of purchase value (highest value repetition) 52750 16000 7500 4725 2700 1546 1140 878 613 420 320 248 107 32 5000; 1,8% 2000; 3,2% 1000; 3,7% 800; 3,9% 600; 4,7% 200; 4,9% 20 40 Frequency 500; 12,6% 300; 8,9% 60 80 Source: Author’s analysis, 2018 Table 5.2 Average value of online shopping orders ORD1 ORD2 N 595 595 Lowest 20.000 0,00 Highest 75.200.000 204.700.000 Mean 1.191.818 2.845.326 S.D 4.683.257 11.226.999 Source: Author’s analysis, 2018 5.3 Scale Measurement and Structural Equation Model 5.3.2 Cronbach’s alpha 5.3.3 Initial trust (a third order construct) Figure 5.4 Initial trust scale (standardized) Source: Author’s analysis, 2018 18 5.3.4 Ongoing trust (third order construct) Figure 5.6 Ongoing trust scale (standardized) Source: Author’s analysis, 2018 5.3.5 Saturated model for constructs before purchasing 5.3.6 Saturated model for constructs after purchasing 5.4 Testing relationships among constructs in the research model 5.4.1 Measuring buying behavior as a latent construct (set of items) Figure 5.9 Structural equation model (buying behavior as latent construct) Source: Author’s analysis, 2018 19 5.4.2 Measuring buying behavior by the value of shopping order Figure 5.10 Structural equation model (buying behavior as value order) Source: Author’s analysis, 2018 Table 5.30 Comparison of hypothetical results of research and competition models Hypothesis Research model Competitive model Design  Trust (I) H01 Supported Supported Navigation  Trust (I) H02 Supported Supported Information  Trust (I) H03 Supported Supported Information  Risk H04 Rejected Rejected Reputation  Trust (I) H05 Supported Supported Reputation  Risk H06 Supported Supported Reputation  Satisfaction H07 Supported Supported Risk  Buy (F) H08 Supported Reversed Risk  Buy (R) H09 Rejected Reversed Trust (I)  Satisfaction H10 Supported Supported Satisfaction  Trust (O) H11 Supported Supported Trust (I)  Buy (F) H12 Supported Supported Trust (O)  Buy (R) H13 Supported Rejected Buy (F)  Satisfaction H14 Supported Rejected Satisfaction  Buy (R) H15 Supported Rejected H16(a-f) Supported Rejected The relationship between the concepts The regulatory impact of gender, risk avoidance trends, and online shopping experience I: Initial; O: Ongoing; F: First; R: Repeat Source: Author’s Analysis, 2018 20 5.5 Discussion 5.5.1 Building trust in online shopping 5.5.2 Measuring buying behavior 5.5.3 Factors influence trust and buying behavior 5.5.4 Multi groups analysis (Genders, Experience, Uncertainty avoidance) 5.6 Chapter conclusion CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 6.1 Conclusion The results of the interviews show why young consumers who work full-time, and well educated people tend to buy online, in which most people around them (friends and colleagues) have bought things online Moreover, due to the limited time, most people with full-time jobs often search and shop for products online, which is considered as a convenient solution that saves time Before reaching an online retailer, consumers can get suggested information from search engines, family, and friends Moreover, they may also be attracted to other sources of information such as social networks or display ads Two important factors for consumers when shopping online are convenience and good deals (low prices), therefore they tend to look for products from different online retailers After comparing prices and pick up from a retailer that matches their requirements, while taking into account the reputation and credibility of an online retailer As opposed to traditional transactions, consumers often concern financial risks and product risks, for instant, they may receive an unexpected product or lose money when make a transaction with an untrusted e-retailer If an e-retailer can help potential customers form their initial trust by showing the signal of a trusted retailer with interesting terms (e.g cash on delivery (COD); and refund policy) they will place the first order (trial) However, to keep customers coming back, it is necessary to ensure that customers are satisfied with the product/service and so they may form ongoing trust Customers hesitate to take action because of perceived risks and lack of trust in e-retailers Trust affect customers' buying decisions, e.g buyers may refuse to make transaction from an online retailer even though he/she is offering good products at the lowest prices The trust factor plays an important role in the entire buying process of customers, but it is not explicitly mentioned in a simple question, so this factor can be considered an abstract concept In other words, it only appears when author conduct an in-depth discussion or putting customers in specific situations According to customers’ explanation, a reliable retailer should have enough "ability" to satisfy customers regarding service and product quality, they must have "responsibility" and keep the “commitment” in business, and ultimately they must have "morality" and "kindness" by seeking interest for customers and the community 21 Moreover, the author has developed a model to build and reinforce trust in the online shopping process from the initial stage to the repeat purchases stage