61
Group Buying and Customer Perceived Empowerment BY Choi Sin Yi, Emma 09019812 China Business Studies AND Wu Yuen Ying, Flora 09017836 China Business Studies An Honors Degree Project Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Graduation Requirement for the Degree of Bachelor of Business Administration (Honors) Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong April 2012

Group Buying and Customer Perceived Empowermentlib-sca.hkbu.edu.hk/trsimage/hp/09019812.pdf · 2012-04-30 · intention of group buying in Hong Kong and China. In our model, direct

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Group Buying and Customer Perceived Empowerment

BY

Choi Sin Yi Emma

09019812

China Business Studies

AND

Wu Yuen Ying Flora

09017836

China Business Studies

An Honors Degree Project Submitted to the School of Business

in Partial Fulfillment of the Graduation Requirement for the

Degree of Bachelor of Business Administration (Honors)

Hong Kong Baptist University

Hong Kong

April 2012

1

Content

Acknowledgements 3

Abstract 4

1 Problem development and Objectives

11 Background of the problem 5-6

12 Objectives of the Study 6

2 Literature Review and Hypotheses

21 Definition of Purchase Intention 6-7

22 Factors affecting purchase Intention in group buying 7

23 Research Model and Hypotheses 7-12

3 Methodology

31 Subject 13

32 Research design 13-14

33 Questionnaire Design 14-15

34 Sampling method 15-16

35 Measurements 16-17

4 Data Analysis and Result

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics 17-18

42 Reliability Test 18

43 Regression Analysis

431 Direct effects of each independent variables 19-20

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment 21

a Interactions between product review and customer perceived

empowerment 21-22

b Interactions between alternative purchase channels and customer

perceived empowerment 22

c Interactions between peer Influence and customer perceived

empowerment 23

d Interactions between group buying companiesrsquo services standard and

customer perceived empowerment 23-24

2

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review 27

512 Alternative purchase channels 27-28

513 Peer influence 28

514Group buying companiesrsquo services standard 28-29

515 Customer perceived empowerment as Moderator 29

516Moderating effect of product review 29

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels 30

518 Moderating effect of peer influence 30-31

519 Moderating effect of group buying companiesrsquo services standard 31

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation 31-32

7 Limitation and Future research 32-33

8 Conclusion 33-35

9 Reference 36-38

10 Appendix

101 Appendix A (Questionnaire sample) 40-47

102 Appendix B (Demographic Statistics) 48-50

103 Appendix C (Measurements) 51-55

104 Appendix D (Reliability Test Result) 56-57

105 Appendix E (Regression Analysis Result) 58-60

3

Acknowledgements

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my Honors

Project supervisorndash Professor Danny Wang for his support throughout the research

process He devoted his valuable time and efforts in giving me guidance throughout the

project I am sure this project would not be completed so smoothly without his kind help

His expertise in research area inspired us with lots of valuable suggestions and

recommendations which contributed to our excellence in this research

Besides I would like to show our appreciation to those who had helped me to

distribute my questionnaires and our dearest classmates friends and family members for

their wholehearted support during the research process

Also I would like to express my special thanks to all respondents who spent their

valuable time in filling out the questionnaire

4

Abstract

Grouping buying is becoming more popular than previous years there are more and

more studies examining factors affecting group buying behavior Although many

factors affecting purchase intention have been tested there are limited studies related

to alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services standard and

incorporating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in interacting with

independent variables

Therefore our study explored the direct effect of factors on consumers‟ purchase

intention of group buying in Hong Kong and China In our model direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention in group buying will be examined

Also customer perceived empowerment will be tested as moderators in interacting

with independent variables

In this study there are two main objectives Firstly we want to examine how the

four variables suggested in the model in this research related to purchase intention and

to identify the effectiveness of the independent variables Secondly we focus on how

customers‟ empowerment moderates the effect of these variables towards purchase

intention

Our results show that product review towards purchase intention in group buying is

the most important fact that driving consumers to make their purchase intention when

buying products services from group buying Regarding the moderating role of

customer perceived empowerment we found that it significantly moderate the

relationship between product review alternative purchase channels group buying

companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Implications recommendations

limitations and future research will be discussed at the end of study

5

1 Problem development and Objectives

11 Background of the problem

Group buying also known as collective buying offers products and services at

significantly reduced prices on the condition that a minimum number of buyers would

make the purchase Compared to traditional shopping customers can have more price

negotiation To achieve the success of group buying companies place great emphasis

on both attracting new customers and build long term relationship with customers As

group buying always entails a certain level of risk customers will bet about the

ambiguity of the future and the probable reactions of others (eg possibly reliable

vendors and the discount providers)

A consumer must determine whether they can (1) review and know the product

well (2)have alternative purchase channels (3) other third parties to ensure fair

exchange before they commit group buying (Grabner- Krauter amp Kaluscha 2003

Kim 2005 Urban 1999) Also the potential advantages of the group buying can be

attained if Service Standards is achieved for customers By adopting the concept from

Barnes and Vidgen 2003 Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and

Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly 2003 we measure service standard in four

dimension 1)Information 2) Ease of use 3) Website design and 4) Reliability

These four variables would exert certain extent of influence on purchase

intention we believe that customer perceived empowerment would moderate the

strength of these four variables influences on purchase intention Therefore we use

method of empowerment and the feeling of customers to investigate the moderating

effect it exerts on the relationship between four variables and customer perceived

empowerment

The relationship between peer influences and purchase intention had been

studied for many times before However not too many updated research on whether

6

customer perceived empowerment do exert moderating effects on them

12 Objectives of the Study

Accordingly our purposes are (1) to verify which variables would be more

influential in affecting customer‟s intention to use group buying and (2) to explore the

moderating effects of customer perceived empowerment on moderating four

independent variables

To achieve these objectives we examined consumers‟ attitudes towards the

independent variables in Hong Kong and China with the research model of the effect

of price dispersion (Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang 2006) and

integrating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in the model

Group buying is a great opportunity However the competition in group buying

market is fierce in recent year and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due

to the risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Therefore it is

essential for the companies to understand the how the variables factors affecting the

purchase intension The result from this research would be practical for them to

recognize how to attract customers to join group buying

2 Literature Review and Hypotheses

21 Definition of Purchase Intention

Purchase intention is the possibility of a consumer to buy a product (Dodds et al

1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000) Consumers will follow their experience preference

and external environment to collect information evaluate alternatives and make

purchase decision (Zeithaml 1988 Dodds et al 1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000

Yang 2009)The higher the purchase intention is the higher a consumer‟s willingness

is to buy the product As a consumer‟s attitude and assessment and external factors

construct consumer purchase intention it is a critical factor to predict consumer

7

behavior (Fishbein amp Ajzen 1975)

22 Factors affecting purchase Intention in group buying

There are many factors affecting purchase intention in group buying Some factors

identified by the past studies and they are peer influence and product review Some of

them are to be tested in this project and they are alternative purchase channels and

group buying companies‟ services standard In this project delivery speed and time

and customers‟ experience are the control variables and consumer perceived

empowerment is the moderator

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention (Duncan Haller and Portes

1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975 Venkatesan 1966)

Positive product review is positively related to purchase intention on the other

hand negative product review would have negative relation with purchase

intention(Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010)

Customer perceived empowerment in group buying would affect customers‟

intention in purchase If the customers involve more in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process they form higher levels of

purchase intention on the basis of their perceived empowerment Also they will be

likely to continue to shop in group buying vice versa

23 Research Model and Hypotheses

In this project the effects of product review alternative purchase channels peer

influence and group buying companies‟ services standard on purchase intention were

investigated The effects of product review alternative purchase channels and group

buying companies‟ services standard are grouped to be group buying characteristics

On the other hand peer influence is social influence The intensity of the effect of

these factors in affecting attitude towards using will be compared

The following figure presents the factors affecting purchase intention examined in

8

this study Customers‟ experience and delivery speed and time are the control

variables At the same time customer perceived empowerment is a moderator of each

independent variable

Figure 1 Factors affecting purchase intention

231 Product Review

Product information seeking often is portrayed as a critical early stage in the

consumer buying process (Shim etal 2001 Hodkinson et al 2000 Haubl and Trifts

2000 Maes et al 1999 Zellweger 1997 Moorthy et al 1997) As customers often

make decisions depend on personal memoryknowledge customer knowledge about

the product plays an important role in product purchase decision (Satish and Peter

2004)

Customer knowledge is indeed significantly correlated with customer purchase

intention depends on many valuable factors The interactive consumer models as

critical predictors of consumer behavior (Klein 1998) Consumers often evaluate and

refine their information before purchasing (Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000)

9

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟ purchase

intention in group buying

232 Alternative purchase channels

Nowadays as technology improves the number of purchase channels of

products and services rise and customers use various channels for shopping

Channel choice is positively related to the importance of shopping task (Mathwick et

al 2002 Zeithaml 1988) When consumers buy experience good (eg dress) they

tend to buy in a store but they prefer buying search good (eg CD) from online

channels Also channel choice is negatively related to customers‟ perceived risk

(Liang amp Huang 1998) and influenced by the product category (Liang amp Huang

1998)

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

233 Peer influence

Social influence has generally been referred to as conformity and look upon as the

relatively simple act of going along with or agreeing with a visible majority (Jahoda

1959) Group pressure was effective and that individuals tended to conform to the

group norm (Venkatsan 1966 p386)

People may frequently buy products that others in their groups buy as to acquire

what they perceive as a good product especially for products he or she is unable to

evaluate completely from direct observation (Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966)

