Online Shopping Intentions

In recent decades, the rapid development of networks and technologies in information communications has created a borderless digital world. Information and knowledge gaps between countries are reduced or closed by information networks (e.g., Legner et al., 2017). Falling information costs simplify communication processes and lead to enormous transformations in the production of goods and services. Thus, the world has become closely connected, and products and services can be delivered immediately and anywhere in the world through networks. The Internet offers exporters new opportunities since access to new markets is increasing, efficiency in accepting global customer orders is increasing, and the processing of inquiries is improving. Therefore, consumption is possible wherever there is Internet access (Ternès et al., 2015). As a result of digitized access to goods and services, more consumers are opting for electronic commerce (e-commerce) over traditional shopping channels, such as brick-and-mortar stores and direct sales. E-commerce represents all forms of digital transactions of business processes between companies and their customers via public and private networks (Schinzer and Thome, 2000). Accordingly, e-commerce includes all business processes in the fields of business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), or consumer-to-consumer (C2C). According to Fritz (2000), electronic retailing or e-commerce is geared towards the “initiation, negotiation and/or handling of goods processes.” According to Chaffey (2015), the term “e-commerce” extends beyond the mere buying and selling of goods. He defines e-commerce as “all electronically mediated information exchanges between an organization and its external stakeholders.” Thus, in its definition, e-commerce includes not only the purchase process but also preceding and further aspects related to the purchase.

While in the previous chapters, the conceptual framework and the basic research questions of the respective essays were presented, as well as a holistic scientific-theoretical classification of the presented phenomena, the present chapter follows up on these findings to obtain a more detailed overview of the essays’ content, which fit with the above theoretical foundation. The following subchapters thus provide a quick summary of the scientific relevance, the research questions, the methodology, and the central results and implications of the individual essays. All six essays deal with newly observed developments and trends in the various subareas of e-commerce and are embedded in different theoretical phenomena.

The Internet as a global medium raises consumers’ awareness of foreign online shopping destinations. Brands and products not available in the domestic online market become increasingly visible, preferable, and deliverable to consumers. The result is that if consumers are not satisfied with retailers, brands, products, or prices in the domestic online market, they shop online across country borders.

Both the respective literature reviews and the results of the six essays listed illustrate the relevance and ubiquity of the four subareas of e-commerce in consumers’ everyday online shopping. On the one hand, the results represent an important basis for marketing and consumer research to support a better understanding of the behavioral psychological motives of consumers and better evaluate correlations in shopping behavior. On the other hand, the practice benefits from the newly gained insights, as online retailers, in particular, can use them to better adapt their offers to consumer needs and optimize consumers’ online shopping experience, leading in return to increasing sales.