Is Online Buying Out of Control? Electronic Commerce and Consumer Self-Regulation
- 1 December 2002
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media
- Vol. 46 (4) , 549-564
- https://doi.org/10.1207/s15506878jobem4604_4
Abstract
Preliminary evidence suggests that forms of unregulated consumer behavior, including impulsive, compulsive, and addictive buying, are present on the Internet. This study reconceptualized unregulated buying behaviors as the result of deficient self-regulation using mechanisms proposed in social cognitive theory. As a result, deficient self-regulation of online buying was positively related to online shopping activity. It was a more important predictor than the rational merits of e-commerce, such as convenience and low price, and than personal and economic consumer characteristics. Together with Internet self-efficacy and Internet use, these variables explained 43% of the variance in online shopping behavior.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- Diffusion of e-commerce: an analysis of the adoption of four e-commerce activitiesTelematics and Informatics, 2002
- Differences in Spending Habits and Credit Use of College StudentsJournal of Consumer Affairs, 2000
- Compulsive Consumption Tendencies Among Television ShoppersFamily & Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 2000
- The Buying ImpulseJournal of Consumer Research, 1987