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟ purchase intention in

group buying

10

234 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Four dimensions proposed recur fairly systematically ( Barnes and Vidgen 2003

Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly

2003) 1) Information quality and quantity of the information about the product or

the service 2) Ease of use how customers perceives the ease of navigation offered by

the site 3) Website design Color graphicetc 4) Reliability capacity to fulfill

promises

Purchase intention is occurred with a product service that meets the customers‟

needs wants and expectations Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H4 The level of group buying companies‟ services standard positively affects

consumers‟ purchase intention in group buying

235 Customer perceived empowerment

Empowerment is a psychological concept in which people experience more self

determination meaning competence and impact regarding their role in the

organization(McShane 2005)

Customer perceived empowerment means customers can control of the choice set

composition know about progress cues (ie not feeling lost in the buying process)

and information about other consumers Therefore people will feel satisfied

Figure 2 the evolution of customer empowerment

Need recognitionIn

information Search

Evaluation

Purchase

Post-Purchase Behavior

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

1

Content

Acknowledgements 3

Abstract 4

1 Problem development and Objectives

11 Background of the problem 5-6

12 Objectives of the Study 6

2 Literature Review and Hypotheses

21 Definition of Purchase Intention 6-7

22 Factors affecting purchase Intention in group buying 7

23 Research Model and Hypotheses 7-12

3 Methodology

31 Subject 13

32 Research design 13-14

33 Questionnaire Design 14-15

34 Sampling method 15-16

35 Measurements 16-17

4 Data Analysis and Result

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics 17-18

42 Reliability Test 18

43 Regression Analysis

431 Direct effects of each independent variables 19-20

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment 21

a Interactions between product review and customer perceived

empowerment 21-22

b Interactions between alternative purchase channels and customer

perceived empowerment 22

c Interactions between peer Influence and customer perceived

empowerment 23

d Interactions between group buying companiesrsquo services standard and

customer perceived empowerment 23-24

2

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review 27

512 Alternative purchase channels 27-28

513 Peer influence 28

514Group buying companiesrsquo services standard 28-29

515 Customer perceived empowerment as Moderator 29

516Moderating effect of product review 29

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels 30

518 Moderating effect of peer influence 30-31

519 Moderating effect of group buying companiesrsquo services standard 31

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation 31-32

7 Limitation and Future research 32-33

8 Conclusion 33-35

9 Reference 36-38

10 Appendix

101 Appendix A (Questionnaire sample) 40-47

102 Appendix B (Demographic Statistics) 48-50

103 Appendix C (Measurements) 51-55

104 Appendix D (Reliability Test Result) 56-57

105 Appendix E (Regression Analysis Result) 58-60

3

Acknowledgements

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my Honors

Project supervisorndash Professor Danny Wang for his support throughout the research

process He devoted his valuable time and efforts in giving me guidance throughout the

project I am sure this project would not be completed so smoothly without his kind help

His expertise in research area inspired us with lots of valuable suggestions and

recommendations which contributed to our excellence in this research

Besides I would like to show our appreciation to those who had helped me to

distribute my questionnaires and our dearest classmates friends and family members for

their wholehearted support during the research process

Also I would like to express my special thanks to all respondents who spent their

valuable time in filling out the questionnaire

4

Abstract

Grouping buying is becoming more popular than previous years there are more and

more studies examining factors affecting group buying behavior Although many

factors affecting purchase intention have been tested there are limited studies related

to alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services standard and

incorporating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in interacting with

independent variables

Therefore our study explored the direct effect of factors on consumers‟ purchase

intention of group buying in Hong Kong and China In our model direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention in group buying will be examined

Also customer perceived empowerment will be tested as moderators in interacting

with independent variables

In this study there are two main objectives Firstly we want to examine how the

four variables suggested in the model in this research related to purchase intention and

to identify the effectiveness of the independent variables Secondly we focus on how

customers‟ empowerment moderates the effect of these variables towards purchase

intention

Our results show that product review towards purchase intention in group buying is

the most important fact that driving consumers to make their purchase intention when

buying products services from group buying Regarding the moderating role of

customer perceived empowerment we found that it significantly moderate the

relationship between product review alternative purchase channels group buying

companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Implications recommendations

limitations and future research will be discussed at the end of study

5

1 Problem development and Objectives

11 Background of the problem

Group buying also known as collective buying offers products and services at

significantly reduced prices on the condition that a minimum number of buyers would

make the purchase Compared to traditional shopping customers can have more price

negotiation To achieve the success of group buying companies place great emphasis

on both attracting new customers and build long term relationship with customers As

group buying always entails a certain level of risk customers will bet about the

ambiguity of the future and the probable reactions of others (eg possibly reliable

vendors and the discount providers)

A consumer must determine whether they can (1) review and know the product

well (2)have alternative purchase channels (3) other third parties to ensure fair

exchange before they commit group buying (Grabner- Krauter amp Kaluscha 2003

Kim 2005 Urban 1999) Also the potential advantages of the group buying can be

attained if Service Standards is achieved for customers By adopting the concept from

Barnes and Vidgen 2003 Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and

Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly 2003 we measure service standard in four

dimension 1)Information 2) Ease of use 3) Website design and 4) Reliability

These four variables would exert certain extent of influence on purchase

intention we believe that customer perceived empowerment would moderate the

strength of these four variables influences on purchase intention Therefore we use

method of empowerment and the feeling of customers to investigate the moderating

effect it exerts on the relationship between four variables and customer perceived

empowerment

The relationship between peer influences and purchase intention had been

studied for many times before However not too many updated research on whether

6

customer perceived empowerment do exert moderating effects on them

12 Objectives of the Study

Accordingly our purposes are (1) to verify which variables would be more

influential in affecting customer‟s intention to use group buying and (2) to explore the

moderating effects of customer perceived empowerment on moderating four

independent variables

To achieve these objectives we examined consumers‟ attitudes towards the

independent variables in Hong Kong and China with the research model of the effect

of price dispersion (Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang 2006) and

integrating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in the model

Group buying is a great opportunity However the competition in group buying

market is fierce in recent year and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due

to the risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Therefore it is

essential for the companies to understand the how the variables factors affecting the

purchase intension The result from this research would be practical for them to

recognize how to attract customers to join group buying

2 Literature Review and Hypotheses

21 Definition of Purchase Intention

Purchase intention is the possibility of a consumer to buy a product (Dodds et al

1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000) Consumers will follow their experience preference

and external environment to collect information evaluate alternatives and make

purchase decision (Zeithaml 1988 Dodds et al 1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000

Yang 2009)The higher the purchase intention is the higher a consumer‟s willingness

is to buy the product As a consumer‟s attitude and assessment and external factors

construct consumer purchase intention it is a critical factor to predict consumer

7

behavior (Fishbein amp Ajzen 1975)

22 Factors affecting purchase Intention in group buying

There are many factors affecting purchase intention in group buying Some factors

identified by the past studies and they are peer influence and product review Some of

them are to be tested in this project and they are alternative purchase channels and

group buying companies‟ services standard In this project delivery speed and time

and customers‟ experience are the control variables and consumer perceived

empowerment is the moderator

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention (Duncan Haller and Portes

1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975 Venkatesan 1966)

Positive product review is positively related to purchase intention on the other

hand negative product review would have negative relation with purchase

intention(Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010)

Customer perceived empowerment in group buying would affect customers‟

intention in purchase If the customers involve more in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process they form higher levels of

purchase intention on the basis of their perceived empowerment Also they will be

likely to continue to shop in group buying vice versa

23 Research Model and Hypotheses

In this project the effects of product review alternative purchase channels peer

influence and group buying companies‟ services standard on purchase intention were

investigated The effects of product review alternative purchase channels and group

buying companies‟ services standard are grouped to be group buying characteristics

On the other hand peer influence is social influence The intensity of the effect of

these factors in affecting attitude towards using will be compared

The following figure presents the factors affecting purchase intention examined in

8

this study Customers‟ experience and delivery speed and time are the control

variables At the same time customer perceived empowerment is a moderator of each

independent variable

Figure 1 Factors affecting purchase intention

231 Product Review

Product information seeking often is portrayed as a critical early stage in the

consumer buying process (Shim etal 2001 Hodkinson et al 2000 Haubl and Trifts

2000 Maes et al 1999 Zellweger 1997 Moorthy et al 1997) As customers often

make decisions depend on personal memoryknowledge customer knowledge about

the product plays an important role in product purchase decision (Satish and Peter

2004)

Customer knowledge is indeed significantly correlated with customer purchase

intention depends on many valuable factors The interactive consumer models as

critical predictors of consumer behavior (Klein 1998) Consumers often evaluate and

refine their information before purchasing (Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000)

9

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟ purchase

intention in group buying

232 Alternative purchase channels

Nowadays as technology improves the number of purchase channels of

products and services rise and customers use various channels for shopping

Channel choice is positively related to the importance of shopping task (Mathwick et

al 2002 Zeithaml 1988) When consumers buy experience good (eg dress) they

tend to buy in a store but they prefer buying search good (eg CD) from online

channels Also channel choice is negatively related to customers‟ perceived risk

(Liang amp Huang 1998) and influenced by the product category (Liang amp Huang

1998)

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

233 Peer influence

Social influence has generally been referred to as conformity and look upon as the

relatively simple act of going along with or agreeing with a visible majority (Jahoda

1959) Group pressure was effective and that individuals tended to conform to the

group norm (Venkatsan 1966 p386)

