1. Introduction
Advanced information technology (IT) has made internet shopping an essential mode of business transactions [
1,
2], One reason for this is that customers find it more beneficial to purchase from an e-shopping platform than an offline store, due to reduced product evaluation cost and increased product monetary value. While customer enjoyment is one of the unreadable assessments in online purchase behavior that led by customer trust and increasing intention to reuse the on-line vendors [
3]. In e-shopping transactions, monetary value, and product evaluation cost is the main concern for customers and online vendors since they are critical factors to determine customer purchase decisions in different settings [
4,
5,
6], and reuse intentions [
7,
8,
9].
With the expansion of online shopping purchasing behavior, customers need to adapt to the e-shopping environment to increase shopping value, and perceived effectiveness of institutional protection increases customer enjoyment and success in online transactions [
10,
11]. Due to increase fraud in internet shopping [
10,
11], PEEIM and trust in online vendors have become an important factors for online customers to protects customer from uncertainty risk in online transactions. Previous studied has shown that the moderating effects of PEEIM between trust and intention to repurchase intention is low when the influence of trust and repurchase intention is low. To address uncovering previous study, this study propose direct and indirect influence of PEEIM on customer to purchase and reuse intentions and understanding the influence of monetary value, product evaluation cost, customer enjoyment on trust in online vendors, and their impact on customer purchase intention and intention to reuse the products are critical factors that determine success in e-shopping purchase behavior and retention of existing customers. Draw from the combination of PEEIM and trust in online vendor and conceptualize as e-shopping institutional–trust-based mechanism (EI-TBM).
The present study addresses the following research questions: (1) How do monetary value, product evaluation cost, and customer enjoyment influence the customer purchase intention and intention to reuse the products or service in an e-shopping environment? (2) Are PEEIM and trust in online vendors effective institutional mechanisms to mitigate uncertainty in the e-shopping environment?
Previous studies have shown that trust supports customer purchase intention [
12]. Furthermore, customer trust not only affects online purchase behavior but also general trust in online shopping [
13]. This study suggests that the positive effect of trust on repurchase intention is higher when the interacting PEEIM relationship between satisfaction and trust is low [
10].
We extend the empirical study of [
10] to further investigate the influence of trust in online vendors in relation to PEEIM, monetary value, product evaluation cost, customer enjoyment, and their impact on customer intention to purchase and reuse online vendors. Second, to understand the indirect effects of customer shopping value (monetary value, product evaluation cost, and customer enjoyment), and indirect influence of PEEIM on trust online vendor and customer intention to purchase and reuse the products and service in the e-shopping environment. It drowns from a combination of PEEIM and trust.
We conceptualize PEEIM and trust as the e-shopping institutional–trust-based mechanism (EI-TBM). We define EI-TBM as: safeguards exist in the e-shopping environment to protect customers before and after the transaction by independent and interdependent risk mitigation, which benefits both parties. We argue that independence and interdependence mechanisms not only to provide customer protection from a general perspective but also provide specific protection for online shopping. For example, home-payment, it is considering a specific institutional protection since the customers purchase the product on an e-shopping environment, but payment is made when the products reach their home. Home-payment is characterized as “low-risk-taker customer behavior relationship”. Moreover, from the general institutional perspective, the customer have independence relationships with the vendors and the payment provide through the third parties (e.g., credit cards, or convenience stores). This type of customer behavior is characterized as “high-risk-taker customer behavior relationship”. In addition, by introducing monetary value, product evaluation cost, customer enjoyment, and PEEIM as antecedents of trust, the study provides different research model and hope to provide difference research finding from existing studies [
10]. Furthermore, PEEIM not only direct and indirect influences customer trust in online vendors but also direct and indirect influences customer purchase intention and intention to reuse the products and services.
First, this study contributes not only to the theoretical literature on customer intention to purchase and reuse online vendors, but also to the long-term sustainability of the e-commerce the institutional, by conceptualize PEEIM and trust online vendor as an e-shopping institutional–trust-based mechanism (EI-TBM), which provides finding different from the existing studies [
10,
14,
15].
