Chandan Parsad

Effects of Online Shopping Values and Website Cues on Purchase Behaviour: A Study Using S–O–R Framework:

Executive Summary The e-commerce industry in India has seen unprecedented growth in last few years. Eyeing India’s substantial e-retail opportunity across multiple segments, investors have been aggressively funding the e-commerce sector. This growth has been fuelled by rapid adoption of technology, improving standards of living, an increasing young population, and economically advancing middle class, besides increasing access to the Internet through broadband and use of smartphones and tablets. The entry of global e-commerce giants has intensified the competition for home-grown players. E-retailers use web atmospherics to differentiate themselves from their competitors and evoke positive cognitive and emotional states of online consumers. However, though this Indian online market is growing at an exponential rate, it is still unexplored in terms of its shopping behaviour. Using structural equation modelling, this study applies the concept of the stimulus–organism–response to explain Indian buyers’ online shopping behaviour, besides examining the importance of design elements in enabling website satisfaction (WS). Using a survey method to test the research model, primary data were collected from five Indian metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad during the months of May and June 2015. Confirmatory factory analysis (CFA) was used to estimate the measurement model with respect to convergent and discriminant validities. This was followed by testing the structural model framework and research hypotheses. Findings suggest that both internal and external elements have direct influence on WS. As the mediating variable, WS affects purchase intention. This research highlights on why and how ‘satisfaction with website’ matters in the contribution of shopping values and website atmospherics to behavioural outcomes by presenting its mediating role.

Segmenting Young Indian Impulsive Shoppers

ABSTRACT With the backdrop of fastest emerging economy India and one of the top five retail markets in the world, this article has attempted to segment and profile young impulsive shoppers on the basis of behavioral, attitudinal, and situational factors that influence such buying behavior. A cross-sectional study was conducted using structured questionnaire among 448 young shoppers of age amid 18–35 years in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata, India. This study has ascertained that Indian youth market is not homogenous with respect to their impulse buying behavior. There exist five different shopper segments on the basis of the antecedent factors. This research also established a relationship between income levels and the motives behind impulsive shopping. Arguably, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study to examine and segment young Indian shoppers on the basis of their impulsiveness in buying. Mall managers and retail storeowners may use the outcome of this article as important cues for developing operational and tactical marketing plans.

Predicting Indian Shoppers’ Malls Loyalty Behaviour:

Executive Summary Mall managers tend to believe that purchasing decisions are made inside the shopping malls. These decisions, however, are influenced by various antecedent factors. This implies that shoppers look beyond the basic chore of shopping and experience while shopping plays a vital role. To attract the attention of shoppers, mall developers make huge investments in mall promotion and ambient factors in order to enhance the shopping experience. As the Indian shoppers’ euphoria about shopping malls gets toned down with time, mall managers need to focus on something more substantive. Such fundamental benefits can be offered to shoppers only if mall managers know what is more relevant for the shoppers visiting the malls. Past studies have identified a number of factors such as ambience, physical infrastructure, convenience, safety, and marketing activities. This research posits that a more optimal and focused approach in mall management requires identification of relative significance of various influencing factors. This way, mall managers would be able to offer the most meaningful benefits to shoppers at a very optimal level of investment. Once shoppers get what they value the most, they are expected to be more loyal to the shopping mall. Despite the development of various forecasting techniques, predicting mall loyalty has remained under-explored in marketing literature. This article addresses the gap by using neural network model to predict shoppers’ loyalty towards a particular mall. To gain more insights from the model, the authors have also identified relative significance of the factors impacting shoppers’ mall selection. This study establishes that mall shoppers value ‘convenience’ as the most influencing factor in their selection of malls. This factor alone garners one-third of the total weightage among the five factors, which reflects that significance of convenience is 66 per cent more than what is expected in a scenario when all determinants contribute equally. This strongly indicates that Indian mall shoppers are more utilitarian than hedonic.

Role of Shopping Values and Web Atmospherics in E-Satisfaction and Repurchase Intention

ABSTRACT Expected to touch US

Efficacy of MBA: on the role of network effects in influencing the selection of elective courses

55 billion in 2016, the e-commerce market in India presents an unprecedented growth opportunity for retailers. Existing studies have identified factors influencing shoppers’ online behaviour pertaining to the developed economies. Hence, it becomes pertinent to validate these antecedents for the economies like India. The article addresses this gap by examining the role of shopping values and web atmospherics, on e-satisfaction of Indian shoppers. Using multiple regression analysis, it also examines the influence of e-satisfaction on repurchase intention. The findings suggest that effectiveness of information content has the most significant impact on e-satisfaction. Web entertainment, utilitarian values and web informativeness are the other influencing factors. Contrary to the earlier studies, this study didn’t find any influence of hedonic shopping values on shoppers’ satisfaction. Also, e-satisfaction was found to have a positive influence on repurchase intention of e-shoppers. The article suggests select strategies that can be adopted by e-retailers.

Antecedents to Online Shopping: Factors Influencing the Selection of Web Portal

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline the importance of social network effects in influencing the elective (courses) selection among masters of business administration (MBA) students and its role in influencing the efficacy of MBA. As such, given the enormous time and investment required for students to pursue an MBA and the role of electives in forming the student’s knowledge base, it is important to consider the decision process of students while selecting elective courses as they pursue their degree. Design/methodology/approach This study explores the relevance of network characteristics in the elective selection phenomena through questionnaires administered personally to 50 MBA students from a premier b-school in India. Thereby, it seeks to link the implications with MBA efficacy. Findings In the sample, the authors found that social network connections in terms of homophily and heterophily (similar and dissimilar others) had the strongest association with elective course decisions. Further, the role of tie strength (the level of intensity of the social relationship between two individuals) in governing the phenomena was not confirmed. Practical implications The authors discuss the linkage of elective selection phenomena with the efficacy of MBA. Specifically, the authors focus on a possible risk where network influences may prompt a student to select electives by surpassing his or her academic interests and thereby may hamper the efficacy. The authors also outline implications from the perspective of students, professors, and administrators. Originality/value The study is among the initial studies to present preliminary evidence on the efficacy of MBA from the perspective of elective selection phenomena and the role of social network effects.