People may frequently buy products that others in their groups buy as to acquire

what they perceive as a good product especially for products he or she is unable to

evaluate completely from direct observation (Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966)

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟ purchase intention in

group buying

10

234 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Four dimensions proposed recur fairly systematically ( Barnes and Vidgen 2003

Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly

2003) 1) Information quality and quantity of the information about the product or

the service 2) Ease of use how customers perceives the ease of navigation offered by

the site 3) Website design Color graphicetc 4) Reliability capacity to fulfill

promises

Purchase intention is occurred with a product service that meets the customers‟

needs wants and expectations Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H4 The level of group buying companies‟ services standard positively affects

consumers‟ purchase intention in group buying

235 Customer perceived empowerment

Empowerment is a psychological concept in which people experience more self

determination meaning competence and impact regarding their role in the

organization(McShane 2005)

Customer perceived empowerment means customers can control of the choice set

composition know about progress cues (ie not feeling lost in the buying process)

and information about other consumers Therefore people will feel satisfied

Figure 2 the evolution of customer empowerment

Need recognitionIn

information Search

Evaluation

Purchase

Post-Purchase Behavior

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

2

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review 27

512 Alternative purchase channels 27-28

513 Peer influence 28

514Group buying companiesrsquo services standard 28-29

515 Customer perceived empowerment as Moderator 29

516Moderating effect of product review 29

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels 30

518 Moderating effect of peer influence 30-31

519 Moderating effect of group buying companiesrsquo services standard 31

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation 31-32

7 Limitation and Future research 32-33

8 Conclusion 33-35

9 Reference 36-38

10 Appendix

101 Appendix A (Questionnaire sample) 40-47

102 Appendix B (Demographic Statistics) 48-50

103 Appendix C (Measurements) 51-55

104 Appendix D (Reliability Test Result) 56-57

105 Appendix E (Regression Analysis Result) 58-60

3

Acknowledgements

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my Honors

Project supervisorndash Professor Danny Wang for his support throughout the research

process He devoted his valuable time and efforts in giving me guidance throughout the

project I am sure this project would not be completed so smoothly without his kind help

His expertise in research area inspired us with lots of valuable suggestions and

recommendations which contributed to our excellence in this research

Besides I would like to show our appreciation to those who had helped me to

distribute my questionnaires and our dearest classmates friends and family members for

their wholehearted support during the research process

Also I would like to express my special thanks to all respondents who spent their

valuable time in filling out the questionnaire

4

Abstract

Grouping buying is becoming more popular than previous years there are more and

more studies examining factors affecting group buying behavior Although many

factors affecting purchase intention have been tested there are limited studies related

to alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services standard and

incorporating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in interacting with

independent variables

Therefore our study explored the direct effect of factors on consumers‟ purchase

intention of group buying in Hong Kong and China In our model direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention in group buying will be examined

Also customer perceived empowerment will be tested as moderators in interacting

with independent variables

In this study there are two main objectives Firstly we want to examine how the

four variables suggested in the model in this research related to purchase intention and

to identify the effectiveness of the independent variables Secondly we focus on how

customers‟ empowerment moderates the effect of these variables towards purchase

intention

Our results show that product review towards purchase intention in group buying is

the most important fact that driving consumers to make their purchase intention when

buying products services from group buying Regarding the moderating role of

customer perceived empowerment we found that it significantly moderate the

relationship between product review alternative purchase channels group buying

companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Implications recommendations

limitations and future research will be discussed at the end of study

5

1 Problem development and Objectives

11 Background of the problem

Group buying also known as collective buying offers products and services at

significantly reduced prices on the condition that a minimum number of buyers would

make the purchase Compared to traditional shopping customers can have more price

negotiation To achieve the success of group buying companies place great emphasis

on both attracting new customers and build long term relationship with customers As

group buying always entails a certain level of risk customers will bet about the

ambiguity of the future and the probable reactions of others (eg possibly reliable

vendors and the discount providers)

A consumer must determine whether they can (1) review and know the product

well (2)have alternative purchase channels (3) other third parties to ensure fair

exchange before they commit group buying (Grabner- Krauter amp Kaluscha 2003

Kim 2005 Urban 1999) Also the potential advantages of the group buying can be

attained if Service Standards is achieved for customers By adopting the concept from

Barnes and Vidgen 2003 Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and

Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly 2003 we measure service standard in four

dimension 1)Information 2) Ease of use 3) Website design and 4) Reliability

These four variables would exert certain extent of influence on purchase

intention we believe that customer perceived empowerment would moderate the

strength of these four variables influences on purchase intention Therefore we use

method of empowerment and the feeling of customers to investigate the moderating

effect it exerts on the relationship between four variables and customer perceived

empowerment

The relationship between peer influences and purchase intention had been

studied for many times before However not too many updated research on whether

6

customer perceived empowerment do exert moderating effects on them

12 Objectives of the Study

Accordingly our purposes are (1) to verify which variables would be more

influential in affecting customer‟s intention to use group buying and (2) to explore the

moderating effects of customer perceived empowerment on moderating four

independent variables

To achieve these objectives we examined consumers‟ attitudes towards the

independent variables in Hong Kong and China with the research model of the effect

of price dispersion (Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang 2006) and

integrating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in the model

Group buying is a great opportunity However the competition in group buying

market is fierce in recent year and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due

to the risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Therefore it is

essential for the companies to understand the how the variables factors affecting the

purchase intension The result from this research would be practical for them to

recognize how to attract customers to join group buying

2 Literature Review and Hypotheses

21 Definition of Purchase Intention

Purchase intention is the possibility of a consumer to buy a product (Dodds et al

1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000) Consumers will follow their experience preference

and external environment to collect information evaluate alternatives and make

purchase decision (Zeithaml 1988 Dodds et al 1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000

Yang 2009)The higher the purchase intention is the higher a consumer‟s willingness

is to buy the product As a consumer‟s attitude and assessment and external factors

construct consumer purchase intention it is a critical factor to predict consumer

7

behavior (Fishbein amp Ajzen 1975)

22 Factors affecting purchase Intention in group buying

There are many factors affecting purchase intention in group buying Some factors

identified by the past studies and they are peer influence and product review Some of

them are to be tested in this project and they are alternative purchase channels and

group buying companies‟ services standard In this project delivery speed and time

and customers‟ experience are the control variables and consumer perceived

empowerment is the moderator

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention (Duncan Haller and Portes

1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975 Venkatesan 1966)

Positive product review is positively related to purchase intention on the other

hand negative product review would have negative relation with purchase

intention(Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010)

Customer perceived empowerment in group buying would affect customers‟

intention in purchase If the customers involve more in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process they form higher levels of

purchase intention on the basis of their perceived empowerment Also they will be

likely to continue to shop in group buying vice versa

23 Research Model and Hypotheses

In this project the effects of product review alternative purchase channels peer

influence and group buying companies‟ services standard on purchase intention were

investigated The effects of product review alternative purchase channels and group

buying companies‟ services standard are grouped to be group buying characteristics

On the other hand peer influence is social influence The intensity of the effect of

these factors in affecting attitude towards using will be compared

The following figure presents the factors affecting purchase intention examined in

8

this study Customers‟ experience and delivery speed and time are the control

variables At the same time customer perceived empowerment is a moderator of each

independent variable

Figure 1 Factors affecting purchase intention

231 Product Review

Product information seeking often is portrayed as a critical early stage in the

consumer buying process (Shim etal 2001 Hodkinson et al 2000 Haubl and Trifts

2000 Maes et al 1999 Zellweger 1997 Moorthy et al 1997) As customers often

make decisions depend on personal memoryknowledge customer knowledge about

the product plays an important role in product purchase decision (Satish and Peter

2004)

Customer knowledge is indeed significantly correlated with customer purchase

intention depends on many valuable factors The interactive consumer models as

critical predictors of consumer behavior (Klein 1998) Consumers often evaluate and

refine their information before purchasing (Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000)

9

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟ purchase

intention in group buying

232 Alternative purchase channels

Nowadays as technology improves the number of purchase channels of

products and services rise and customers use various channels for shopping

Channel choice is positively related to the importance of shopping task (Mathwick et

al 2002 Zeithaml 1988) When consumers buy experience good (eg dress) they

tend to buy in a store but they prefer buying search good (eg CD) from online

channels Also channel choice is negatively related to customers‟ perceived risk

(Liang amp Huang 1998) and influenced by the product category (Liang amp Huang

1998)

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

233 Peer influence

Social influence has generally been referred to as conformity and look upon as the

relatively simple act of going along with or agreeing with a visible majority (Jahoda

1959) Group pressure was effective and that individuals tended to conform to the

group norm (Venkatsan 1966 p386)

People may frequently buy products that others in their groups buy as to acquire

what they perceive as a good product especially for products he or she is unable to

evaluate completely from direct observation (Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966)

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟ purchase intention in

group buying

10

234 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Four dimensions proposed recur fairly systematically ( Barnes and Vidgen 2003

Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly

2003) 1) Information quality and quantity of the information about the product or

the service 2) Ease of use how customers perceives the ease of navigation offered by

the site 3) Website design Color graphicetc 4) Reliability capacity to fulfill

promises

Purchase intention is occurred with a product service that meets the customers‟

needs wants and expectations Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H4 The level of group buying companies‟ services standard positively affects

consumers‟ purchase intention in group buying

235 Customer perceived empowerment

Empowerment is a psychological concept in which people experience more self

determination meaning competence and impact regarding their role in the

organization(McShane 2005)