Second, this study contributes the role of trust in online vendors as the mediator, and the influence of PEEIM on customer enjoyment, and direct and indirect on customer purchase intention, and customer reuse intention. Third, by examining product monetary value, product evaluation cost, and customer enjoyment factors as antecedents of trust the study provides findings different from previous studies [
10].
6. Structure Model
Figure 2 shows the results of structural model analysis,
Table 5 summarizes the hypothesis results. First, to test the hypotheses we use the Smart-PLS algorithm, and then perform a complete bootstrapping setting with 5000 subsamples, with a two-tailed test to determine the significance of the hypothesized model relationship. The path of the model confidence and validity presented indicates that the model is valid, except that H4b is not supported, though other hypotheses in the model are supported. Monetary value, products evaluation costs and customer enjoyment have positive relationships with trust of an online vendor, supporting H1–3, H1: (β = 0.15,
t = 2.96 **
p < 0.01), H2: (β = 0.29,
t = 5.35 ***
p < 0.001), H3: (β = 0.47,
t = 8.38 ***
p < 0.001). PEEIM has no significant influence on trust of online vendors, but there is an opposite finding the relationship of PEEIM on customer enjoyment, purchase intention, and intention to reuse the products or services. These do not support H4b: (β = 0.008,
t = 1.56
p < 0.05), and do support H4a,c,d, H4a: (β = 0.35,
t = 5.24 ***
p < 0.001), H4c: (β = 0.18,
t = 2.88 **
p < 0.01), H4d: (β = 0.28,
t = 4.62 ***
p < 0.001). Trust in online vendors has a positive relationship on customers purchase intention and intention to reuse the products or services in the e-shopping environment, which supports H5a,b, H5a: (β = 0.45,
t = 7.23 ***
p < 0.001), H5b: (β = 0.45,
t = 7.80 ***
p < 0.01).
Second, the R-square values for all of these factors taken together PEEIM was significant explain of the variance in customer enjoyment (R2 = 12%), PEEIM and customer enjoyment explain the majority of customer trust in online vendors (R2 = 67%), PEEIM and customer trust in online vendors explains the majority variance of customer purchase intention (R2 = 31%), and where PEEIM and trust in online vendors explains the majority variance of intention reuse intention (R2 = 40%) toward the products or services in the e-shopping environment.
7. Mediating Effects
To test the mediating effects, a bootstrapping procedure was used to ensure that the model had the mediating effects, as recommended for testing the mediating model in the smart-PLS context [
42,
43].
Table 6 summarizes mediating effects and hypotheses testing, showing no mediating effects except for H10a and H10, so the other hypotheses are all supported. The result of the hypothesis explains that trust in an online vendor significantly mediates the relationship between monetary value, product evaluation, customer enjoyment, and customer intention to purchase and reuse the product or service. This supports H6a to H8b. H6a: (β = 0.07,
t = 2.85 **
p < 0.01), and the upper confidence interval limit size 0.12%. H6b: (β = 0.07,
t = 2.99 **
p < 0.01), and the upper confidence interval limit size 0.12%. H7a: (β = 0.13,
t = 4.17 ***
p < 0.001), and the upper confidence interval limit size 0.20%. H7b: (β = 0.13,
t = 4.33 ***
p < 0.001), and the upper confidence interval limit size 0.19%. H8a: (β = 0.21,
t = 5.10 ***
p < 0.001), and the upper confidence interval limit size 0.29%.and H8b: (β = 0.21,
t = 5.12 ***
p < 0.001), and the upper confidence interval limit size 0.29%. Customer enjoyment significantly mediates the relationship between PEEIM and trust in an online vendor, H9a: (β = 0.16,
t = 4.67 ***
p < 0.001), and upper confidence interval limit size of 0.23%.
