Personal values as underlying motives of shopping online

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the motivational effects of personal values on benefits, attributes, and re‐patronage intention in the context of online shopping. Design/methodology/approach Using means‐end chain theory as a basis for the theoretical framework, the paper proposes and tests a conceptual model of the relationships among the constructs of personal values, benefits, attributes, and re‐patronage intention. Hypotheses are proposed, and these are then tested using structural equation modelling on data from 279 experienced online customers in South Korea. Findings A personal value of “social affiliation” acts as an enduring belief in motivating a customer to seek hedonic and utilitarian benefits, whereas a personal value of “self actualization” produces motivation to seek only utilitarian benefits. The seeking of hedonic and utilitarian benefits leads customers to evaluate certain attributes of online stores – such as visual design, product assortment, information quality, and after‐sales service. The attributes of online stores have a positive effect on re‐patronage intention. Research limitations/implications Limitations include problems associated with convenience sampling (dominated by extrinsically oriented shoppers) and measurement errors (with respect to the construct of personal values). Future studies could examine a more diverse range of personal values and online shopping benefits and attributes. Originality/value The present study is the first to investigate personal values as enduring and underlying sources of motivation with respect to online shopping. The paper presents an original conceptual model of personal values, shopping benefits, shopping attributes, and re‐patronage intention.