Customer perceived empowerment means customers can control of the choice set

composition know about progress cues (ie not feeling lost in the buying process)

and information about other consumers Therefore people will feel satisfied

Figure 2 the evolution of customer empowerment

Need recognitionIn

information Search

Evaluation

Purchase

Post-Purchase Behavior

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

3

Acknowledgements

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my Honors

Project supervisorndash Professor Danny Wang for his support throughout the research

process He devoted his valuable time and efforts in giving me guidance throughout the

project I am sure this project would not be completed so smoothly without his kind help

His expertise in research area inspired us with lots of valuable suggestions and

recommendations which contributed to our excellence in this research

Besides I would like to show our appreciation to those who had helped me to

distribute my questionnaires and our dearest classmates friends and family members for

their wholehearted support during the research process

Also I would like to express my special thanks to all respondents who spent their

valuable time in filling out the questionnaire

4

Abstract

Grouping buying is becoming more popular than previous years there are more and

more studies examining factors affecting group buying behavior Although many

factors affecting purchase intention have been tested there are limited studies related

to alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services standard and

incorporating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in interacting with

independent variables

Therefore our study explored the direct effect of factors on consumers‟ purchase

intention of group buying in Hong Kong and China In our model direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention in group buying will be examined

Also customer perceived empowerment will be tested as moderators in interacting

with independent variables

In this study there are two main objectives Firstly we want to examine how the

four variables suggested in the model in this research related to purchase intention and

to identify the effectiveness of the independent variables Secondly we focus on how

customers‟ empowerment moderates the effect of these variables towards purchase

intention

Our results show that product review towards purchase intention in group buying is

the most important fact that driving consumers to make their purchase intention when

buying products services from group buying Regarding the moderating role of

customer perceived empowerment we found that it significantly moderate the

relationship between product review alternative purchase channels group buying

companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Implications recommendations

limitations and future research will be discussed at the end of study

5

1 Problem development and Objectives

11 Background of the problem

Group buying also known as collective buying offers products and services at

significantly reduced prices on the condition that a minimum number of buyers would

make the purchase Compared to traditional shopping customers can have more price

negotiation To achieve the success of group buying companies place great emphasis

on both attracting new customers and build long term relationship with customers As

group buying always entails a certain level of risk customers will bet about the

ambiguity of the future and the probable reactions of others (eg possibly reliable

vendors and the discount providers)

A consumer must determine whether they can (1) review and know the product

well (2)have alternative purchase channels (3) other third parties to ensure fair

exchange before they commit group buying (Grabner- Krauter amp Kaluscha 2003

Kim 2005 Urban 1999) Also the potential advantages of the group buying can be

attained if Service Standards is achieved for customers By adopting the concept from

Barnes and Vidgen 2003 Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and

Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly 2003 we measure service standard in four

dimension 1)Information 2) Ease of use 3) Website design and 4) Reliability

These four variables would exert certain extent of influence on purchase

intention we believe that customer perceived empowerment would moderate the

strength of these four variables influences on purchase intention Therefore we use

method of empowerment and the feeling of customers to investigate the moderating

effect it exerts on the relationship between four variables and customer perceived

empowerment

The relationship between peer influences and purchase intention had been

studied for many times before However not too many updated research on whether

6

customer perceived empowerment do exert moderating effects on them

12 Objectives of the Study

Accordingly our purposes are (1) to verify which variables would be more

influential in affecting customer‟s intention to use group buying and (2) to explore the

moderating effects of customer perceived empowerment on moderating four

independent variables

To achieve these objectives we examined consumers‟ attitudes towards the

independent variables in Hong Kong and China with the research model of the effect

of price dispersion (Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang 2006) and

integrating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in the model

Group buying is a great opportunity However the competition in group buying

market is fierce in recent year and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due

to the risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Therefore it is

essential for the companies to understand the how the variables factors affecting the

purchase intension The result from this research would be practical for them to

recognize how to attract customers to join group buying

2 Literature Review and Hypotheses

21 Definition of Purchase Intention

Purchase intention is the possibility of a consumer to buy a product (Dodds et al

1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000) Consumers will follow their experience preference

and external environment to collect information evaluate alternatives and make

purchase decision (Zeithaml 1988 Dodds et al 1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000

Yang 2009)The higher the purchase intention is the higher a consumer‟s willingness

is to buy the product As a consumer‟s attitude and assessment and external factors

construct consumer purchase intention it is a critical factor to predict consumer

7

behavior (Fishbein amp Ajzen 1975)

22 Factors affecting purchase Intention in group buying

There are many factors affecting purchase intention in group buying Some factors

identified by the past studies and they are peer influence and product review Some of

them are to be tested in this project and they are alternative purchase channels and

group buying companies‟ services standard In this project delivery speed and time

and customers‟ experience are the control variables and consumer perceived

empowerment is the moderator

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention (Duncan Haller and Portes

1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975 Venkatesan 1966)

Positive product review is positively related to purchase intention on the other

hand negative product review would have negative relation with purchase

intention(Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010)

Customer perceived empowerment in group buying would affect customers‟

intention in purchase If the customers involve more in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process they form higher levels of

purchase intention on the basis of their perceived empowerment Also they will be

likely to continue to shop in group buying vice versa

23 Research Model and Hypotheses

In this project the effects of product review alternative purchase channels peer

influence and group buying companies‟ services standard on purchase intention were

investigated The effects of product review alternative purchase channels and group

buying companies‟ services standard are grouped to be group buying characteristics

On the other hand peer influence is social influence The intensity of the effect of

these factors in affecting attitude towards using will be compared

The following figure presents the factors affecting purchase intention examined in

8

this study Customers‟ experience and delivery speed and time are the control

variables At the same time customer perceived empowerment is a moderator of each

independent variable

Figure 1 Factors affecting purchase intention

231 Product Review

Product information seeking often is portrayed as a critical early stage in the

consumer buying process (Shim etal 2001 Hodkinson et al 2000 Haubl and Trifts

2000 Maes et al 1999 Zellweger 1997 Moorthy et al 1997) As customers often

make decisions depend on personal memoryknowledge customer knowledge about

the product plays an important role in product purchase decision (Satish and Peter

2004)

Customer knowledge is indeed significantly correlated with customer purchase

intention depends on many valuable factors The interactive consumer models as

critical predictors of consumer behavior (Klein 1998) Consumers often evaluate and

refine their information before purchasing (Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000)

9

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟ purchase

intention in group buying

232 Alternative purchase channels

Nowadays as technology improves the number of purchase channels of

products and services rise and customers use various channels for shopping

Channel choice is positively related to the importance of shopping task (Mathwick et

al 2002 Zeithaml 1988) When consumers buy experience good (eg dress) they

tend to buy in a store but they prefer buying search good (eg CD) from online

channels Also channel choice is negatively related to customers‟ perceived risk

(Liang amp Huang 1998) and influenced by the product category (Liang amp Huang

1998)

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

233 Peer influence

Social influence has generally been referred to as conformity and look upon as the

relatively simple act of going along with or agreeing with a visible majority (Jahoda

1959) Group pressure was effective and that individuals tended to conform to the

group norm (Venkatsan 1966 p386)

People may frequently buy products that others in their groups buy as to acquire

what they perceive as a good product especially for products he or she is unable to

evaluate completely from direct observation (Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966)

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟ purchase intention in

group buying

10

234 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Four dimensions proposed recur fairly systematically ( Barnes and Vidgen 2003

Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly

2003) 1) Information quality and quantity of the information about the product or

the service 2) Ease of use how customers perceives the ease of navigation offered by

the site 3) Website design Color graphicetc 4) Reliability capacity to fulfill

promises

Purchase intention is occurred with a product service that meets the customers‟

needs wants and expectations Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H4 The level of group buying companies‟ services standard positively affects

consumers‟ purchase intention in group buying

235 Customer perceived empowerment

Empowerment is a psychological concept in which people experience more self

determination meaning competence and impact regarding their role in the

organization(McShane 2005)

Customer perceived empowerment means customers can control of the choice set

composition know about progress cues (ie not feeling lost in the buying process)

and information about other consumers Therefore people will feel satisfied

Figure 2 the evolution of customer empowerment

Need recognitionIn

information Search

Evaluation

Purchase

Post-Purchase Behavior

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

4

Abstract

Grouping buying is becoming more popular than previous years there are more and

more studies examining factors affecting group buying behavior Although many

factors affecting purchase intention have been tested there are limited studies related

to alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services standard and

incorporating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in interacting with

independent variables

Therefore our study explored the direct effect of factors on consumers‟ purchase

intention of group buying in Hong Kong and China In our model direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention in group buying will be examined

Also customer perceived empowerment will be tested as moderators in interacting

with independent variables

In this study there are two main objectives Firstly we want to examine how the

four variables suggested in the model in this research related to purchase intention and

to identify the effectiveness of the independent variables Secondly we focus on how

customers‟ empowerment moderates the effect of these variables towards purchase

intention

Our results show that product review towards purchase intention in group buying is

the most important fact that driving consumers to make their purchase intention when

buying products services from group buying Regarding the moderating role of

customer perceived empowerment we found that it significantly moderate the

relationship between product review alternative purchase channels group buying

companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Implications recommendations

limitations and future research will be discussed at the end of study

5

1 Problem development and Objectives

11 Background of the problem

Group buying also known as collective buying offers products and services at

significantly reduced prices on the condition that a minimum number of buyers would

make the purchase Compared to traditional shopping customers can have more price

negotiation To achieve the success of group buying companies place great emphasis

on both attracting new customers and build long term relationship with customers As

group buying always entails a certain level of risk customers will bet about the

ambiguity of the future and the probable reactions of others (eg possibly reliable

vendors and the discount providers)