Furthermore, PEEIM has a mediating effect on customer intention to purchase and repurchase products or services in the e-shopping environment through the continuance influence of customer enjoyment and customer trust in an online vendor, with support the H9b1 and H9b2. H9b1: (β = 0.07, t = 3.66 *** p < 0.001), and the upper confidence interval limit size is 0.12%. H9b2: (β = 0.07, t = 3.59 ***, p < 0.001), and the upper confidence interval limit size is 0.12%. In contrast, customer trust in an online vendor does not significantly mediate the relationship between PEEM and customer intention to purchase and reuse products or services in the e-shopping environment, which does not support H10a,b. H10a: (β = 0.04, t = 1.52, p < 0.5), and the upper confidence interval limit size 0.09%. H10b: (β = 0.04, t = 1.52, p < 0.05) with the confidence intervals distance value shown nearly minus zero percent (−0.01%), and the upper confidence interval limit size 0.09%.
The study conclude that the results of mediating relationships of customer trust in online vendors has the higher influential relationship between enjoyment and customer intention to purchase and to reuse intention with the upper confidence intervals distance 0.29% and with the lower confidence intervals distance 0.13%. In contrast with the mediating effects of customer trust in online vendor relationship between PEEIM and customer intention to purchase and to reuse the products or services in the e-shopping environment has a higher confidence intervals distance 0.09% and the lower confidence intervals distance nearly minus zero percent (−0.01%).
8. Implications and Conclusions
8.1. Theoretical Implications
First, based on the combination of trust and PEEIM the study investigates the influence of customer shopping value and PEEIM on customer trust and intention to purchase and to reuse products or services in the e-shopping environment. The antecedent factors of customer trust in online vendor has two dimension: shopping value (monetary value, product evaluation cost, and customer enjoyment), and PEEIM. The consequence factors of customer trust online vendor consist of customer intention to purchase and reuse products or services in the e-shopping environment. The study contributes with an important new theoretical design for e-commerce research [
44], and also contributes with findings different from previous studies, as outlined below.
Customers shopping value such as monetary value, product evaluation cost, and customer enjoyment have positive and significant relationships on customer trust of an online vendor, and indirect positive and significant relationship on customer intention to purchase and reuse the vendor products or services through the influence of customer trust in an online vendor, supporting H1–3 and H6a–H8b. Furthermore, PEEIM has positive and significant effects on customer enjoyment, customer intention to purchase, and to reuse products or services in the digital e-shopping environment, supporting H4a,c,d. However, PEEIM has no direct effect on customer trust in an online vendor, which does not support H4b. However, PEEIM has indirect positive and significant effects on trust in an online vendor through the influence of customer enjoyment, which support H9a. The results also show that PEEIM has two constantly indirect positive and significant effects on customer intention to purchase and to reuse the vendor through the influence of customer enjoyment and customer trust online vendor, which supports H9b1,2. All together these findings advance our understanding of the influence of customer shopping value and PEEIM on customer trust in an online vendor, and customer intention to purchase, and reuse the products or services in the e-shopping environment, which supports customer decision-making behavior in an e-shopping environment [
7,
8], and customers intention to purchase and repurchase [
9,
10]. Furthermore, the results extend existing predictions [
10] in the following sections.
Prior research examines the role of institutional-trust-based mechanisms in the context of an online purchasing [
10,
15,
21,
45,
46], the results confirm that the effects of PEEIM is higher relationship between customer satisfaction and customer trust in an online vendor though PEEIM has no moderating effects between trust and customer repurchase intention in e-commerce [
10]. This study extends previous empirical work by examining customer trust online in vendors and customer enjoyment as a mediator factor, based on theoretical of PEEIM and trust in online vendor and we conceptualized as EI-TBM. The results support most of the hypotheses (
Table 5 and
Table 6, and
Figure 2).
Last, demographics show that 41% of the respondents are 25 years old and 65.5% are female, indicating that the participants especially females are a prime target to shop in the e-shopping environment. In addition, 42.7% of the participants are students, and 28% are business service officers are considering as low-risk-taking customers’ behavior. At least 52.9% of the participants have e-shopping experience and 40.3% of the participants have monthly incomes between US$200 and 800. Furthermore, 77.5% of the participants do online shopping with a smartphone. The study confirms that customers are more mature with the e-shopping activities using advanced technology such as smartphones, and low-income participants can afford e-shopping activities.