As discussed in the theory trust is complex, and multidimensional construct which is measured as a third-order construct Measurement scale were adapted from previous studies and developed from qualitative research The concept of trust was measured in general, or divided into stages but did not measure these constructs at once to see the differences The findings in this study suggest that initial trust (the pre-purchase period) is a multidimensional construct that includes trusting intention and trusting belief where belief have three components namely competence, integrity, and benevolence While ongoing trust (after purchase) is difference in which it has only important components: benevolence and integrity This finding have significant contribution that confirms the concept of trust is complicated and dynamic that change overtime Purchasing behavior in this study is measured in terms of latent variables and order value, and offers two research models to compare and contrast The findings showed that when measured buying behavior as latent variable, most of the hypotheses were accepted, the relationships were as expected support for theories discuss in literature review While in the competitive model, some relationships were reversed compared to discussed theories, R-squared of constructs in competitive model are lower than the proposed research model The factors affecting buying behavior such as trust and perceived risk in research model, in which trust has significant impact on buying behavior compared to perceived risk for both stages first time order and repeat order with highest value In the competitive model, the impact of trust and risk on initial and repeat purchasing behavior is relatively equal and have a low impact Thus, in the research model where purchasing behavior is measured as a latent construct, trust has more impacts on buying behavior, whereas in the competitive model, measured buying behavior as the value of order has low R squared and trust has lower effects over buying behavior compared to research model The moderating effects of gender, uncertainty avoidance, and shopping experience on the identified relationships are only support for the research model but not the competitive model The results show that men perceive more risks but also tend to trust more than women For those who love to take risk are more likely to trust rather than risk adverse, experienced groups often perceive less risk and so does less trust on e-retailer, whereas the group with less shopping experience rely more on trust The factors that affects trust including reputation, information, navigation, and the website interface design Among the factors that affect the initial trust, information has the most impact over initial trust, giving customers a basis to evaluate the reliability of e- retailers Similar to previous studies on buying behavior, trust, brand, and loyalty, this research also shows the vital role of satisfaction in maintaining trust and leads to repeat purchasing In the 22 proposed and competitive research model, the impact of satisfaction on ongoing trust is radical (> 0.9) Therefore, customer satisfaction is crucial in maintaining and developing customer trust in an online shopping environment In short, the findings have satisfied the research objectives and research questions, in which the topic clarified the construct of trust, including initial trust (before buying) and ongoing trust (after purchase) The initial trust consists of components namely trusting belief and trusting intention, in which belief have components: competence, benevolence, and integrity Over time trust is changing, in which trusting belief in ongoing trust have only two components namely benevolence and integrity after first time order These results answer to the research question (2) In qualitative research, the research summarized and illustrated the online buying process that identifies the leading sources of information, factors affecting trust, buying decisions and perceived risk, in which satisfaction plays an important role in maintaining relationships and trust with online retailers By evaluating the research model, it shows that the quality website affect trust such as information, design, and navigation The trust factor also has considerable effect on buying behavior Perceived risk have negative effects over initial purchase but have no impact on repeat purchase These result answer the research question (1), (3) and (4) Personal characteristics such as gender, uncertainty avoidance, and shopping experience moderate the relationship between trust and buying behavior and between risk and buying behavior (initial purchase), but the difference and its effects among groups is not too large These results answer the research question (5) 6.2 Managerial implication 6.2.1 Forming trust from initial to ongoing This research help firms who participate in e-commerce understand the vital role of customer trust, as well as how to build and maintain trust Firms should maintain the relationship with customer because after first purchase it may result in next sales opportunity Moreover, the findings in this research show that the value