A consumer must determine whether they can (1) review and know the product

well (2)have alternative purchase channels (3) other third parties to ensure fair

exchange before they commit group buying (Grabner- Krauter amp Kaluscha 2003

Kim 2005 Urban 1999) Also the potential advantages of the group buying can be

attained if Service Standards is achieved for customers By adopting the concept from

Barnes and Vidgen 2003 Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and

Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly 2003 we measure service standard in four

dimension 1)Information 2) Ease of use 3) Website design and 4) Reliability

These four variables would exert certain extent of influence on purchase

intention we believe that customer perceived empowerment would moderate the

strength of these four variables influences on purchase intention Therefore we use

method of empowerment and the feeling of customers to investigate the moderating

effect it exerts on the relationship between four variables and customer perceived

empowerment

The relationship between peer influences and purchase intention had been

studied for many times before However not too many updated research on whether

6

customer perceived empowerment do exert moderating effects on them

12 Objectives of the Study

Accordingly our purposes are (1) to verify which variables would be more

influential in affecting customer‟s intention to use group buying and (2) to explore the

moderating effects of customer perceived empowerment on moderating four

independent variables

To achieve these objectives we examined consumers‟ attitudes towards the

independent variables in Hong Kong and China with the research model of the effect

of price dispersion (Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang 2006) and

integrating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in the model

Group buying is a great opportunity However the competition in group buying

market is fierce in recent year and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due

to the risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Therefore it is

essential for the companies to understand the how the variables factors affecting the

purchase intension The result from this research would be practical for them to

recognize how to attract customers to join group buying

2 Literature Review and Hypotheses

21 Definition of Purchase Intention

Purchase intention is the possibility of a consumer to buy a product (Dodds et al

1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000) Consumers will follow their experience preference

and external environment to collect information evaluate alternatives and make

purchase decision (Zeithaml 1988 Dodds et al 1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000

Yang 2009)The higher the purchase intention is the higher a consumer‟s willingness

is to buy the product As a consumer‟s attitude and assessment and external factors

construct consumer purchase intention it is a critical factor to predict consumer

7

behavior (Fishbein amp Ajzen 1975)

22 Factors affecting purchase Intention in group buying

There are many factors affecting purchase intention in group buying Some factors

identified by the past studies and they are peer influence and product review Some of

them are to be tested in this project and they are alternative purchase channels and

group buying companies‟ services standard In this project delivery speed and time

and customers‟ experience are the control variables and consumer perceived

empowerment is the moderator

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention (Duncan Haller and Portes

1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975 Venkatesan 1966)

Positive product review is positively related to purchase intention on the other

hand negative product review would have negative relation with purchase

intention(Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010)

Customer perceived empowerment in group buying would affect customers‟

intention in purchase If the customers involve more in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process they form higher levels of

purchase intention on the basis of their perceived empowerment Also they will be

likely to continue to shop in group buying vice versa

23 Research Model and Hypotheses

In this project the effects of product review alternative purchase channels peer

influence and group buying companies‟ services standard on purchase intention were

investigated The effects of product review alternative purchase channels and group

buying companies‟ services standard are grouped to be group buying characteristics

On the other hand peer influence is social influence The intensity of the effect of

these factors in affecting attitude towards using will be compared

The following figure presents the factors affecting purchase intention examined in

8

this study Customers‟ experience and delivery speed and time are the control

variables At the same time customer perceived empowerment is a moderator of each

independent variable

Figure 1 Factors affecting purchase intention

231 Product Review

Product information seeking often is portrayed as a critical early stage in the

consumer buying process (Shim etal 2001 Hodkinson et al 2000 Haubl and Trifts

2000 Maes et al 1999 Zellweger 1997 Moorthy et al 1997) As customers often

make decisions depend on personal memoryknowledge customer knowledge about

the product plays an important role in product purchase decision (Satish and Peter

2004)

Customer knowledge is indeed significantly correlated with customer purchase

intention depends on many valuable factors The interactive consumer models as

critical predictors of consumer behavior (Klein 1998) Consumers often evaluate and

refine their information before purchasing (Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000)

9

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟ purchase

intention in group buying

232 Alternative purchase channels

Nowadays as technology improves the number of purchase channels of

products and services rise and customers use various channels for shopping

Channel choice is positively related to the importance of shopping task (Mathwick et

al 2002 Zeithaml 1988) When consumers buy experience good (eg dress) they

tend to buy in a store but they prefer buying search good (eg CD) from online

channels Also channel choice is negatively related to customers‟ perceived risk

(Liang amp Huang 1998) and influenced by the product category (Liang amp Huang

1998)

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

233 Peer influence

Social influence has generally been referred to as conformity and look upon as the

relatively simple act of going along with or agreeing with a visible majority (Jahoda

1959) Group pressure was effective and that individuals tended to conform to the

group norm (Venkatsan 1966 p386)

People may frequently buy products that others in their groups buy as to acquire

what they perceive as a good product especially for products he or she is unable to

evaluate completely from direct observation (Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966)

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟ purchase intention in

group buying

10

234 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Four dimensions proposed recur fairly systematically ( Barnes and Vidgen 2003

Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly

2003) 1) Information quality and quantity of the information about the product or

the service 2) Ease of use how customers perceives the ease of navigation offered by

the site 3) Website design Color graphicetc 4) Reliability capacity to fulfill

promises

Purchase intention is occurred with a product service that meets the customers‟

needs wants and expectations Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H4 The level of group buying companies‟ services standard positively affects

consumers‟ purchase intention in group buying

235 Customer perceived empowerment

Empowerment is a psychological concept in which people experience more self

determination meaning competence and impact regarding their role in the

organization(McShane 2005)

Customer perceived empowerment means customers can control of the choice set

composition know about progress cues (ie not feeling lost in the buying process)

and information about other consumers Therefore people will feel satisfied

Figure 2 the evolution of customer empowerment

Need recognitionIn

information Search

Evaluation

Purchase

Post-Purchase Behavior

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

5

1 Problem development and Objectives

11 Background of the problem

Group buying also known as collective buying offers products and services at

significantly reduced prices on the condition that a minimum number of buyers would

make the purchase Compared to traditional shopping customers can have more price

negotiation To achieve the success of group buying companies place great emphasis

on both attracting new customers and build long term relationship with customers As

group buying always entails a certain level of risk customers will bet about the

ambiguity of the future and the probable reactions of others (eg possibly reliable

vendors and the discount providers)

A consumer must determine whether they can (1) review and know the product

well (2)have alternative purchase channels (3) other third parties to ensure fair

exchange before they commit group buying (Grabner- Krauter amp Kaluscha 2003

Kim 2005 Urban 1999) Also the potential advantages of the group buying can be

attained if Service Standards is achieved for customers By adopting the concept from

Barnes and Vidgen 2003 Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and

Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly 2003 we measure service standard in four

dimension 1)Information 2) Ease of use 3) Website design and 4) Reliability

These four variables would exert certain extent of influence on purchase

intention we believe that customer perceived empowerment would moderate the

strength of these four variables influences on purchase intention Therefore we use

method of empowerment and the feeling of customers to investigate the moderating

effect it exerts on the relationship between four variables and customer perceived

empowerment

The relationship between peer influences and purchase intention had been

studied for many times before However not too many updated research on whether

6

customer perceived empowerment do exert moderating effects on them

12 Objectives of the Study

Accordingly our purposes are (1) to verify which variables would be more

influential in affecting customer‟s intention to use group buying and (2) to explore the

moderating effects of customer perceived empowerment on moderating four

independent variables

To achieve these objectives we examined consumers‟ attitudes towards the

independent variables in Hong Kong and China with the research model of the effect

of price dispersion (Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang 2006) and

integrating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in the model

Group buying is a great opportunity However the competition in group buying

market is fierce in recent year and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due

to the risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Therefore it is

essential for the companies to understand the how the variables factors affecting the

purchase intension The result from this research would be practical for them to

recognize how to attract customers to join group buying

2 Literature Review and Hypotheses

21 Definition of Purchase Intention

Purchase intention is the possibility of a consumer to buy a product (Dodds et al

1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000) Consumers will follow their experience preference

and external environment to collect information evaluate alternatives and make

purchase decision (Zeithaml 1988 Dodds et al 1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000

Yang 2009)The higher the purchase intention is the higher a consumer‟s willingness

is to buy the product As a consumer‟s attitude and assessment and external factors

construct consumer purchase intention it is a critical factor to predict consumer

7

behavior (Fishbein amp Ajzen 1975)

22 Factors affecting purchase Intention in group buying

There are many factors affecting purchase intention in group buying Some factors

identified by the past studies and they are peer influence and product review Some of

them are to be tested in this project and they are alternative purchase channels and

group buying companies‟ services standard In this project delivery speed and time

and customers‟ experience are the control variables and consumer perceived

empowerment is the moderator

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention (Duncan Haller and Portes

1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975 Venkatesan 1966)

Positive product review is positively related to purchase intention on the other

hand negative product review would have negative relation with purchase

intention(Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010)

Customer perceived empowerment in group buying would affect customers‟

intention in purchase If the customers involve more in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process they form higher levels of

purchase intention on the basis of their perceived empowerment Also they will be

likely to continue to shop in group buying vice versa

23 Research Model and Hypotheses

In this project the effects of product review alternative purchase channels peer

influence and group buying companies‟ services standard on purchase intention were

investigated The effects of product review alternative purchase channels and group

buying companies‟ services standard are grouped to be group buying characteristics