8.2. Practical Implications
There are several implications for retailers, vendors, management, and public policymakers. First, this study recommends that online vendors and third party financial providers should more specifically allocate their trust-building customer behavior to enhance long-term sustainability on customer intention to purchase and reuse the product or services in the e-shopping environment. The vendor should maintain e-shopping website such as PC Home and MomoShop that provide various types of customer services up to the date, such as home-payments and third-party financial instrument services.
Second, vendors should develop customer trust through institutional e-commerce mechanisms; for instance, advanced financial services and privacy protection services through EI-TBM (interdependent relationship) such as home-payment. Furthermore, online vendors should focus on customizing websites to make it easier for customers to contact vendors; for example, low-risk-takers (elderly aged people) are one of often to reflect on the vendor services. This positive influence of customer trust and perceived effective e-commerce institutional mechanisms on intention to purchase and reuse products and services generates customer loyalty and thereby builds long-term sustainability of the e-shopping institutional trust-based mechanism.
Third, online policymakers and managers is to not only requiring more advanced services regarding product information, real-reference prices, minimize promotion prices, and more concern to provide protection to the customer such as low customer e-shopping experience, low monthly income, low internet experience, and the young generation.
8.3. Limitations and Future Research
The current study contributes to the in e-shopping institutional mechanism, customer decision process, and customer trust-building literature, as follows: First, our sample size is small relative to our model design. However, according to our observation data evidence enough to support our study. In the future, studies should have a more advanced research design and larger sample size that enable to provide a better finding. Second, by simple questioning (e.g., spit of these two factors: e-shopping experiences, and internet experience as the moderating effects), which can provide more advance funding in future, more the detail regarding the questionnaires refer to
Appendix A.
Third, our data was collected in Taiwan, which is considered to have a set of cultural similarities. In the future, research could expand cross-country to provide parsimonious finding with a more comprehensive survey design to improve the research finding by considering replicating the study with alternative methods, such as grouping customer experiences.
9. Conclusions
This study extends previous literature and develops a model combining PEEIM and customer trust online vendor, which originated from the trust-based mechanism in the contact of e-commerce environment [
15,
46]. We conceptualized PEEIM and trust online vendor as e-shopping institutional trust-based mechanism (EI-TBM), extending the findings from existing studies [
8,
13,
14,
22]. Our findings confirm that MV, PEC, and customer enjoyment has a positive and significantly relationship with customer trust in online vendors and an indirect relationship with customer intention to purchase and reuse products or services in the e-shopping environment. However, PEEIM has no relationship with trust in online vendors, though it has high direct effects on customer enjoyment, and customer intention to purchase and reuse products and services in the e-shopping environment, in contrast to previous findings [
10]. The finding also shows that PEEIM does have an indirect relationship with customer intention to purchase and reuse products or services through influence of customer enjoyment and trust online vendor. Thus, findings is not only address trust-building customer behavior and risk-mitigation mechanism but also enhance long-term sustainability on the customer purchase behavior in the e-shopping environment.
Second, these study illustrate the paradoxical role the theoretical of EI-TBM, extending the existing literature [
10], which provides findings that are more advanced by considering the key role of PEEIM (i.e., direct and indirect effects of PEEIM on research design). Future research can further explore research study related to EI-TBM in different contexts.
Last, the demographics show that younger people, especially female participants, became a target to access the e-shopping activities with the advanced technology such as smartphones. The study concludes that based on present theoretical background, research design and the research findings, the study not only contributes to parsimonious theoretical literature outcome of EI-TBM and shopping value (monetary value, product evaluation cost, and customer enjoyment), but also enhances the long term sustainability of the customer intention to purchase and reuse the products or service the e-shopping environment.