of the first order usually starts at 200,000 VND, while the next order value is larger and usually has an average of 500,000 VND or more To increase initial trust, online retailers need to provide complete, clear, accurate, reliable and useful information on the website because it will greatly affect the formation of customer trust; therefore, retailers also need to create the trust through their expertise and accountability, expressed through caring for customers, satisfy customer needs By engaging with old customer they can get attention from potential customers, and encourage them to buy products and services on website It is possible to design a website that makes it easy to find the information, have reviews function, or integrate social networks to show how retailer 23 interact with consumers or how they cope with the customer’s problems These suggestions answer to the research question (6) 6.2.2 Minimizing perceived risk for buyers (1) Businesses can build their brand, increase their reputation in the market so that more people can recognize it, thereby reducing perceived risk in the minds of customers (2) Having a product return policy helps customers trust more in the quality and reputation of the website (3) Having a simple and clear payment method that is easy to understand There are many payment options For example, payment via payment card, electronic wallet, payment on delivery (COD), or intermediary payment (4) Having some common products are easy to buy and have a reasonable discount (can be considered at VND 200,000) to encourage new customers to try out products to experience the quality of products and services Since then they have more trust to buy products (5) According to this study, information has no impact on perceived risk but has a large impact on trust So instead of reducing perceived risk, eretailer can also increase trust through content strategies that build the retailer's reputation, professionalism, and knowledge in products 6.2.3 Promoting buying behavior with trust and personal experience on the web (1) Focus on content strategies, developing valuable, in-depth content, providing reliable and credible information, engage with customer turn them into advocator (2) Pay attention to branding activities that build reputation, which then can increase initial trust for first-time visitors And building an image which show e-retailer as a reliable, benevolent, and integrity website (3) Commitment to ensuring customer satisfaction such as return policy, warranty policy, and other support policies Moreover, firms should conduct surveys to ensure trust, satisfaction and increase customer loyalty (4) Firms should have policies to encourage existing customers to review and share information to other customers Moreover, they should have special programs for new customers to buy products on the website such as having common items at an affordable price (5) Firms should have suitable pricing strategies for new customers (for example, VND 200,000, VND 300,000, VND 500,000, VND million) and for old customers (VND 500,000, VND 800,000, million, million ), maybe through special occasions or combos that encourage customers to take action (6) Big data analytics application to recommend prices and products that are personalize for each user, or can offer good combos with a high probability of buying, or firms can find favorite products for firsttime buyers and hence can increase conversion rates (7) Firms should mobile apps for customers to go shopping because the time customers spend on phones today is more than using a desktop or computer In addition, by using mobile apps firms can collect more data from which to have retargeting campaigns 24 6.3 Contribution 6.3.1 Theoretical Contribution This study has made the argument, building scales, and measuring the concept of trust as a third order construct through qualitative and quantitative research This contribution is significant in theoretical perspective because this is the first research measure the concept of trust as a higher order and multidimensional and the scales were developed based on definition and theory of trust The results show that there is a difference in the composition of initial trust (before buying) and ongoing trust (after purchase) in which initial trust has component of trusting intention and trusting beliefs, in which beliefs has components named competence, benevolence, and integrity While composition of ongoing trust change in which the competency component no longer exists, because at this stage the seller's competence is verified, the remaining is the relationship between the seller and the buyer is shown via benevolence and integrity This contribution is important as the first study to show a change in the construct of trust over time (before and after the purchase) Therefore, future studies the concept of trust needs to be clarified at which stage to have an appropriate scale in measurement In this research buying behavior is measured at different times (first purchase and repeat purchase) The results of the study show that customers' purchase value increase over time, which reinforce the idea of customer lifetime value (CLV) and create loyalty customer because over time the customers’ value will increase Moreover, the findings also provide information about outstanding point of price that customers concern in making buying decision, giving researchers and practitioner more information on how to set value order in term of price This study have made new contributions when testing relationships such as the perceived risk and buying behavior (H8, hypothesis H9 rejected), satisfaction and trust (ongoing) (H11), trust (initial and ongoing) and buying behavior (H12, H13), buying behavior and satisfaction (H14), satisfaction and purchase (H15) and the moderating effect of cultural (uncertainty avoidance) and personal characteristics (gender and experience) in the relationship between trust and purchasing behavior as well as perceived risk and buying behavior in the hypothesis H16 (a-f) Moreover, this study is an empirical evidence support for previous studies related to relationships such as website quality to trust (H1-3), information quality to perceived risk (H4), reputation to trust (H5), risk (H6), and satisfaction (H7) 6.3.2 Practical contribution E-commerce businesses should build a quality website in terms of information, navigation, and website interface design to appeal to consumers to build trust at first sight In addition, firms can understand the importance of trust and having strategies to build trust over time 25 Moreover, the topic also provides recommendations (1) to help businesses improve website quality, build up reputation by using content strategies, (2) reinforce relationships and customer satisfaction or using mobile application to enhance personal experience engage with customer, promote purchases, and repeat purchases 6.4 Limitations The research model considers the concept of trust as two constructs at two stages while some components of trust can be related and correlated because these components are the same (e.g beliefs about integrity, benevolence or trust intention are repetitive components) thus the concept should measure via latent growth curve model so that errors can be considered and the change of concept can be captured In addition, the results show that measurement scale for ongoing trust may have problem with discriminant validity within construct Because of time and budget limitations, author only take survey once and asking customers to evaluate the concept of trust and buying behavior at two different stages To some extent the first time order and the highest value order are salient and easy to remember but this approach may have some problem if customer have bad memory or don’t have enough time to check this information on their account Therefore, participants who have the first purchase and the repeat purchase long time ago (more than months, and the last purchase more than year) will be excluded To filter these participant, the author has used refinement questions to select the most suitable subjects for the research (see more in Appendix C) Although the research model considers initial trust and ongoing trust and some important concepts, there are still other concepts to consider, such as price, quality, and structure assurance, review, the influence of social media, promotions in the initial and repeat buying stages Moreover, other individual characteristics (such as age, occupation, etc.) have not been included to consider the moderating effect in the model as well as the direct and indirect effects among research concepts have not been analyzed In the competitive model (measuring purchasing behavior via order value) buying behavior have low R squared, some relationships are reversed compared to research model and theory This may be because the sample is not enough, or some other variables have not been added in model when measuring that may result in reversed in the relationship Future studies can further explore how to measure buying behavior through order value In future, research can improve the limitations of this topic, such as increase sample size to improve the results if have sufficient fund and time It is also possible to design the study in the form of time series or panel data, so that it may other interesting information about trust and buying behavior, to see how beliefs change, as well as its effect on buying behavior Moreover, latent growth curve model can be used to consider changes in the concept of trust at different stages Finally, other concepts can also be included in the research model to see the impact of different factors on purchasing behavior ... behavior, communication, strategic alliance, and service marketing (Morgan and Hunt, 1994) The thesis continues to explore trust in marketing and consider its impact on the online shopping behavior... reviews the theory of trust, risk, consumer behavior and suggesting that measuring the concept of trust is a multidimensional construct consisting of two components: trusting beliefs and trusting... then form attitudes and behaviors towards online purchases 2.3.3 Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) TPB asserts that the intention of behavior is affected by the attitude toward the behavior, subjective