On the other hand peer influence is social influence The intensity of the effect of

these factors in affecting attitude towards using will be compared

The following figure presents the factors affecting purchase intention examined in

8

this study Customers‟ experience and delivery speed and time are the control

variables At the same time customer perceived empowerment is a moderator of each

independent variable

Figure 1 Factors affecting purchase intention

231 Product Review

Product information seeking often is portrayed as a critical early stage in the

consumer buying process (Shim etal 2001 Hodkinson et al 2000 Haubl and Trifts

2000 Maes et al 1999 Zellweger 1997 Moorthy et al 1997) As customers often

make decisions depend on personal memoryknowledge customer knowledge about

the product plays an important role in product purchase decision (Satish and Peter

2004)

Customer knowledge is indeed significantly correlated with customer purchase

intention depends on many valuable factors The interactive consumer models as

critical predictors of consumer behavior (Klein 1998) Consumers often evaluate and

refine their information before purchasing (Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000)

9

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟ purchase

intention in group buying

232 Alternative purchase channels

Nowadays as technology improves the number of purchase channels of

products and services rise and customers use various channels for shopping

Channel choice is positively related to the importance of shopping task (Mathwick et

al 2002 Zeithaml 1988) When consumers buy experience good (eg dress) they

tend to buy in a store but they prefer buying search good (eg CD) from online

channels Also channel choice is negatively related to customers‟ perceived risk

(Liang amp Huang 1998) and influenced by the product category (Liang amp Huang

1998)

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

233 Peer influence

Social influence has generally been referred to as conformity and look upon as the

relatively simple act of going along with or agreeing with a visible majority (Jahoda

1959) Group pressure was effective and that individuals tended to conform to the

group norm (Venkatsan 1966 p386)

People may frequently buy products that others in their groups buy as to acquire

what they perceive as a good product especially for products he or she is unable to

evaluate completely from direct observation (Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966)

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟ purchase intention in

group buying

10

234 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Four dimensions proposed recur fairly systematically ( Barnes and Vidgen 2003

Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly

2003) 1) Information quality and quantity of the information about the product or

the service 2) Ease of use how customers perceives the ease of navigation offered by

the site 3) Website design Color graphicetc 4) Reliability capacity to fulfill

promises

Purchase intention is occurred with a product service that meets the customers‟

needs wants and expectations Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H4 The level of group buying companies‟ services standard positively affects

consumers‟ purchase intention in group buying

235 Customer perceived empowerment

Empowerment is a psychological concept in which people experience more self

determination meaning competence and impact regarding their role in the

organization(McShane 2005)

Customer perceived empowerment means customers can control of the choice set

composition know about progress cues (ie not feeling lost in the buying process)

and information about other consumers Therefore people will feel satisfied

Figure 2 the evolution of customer empowerment

Need recognitionIn

information Search

Evaluation

Purchase

Post-Purchase Behavior

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

6

customer perceived empowerment do exert moderating effects on them

12 Objectives of the Study

Accordingly our purposes are (1) to verify which variables would be more

influential in affecting customer‟s intention to use group buying and (2) to explore the

moderating effects of customer perceived empowerment on moderating four

independent variables

To achieve these objectives we examined consumers‟ attitudes towards the

independent variables in Hong Kong and China with the research model of the effect

of price dispersion (Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang 2006) and

integrating customer perceived empowerment as moderators in the model

Group buying is a great opportunity However the competition in group buying

market is fierce in recent year and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due

to the risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Therefore it is

essential for the companies to understand the how the variables factors affecting the

purchase intension The result from this research would be practical for them to

recognize how to attract customers to join group buying

2 Literature Review and Hypotheses

21 Definition of Purchase Intention

Purchase intention is the possibility of a consumer to buy a product (Dodds et al

1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000) Consumers will follow their experience preference

and external environment to collect information evaluate alternatives and make

purchase decision (Zeithaml 1988 Dodds et al 1991 Schiffman amp Kanuk 2000

Yang 2009)The higher the purchase intention is the higher a consumer‟s willingness

is to buy the product As a consumer‟s attitude and assessment and external factors

construct consumer purchase intention it is a critical factor to predict consumer

7

behavior (Fishbein amp Ajzen 1975)

22 Factors affecting purchase Intention in group buying

There are many factors affecting purchase intention in group buying Some factors

identified by the past studies and they are peer influence and product review Some of

them are to be tested in this project and they are alternative purchase channels and

group buying companies‟ services standard In this project delivery speed and time

and customers‟ experience are the control variables and consumer perceived

empowerment is the moderator

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention (Duncan Haller and Portes

1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975 Venkatesan 1966)

Positive product review is positively related to purchase intention on the other

hand negative product review would have negative relation with purchase

intention(Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010)

Customer perceived empowerment in group buying would affect customers‟

intention in purchase If the customers involve more in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process they form higher levels of

purchase intention on the basis of their perceived empowerment Also they will be

likely to continue to shop in group buying vice versa

23 Research Model and Hypotheses

In this project the effects of product review alternative purchase channels peer

influence and group buying companies‟ services standard on purchase intention were

investigated The effects of product review alternative purchase channels and group

buying companies‟ services standard are grouped to be group buying characteristics

On the other hand peer influence is social influence The intensity of the effect of

these factors in affecting attitude towards using will be compared

The following figure presents the factors affecting purchase intention examined in

8

this study Customers‟ experience and delivery speed and time are the control

variables At the same time customer perceived empowerment is a moderator of each

independent variable

Figure 1 Factors affecting purchase intention

231 Product Review

Product information seeking often is portrayed as a critical early stage in the

consumer buying process (Shim etal 2001 Hodkinson et al 2000 Haubl and Trifts

2000 Maes et al 1999 Zellweger 1997 Moorthy et al 1997) As customers often

make decisions depend on personal memoryknowledge customer knowledge about

the product plays an important role in product purchase decision (Satish and Peter

2004)

Customer knowledge is indeed significantly correlated with customer purchase

intention depends on many valuable factors The interactive consumer models as

critical predictors of consumer behavior (Klein 1998) Consumers often evaluate and

refine their information before purchasing (Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000)

9

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟ purchase

intention in group buying

232 Alternative purchase channels

Nowadays as technology improves the number of purchase channels of

products and services rise and customers use various channels for shopping

Channel choice is positively related to the importance of shopping task (Mathwick et

al 2002 Zeithaml 1988) When consumers buy experience good (eg dress) they

tend to buy in a store but they prefer buying search good (eg CD) from online

channels Also channel choice is negatively related to customers‟ perceived risk

(Liang amp Huang 1998) and influenced by the product category (Liang amp Huang

1998)

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

233 Peer influence

Social influence has generally been referred to as conformity and look upon as the

relatively simple act of going along with or agreeing with a visible majority (Jahoda

1959) Group pressure was effective and that individuals tended to conform to the

group norm (Venkatsan 1966 p386)

People may frequently buy products that others in their groups buy as to acquire

what they perceive as a good product especially for products he or she is unable to

evaluate completely from direct observation (Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966)

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟ purchase intention in

group buying

10

234 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Four dimensions proposed recur fairly systematically ( Barnes and Vidgen 2003

Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly

2003) 1) Information quality and quantity of the information about the product or

the service 2) Ease of use how customers perceives the ease of navigation offered by

the site 3) Website design Color graphicetc 4) Reliability capacity to fulfill

promises

Purchase intention is occurred with a product service that meets the customers‟

needs wants and expectations Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H4 The level of group buying companies‟ services standard positively affects

consumers‟ purchase intention in group buying

235 Customer perceived empowerment

Empowerment is a psychological concept in which people experience more self

determination meaning competence and impact regarding their role in the

organization(McShane 2005)

Customer perceived empowerment means customers can control of the choice set

composition know about progress cues (ie not feeling lost in the buying process)

and information about other consumers Therefore people will feel satisfied

Figure 2 the evolution of customer empowerment

Need recognitionIn

information Search

Evaluation

Purchase

Post-Purchase Behavior

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

7

behavior (Fishbein amp Ajzen 1975)

22 Factors affecting purchase Intention in group buying

There are many factors affecting purchase intention in group buying Some factors

identified by the past studies and they are peer influence and product review Some of

them are to be tested in this project and they are alternative purchase channels and

group buying companies‟ services standard In this project delivery speed and time

and customers‟ experience are the control variables and consumer perceived

empowerment is the moderator

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention (Duncan Haller and Portes

1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975 Venkatesan 1966)

Positive product review is positively related to purchase intention on the other

hand negative product review would have negative relation with purchase

intention(Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010)

Customer perceived empowerment in group buying would affect customers‟

intention in purchase If the customers involve more in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process they form higher levels of

purchase intention on the basis of their perceived empowerment Also they will be

likely to continue to shop in group buying vice versa

23 Research Model and Hypotheses

In this project the effects of product review alternative purchase channels peer

influence and group buying companies‟ services standard on purchase intention were

investigated The effects of product review alternative purchase channels and group

buying companies‟ services standard are grouped to be group buying characteristics

On the other hand peer influence is social influence The intensity of the effect of

these factors in affecting attitude towards using will be compared

The following figure presents the factors affecting purchase intention examined in

8

this study Customers‟ experience and delivery speed and time are the control

variables At the same time customer perceived empowerment is a moderator of each

independent variable

Figure 1 Factors affecting purchase intention

231 Product Review

Product information seeking often is portrayed as a critical early stage in the

consumer buying process (Shim etal 2001 Hodkinson et al 2000 Haubl and Trifts

2000 Maes et al 1999 Zellweger 1997 Moorthy et al 1997) As customers often

make decisions depend on personal memoryknowledge customer knowledge about

the product plays an important role in product purchase decision (Satish and Peter

