Using brand knowledge to understand consumers' intention to adopt an online retailer

It is important to draw attention about online retailing from a technological standpoint to a marketing perspective. The authors develop a conceptual model based on brand theory, risk theory and information theory to understand causal relationships among brand knowledge, perceived risk, online search action and intention to adopt an online retailer. The proposed model was tested in an online survey and structural equation modelling, a more powerful analytical tool, was applied to analyse the data. Results show that brand knowledge has a direct and positive effect on intention to adopt an online retailer and this effect can be mediated by perceived risk, to a large extent. In addition, perceived risk also positively relates to online search action. This model is sustainable for additional analysis after control variables, i.e., demographic profile variables, internet use frequency and risk preference, are taken into consideration.

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