2004)

Customer knowledge is indeed significantly correlated with customer purchase

intention depends on many valuable factors The interactive consumer models as

critical predictors of consumer behavior (Klein 1998) Consumers often evaluate and

refine their information before purchasing (Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000)

9

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟ purchase

intention in group buying

232 Alternative purchase channels

Nowadays as technology improves the number of purchase channels of

products and services rise and customers use various channels for shopping

Channel choice is positively related to the importance of shopping task (Mathwick et

al 2002 Zeithaml 1988) When consumers buy experience good (eg dress) they

tend to buy in a store but they prefer buying search good (eg CD) from online

channels Also channel choice is negatively related to customers‟ perceived risk

(Liang amp Huang 1998) and influenced by the product category (Liang amp Huang

1998)

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

233 Peer influence

Social influence has generally been referred to as conformity and look upon as the

relatively simple act of going along with or agreeing with a visible majority (Jahoda

1959) Group pressure was effective and that individuals tended to conform to the

group norm (Venkatsan 1966 p386)

People may frequently buy products that others in their groups buy as to acquire

what they perceive as a good product especially for products he or she is unable to

evaluate completely from direct observation (Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966)

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟ purchase intention in

group buying

10

234 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Four dimensions proposed recur fairly systematically ( Barnes and Vidgen 2003

Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly

2003) 1) Information quality and quantity of the information about the product or

the service 2) Ease of use how customers perceives the ease of navigation offered by

the site 3) Website design Color graphicetc 4) Reliability capacity to fulfill

promises

Purchase intention is occurred with a product service that meets the customers‟

needs wants and expectations Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H4 The level of group buying companies‟ services standard positively affects

consumers‟ purchase intention in group buying

235 Customer perceived empowerment

Empowerment is a psychological concept in which people experience more self

determination meaning competence and impact regarding their role in the

organization(McShane 2005)

Customer perceived empowerment means customers can control of the choice set

composition know about progress cues (ie not feeling lost in the buying process)

and information about other consumers Therefore people will feel satisfied

Figure 2 the evolution of customer empowerment

Need recognitionIn

information Search

Evaluation

Purchase

Post-Purchase Behavior

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

8

this study Customers‟ experience and delivery speed and time are the control

variables At the same time customer perceived empowerment is a moderator of each

independent variable

Figure 1 Factors affecting purchase intention

231 Product Review

Product information seeking often is portrayed as a critical early stage in the

consumer buying process (Shim etal 2001 Hodkinson et al 2000 Haubl and Trifts

2000 Maes et al 1999 Zellweger 1997 Moorthy et al 1997) As customers often

make decisions depend on personal memoryknowledge customer knowledge about

the product plays an important role in product purchase decision (Satish and Peter

2004)

Customer knowledge is indeed significantly correlated with customer purchase

intention depends on many valuable factors The interactive consumer models as

critical predictors of consumer behavior (Klein 1998) Consumers often evaluate and

refine their information before purchasing (Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000)

9

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟ purchase

intention in group buying

232 Alternative purchase channels

Nowadays as technology improves the number of purchase channels of

products and services rise and customers use various channels for shopping

Channel choice is positively related to the importance of shopping task (Mathwick et

al 2002 Zeithaml 1988) When consumers buy experience good (eg dress) they

tend to buy in a store but they prefer buying search good (eg CD) from online

channels Also channel choice is negatively related to customers‟ perceived risk

(Liang amp Huang 1998) and influenced by the product category (Liang amp Huang

1998)

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

233 Peer influence

Social influence has generally been referred to as conformity and look upon as the

relatively simple act of going along with or agreeing with a visible majority (Jahoda

1959) Group pressure was effective and that individuals tended to conform to the

group norm (Venkatsan 1966 p386)

People may frequently buy products that others in their groups buy as to acquire

what they perceive as a good product especially for products he or she is unable to

evaluate completely from direct observation (Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966)

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟ purchase intention in

group buying

10

234 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Four dimensions proposed recur fairly systematically ( Barnes and Vidgen 2003

Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly

2003) 1) Information quality and quantity of the information about the product or

the service 2) Ease of use how customers perceives the ease of navigation offered by

the site 3) Website design Color graphicetc 4) Reliability capacity to fulfill

promises

Purchase intention is occurred with a product service that meets the customers‟

needs wants and expectations Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H4 The level of group buying companies‟ services standard positively affects

consumers‟ purchase intention in group buying

235 Customer perceived empowerment

Empowerment is a psychological concept in which people experience more self

determination meaning competence and impact regarding their role in the

organization(McShane 2005)

Customer perceived empowerment means customers can control of the choice set

composition know about progress cues (ie not feeling lost in the buying process)

and information about other consumers Therefore people will feel satisfied

Figure 2 the evolution of customer empowerment

Need recognitionIn

information Search

Evaluation

Purchase

Post-Purchase Behavior

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

9

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟ purchase

intention in group buying

232 Alternative purchase channels

Nowadays as technology improves the number of purchase channels of

products and services rise and customers use various channels for shopping

Channel choice is positively related to the importance of shopping task (Mathwick et

al 2002 Zeithaml 1988) When consumers buy experience good (eg dress) they

tend to buy in a store but they prefer buying search good (eg CD) from online

channels Also channel choice is negatively related to customers‟ perceived risk

(Liang amp Huang 1998) and influenced by the product category (Liang amp Huang

1998)

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

233 Peer influence

Social influence has generally been referred to as conformity and look upon as the

relatively simple act of going along with or agreeing with a visible majority (Jahoda

1959) Group pressure was effective and that individuals tended to conform to the

group norm (Venkatsan 1966 p386)

People may frequently buy products that others in their groups buy as to acquire

what they perceive as a good product especially for products he or she is unable to

evaluate completely from direct observation (Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966)

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟ purchase intention in

group buying

10

234 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Four dimensions proposed recur fairly systematically ( Barnes and Vidgen 2003

Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly

2003) 1) Information quality and quantity of the information about the product or

the service 2) Ease of use how customers perceives the ease of navigation offered by

the site 3) Website design Color graphicetc 4) Reliability capacity to fulfill

promises

Purchase intention is occurred with a product service that meets the customers‟

needs wants and expectations Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H4 The level of group buying companies‟ services standard positively affects

consumers‟ purchase intention in group buying

235 Customer perceived empowerment

Empowerment is a psychological concept in which people experience more self

determination meaning competence and impact regarding their role in the

organization(McShane 2005)

Customer perceived empowerment means customers can control of the choice set

composition know about progress cues (ie not feeling lost in the buying process)

and information about other consumers Therefore people will feel satisfied

Figure 2 the evolution of customer empowerment

Need recognitionIn

information Search

Evaluation

Purchase

Post-Purchase Behavior

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

10

234 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Four dimensions proposed recur fairly systematically ( Barnes and Vidgen 2003

Bressolles2006 Parasuraman Zeithaml and Malhotra2005 Wolfinbarger and Gilly

2003) 1) Information quality and quantity of the information about the product or

the service 2) Ease of use how customers perceives the ease of navigation offered by

the site 3) Website design Color graphicetc 4) Reliability capacity to fulfill

promises

Purchase intention is occurred with a product service that meets the customers‟

needs wants and expectations Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H4 The level of group buying companies‟ services standard positively affects

consumers‟ purchase intention in group buying

235 Customer perceived empowerment

Empowerment is a psychological concept in which people experience more self

determination meaning competence and impact regarding their role in the

organization(McShane 2005)

Customer perceived empowerment means customers can control of the choice set

composition know about progress cues (ie not feeling lost in the buying process)

and information about other consumers Therefore people will feel satisfied

Figure 2 the evolution of customer empowerment

Need recognitionIn

information Search

Evaluation

Purchase

Post-Purchase Behavior

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

11

2351 Moderation between Product Review and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

Comport can be used to signify the importance of service and it depend on

interpersonal skills communication empowerment knowledge sensitivity

understanding and some kind of external behavior Expert advice comparison

shopping online communities blogs testimonies develop feedback systems for

service quality is one of the way to gain empowerment When information about an

object or firm comes through the opinions or recommendations of another person

negative information may be more credible than positive information (Mizerski

1982) More empowerment more feedback the chance of having negative

information is increased and will affect the purchase intention of the customers

Therefore this paper hypothesizes that

H5a Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between product

review and purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment negatively

moderates the effects of product reviews

2352 Moderation between Alternative Purchase Channels and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

People who have more perceived influence on the product design and decision

making in group buying may find more channel choices than those do not feel they

have perceived influence Then it may be more likely for those involve more effort to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

H5b Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention More alternative purchase

channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention for customers who have

higher perceived empowerment

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

12

2353 Moderation between Peer Influence and Customer Perceived Empowerment

Originally peer influence has positive effect to purchase which was proven in

previous literatures Comparing with those customers having perceived empowerment

people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level On

the other hand if they have more perceived influence in the creation and selection of

new products originating a new democratization process peer comments and choices

may become more important for their purchase decision making

H5c Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between peer

influence and purchase intention Higher level of peer influence has stronger positive

effects on purchase intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

2354 Moderation between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment

The attitudes and behaviors of contact employees will influence consumer

perception when evaluating the quality of the service delivered (Bowen and Lawler

1992) Firms will need accept to loss (some) control expect internal resistance ensure

that top management is supporting the initiative and focus on the culture not just the

technology More customer-oriented becomes more incentive to improve the service

standard as there is more interaction between company and customers Therefore this

paper hypothesizes that

H5d Customer perceived empowerment moderates the relationship between group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention Higher services standard

of group buying companies has stronger positive effects on purchase intention for

customers who have higher perceived empowerment

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

13

3 Methodology

31 Subject

This study focuses on the factors affecting the purchase intention in group buying

and how customers‟ empowerment moderates the intensity of these factors toward

purchase intention The target respondents are the individuals in Hong Kong China

who have heard about group buying and who have purchased something through the

group buying in the past year Therefore the respondents should have at least some

knowledge in group buying The target respondents include both students and the

working population Both paper-based questionnaire and Internet-based questionnaire

were distributed to the Internet users in Hong Kong and China Two versions of

questionnaires English and Chinese (refer to Appendix A) were prepared A total of

242 usable questionnaires were returned by Internet-based The respondents were

asked to answer the questionnaires based on their experience in group buying

Appendix B summarizes the demographic characteristics of the respondents As

shown in the table 547 were female Almost 70 of the respondents were 20-24

years old and almost 10 of the respondents were 25-34 years old The result shows

that 769 of the respondents‟ education level attained university Most of

respondents (714) had purchased something through the group buying

32 Research design

The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 190 for Windows was used to

analyze the data Cronbach‟s Alpha was used to test the internal reliability of the scales

Cronbach‟s Alpha is an internal-consistency reliability estimation method It should

only be computed on a homogeneous set of items (or questions) If the Cronbach‟s

Alpha for the model constructs are at or above the recommended threshold of 07 the

construct are said to be reliable

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

14

Linear Regression is the study of how a dependent variable is related to two or

more independent variables Linear and Hierarchical Regression were then applied to

examine the statistical significance and the form of the main and interaction effects

which we postulated in our model

33 Questionnaire Design

A structured questionnaire was designed in both Chinese and English and consisted

of three major parts with true-false questions multiple-choice questions and 7- point

Likert scale (ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Prior to answering all these questions the questionnaire starts with 2 screening

questions to identify the appropriate respondents The questions are ldquoHave you heard

about group buyingrdquo and ldquoDid you have group buying experience during the past

yearrdquo Respondents who have prior experience in using group buying would be the

respondents of this study

The questionnaire was divided into six parts In general the scales of the

questionnaire are adapted and modified from previous studies There are some

wording and question formats adjustments after doing pre-test as to find appropriate

words and question styles to fit specific needs of this research and to achieve content

validity

In part 1 two trust or false questions are set to test the understanding and

experience of using group buying

In part 2 7- point Likert scale questions are set for respondents to select the

response that best indicate their perceptions on each statement about each independent

variable

Items for measuring product review were adopted and modified from Hodkinson et

al 2000 Rowley 2000 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau 1975 and

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

15

self-constructed

For alternative purchase channels items were adopted from Mathwick et al 2002

Zeithaml 1988 Liang amp Huang 1998 and self-constructed

For peer influence items were adopted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and self-constructed

For group buying companies‟ services standard items are modified from Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

In part 3 7- point Likert scale questions are set for testing whether the two

variables are controlled

For delivery speed and time items are modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai

Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and self-constructed

For customers‟ experience items are modified from Hsu et al2006

In part 4 items of the moderator customer perceived empowerment are adopted

and modified from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and self-constructed

In part 5 purchase intention is an important issue to do group buying as It would

affect customers to make transactions from group buying or not These items were

adopted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and self-constructed

In part 6 the demographic data (including gender age and educational level) would

be collected by multiple-choice questions in the last part of the questionnaire

34 Sampling method

We conducted a set data which are collected from Hong Kong and mainland

people Since the project focuses on factors affecting purchase intention in group

buying and how customer perceived empowerment moderates the intensity of each

independent variables our targets for doing samples are individuals from Hong Kong

and Mainland China with group buying experience In our study we use convenience

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

16

sampling on an online survey (httpsasiaqualtricscom) This convenience sampling

is 224 respondents which distributed through social networks in Hong Kong and

China Respondents would be invited face-to-face or through email facebook

invitation Weibo Twitter and other web-board postings

35 Measurements

By reviewing other‟s studies and some journals scales are developed to measure

each variable Table 1(Appendix C) is a summary of all items the sources of the items

and description of the items used to measure each variable

Product Review

Product review considers peers‟ evaluation and pre-purchase search It is measured

by using four items Two of them were adapted from Robert E Burnkrant and Alain

Cousineau 1975 One of them adapted from Hodkinson et al 2000 Rowley 2000 and

the remaining was self-constructed

Alternative purchase channels

Other purchase channels besides group buying were measured by using four items

Two of them were adapted from Mathwick et al 2002 Zeithaml 1988 and Liang amp

Huang 1998 and the remaining two items are self-constructed

Peer influence

Influence between peers (eg friends) and consumers was measured by using five

items where three of them were adapted from Burnkrant amp Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966 and Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and two of them were

self-constructed

Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Group buying companies‟ services standard was measured by four items and all

items were modified from Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a 2011

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

17

Customersrsquo experience

Customers‟ group buying experience is a control variable and it was measured by

three items Two of them were modified from Hsu et al2006 and the last one was

self-constructed

Delivery time and speed

Group buying deals‟ delivery time and speed is another control variables and it was

measured by two items One was modified from Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu

Ho Chao-Tsung 2010 and the other one was self-constructed

Customer perceived empowerment

Customer perceived empowerment is measured by using six items Five of them

were adapted from ME Sharpe Inc2010 and the rest one was self-constructed

Purchase intention

Group buying purchase intention of consumers will be measured by using four

items Two items were adapted from Kauffman Laiamp Huang 2010 and the remaining

two were self-constructed

4 Data Analysis and Result

To analyze the collected data the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS)

was applied All of the data was run at 95 confidence level

41 Primary Data Analysis and Descriptive statistics

There are totally 242 respondents and 876 (212) of them have understand what is

group buying and have related experience

Appendix 72 shows the details of demographic frequencies

Analyzing the demographic data male and female ratio is similar There are

788 (167) respondents aged 20-24 104 (22) respondents aged 25-34 and 71

(15) respondents aged 15-19 877 (186) and 19 (4) are undergraduate and

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

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Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

18

postgraduate or above On the other hand only 28 (6) respondents aged 35-54 and

no one aged 54 or above only 104 (22) studied till secondary school and no one

studied till primary school or below

It showed that most customers using group buying were younger generation and

they had advanced educational level

42 Reliability Test

Table 1 summarizes the Cronbach‟s Alphas for all the scales With alphas greater

than 07 the tests demonstrated that the measures of product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard

delivery speed and time consumers‟ experience consumer perceived empowerment

and purchase intention of group buying are reasonably internally consistent

Table 1 Cronbach‟s Alpha Reliability Analysis (Significant Level Alpha gt= 07)

Variables

Items Alphas

product review PW1 PW2 PW3 PW4 0937

alternative purchase channels APC1 APC2 APC3 APC4 0923

peer influence PI1 PI2 PI3 PI4 PI5 0959

group buying companies‟ services

standard

CSS1 CSS2 CSS3 CSS4 0966

delivery speed and time DST1 DST2 0976

consumers‟ experience CE1 CE2 CE3 0938

consumer perceived

empowerment

CPE1 CPE2 CPE3 CPE4 CPE5

CPE6

0988

purchase intention PUI1 PUI2 PUI3 PUI4 0947

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

19

43 Regression Analysis

Multiple Regressions was used to test the relationship between independent and

dependent variables which include product review alternative purchase channels

peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention of

group buying In addition the moderating effects of customer perceived

empowerment was analyzed with hierarchical regression

431 Direct effects of each independent variables

Product review alternative purchase channels peer influence group buying

companies‟ services standard were regarded as four independent variables in this

project while purchase intention was regarded as the dependent variable

Figure 2 Direct effects of the four independent variables on purchase intention of

group buying

Two stages were used to test the direct effects among independent and dependent

variables

Firstly control variables include delivery time and speed and customers‟

experience were tested in regression

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

20

Secondly purchase intention of group buying was regressed on independent

variables (including product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and

group buying companies‟ services standard) and the result was significant with p

value =0000 and change in R square =0935 All independent variables were

significant to explain the variance in purchase intention with p value less than 005

The Standardized Bata Coefficient of product review peer influence and group

buying companies‟ services standard are 1366 0484 and 0252 which mean these

three independent variables were positively related to purchase intention of group

buying The Standardized Bata Coefficient of alternative purchase channels is -0446

which means alternative purchase channels were positively related to purchase

intention of group buying

Moreover four variables explained 933 of the total variance in the dependent

variable of purchase intention of group buying with adjusted R Square=0933

Therefore there was a strong relationship between product review alternative

purchase channels peer influence group buying companies‟ services standard and

purchase intention

Referring to the Standardized Bata Coefficient the largest beta value was product

review (1366) It explained that product review had the strongest relationship towards

purchase intention of group buying On the other hand group buying companies‟

services standard beta was 0023 Although the number was smaller than the standard

of 005 it was treated as a marginally significant figure and the relationship between

group buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention was weaker than

the other independent variables

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

21

432 The moderating effect of customer perceived empowerment

Hierarchical moderated regression analysis (HMRA) using SPSS (v 19) was used

to test the hypotheses related to the moderating effect of customer perceived

empowerment Hartmann and Moers (1999) and Irwin and McClelland (2001)

suggested Hierarchical regression requires running two regression one of them is

with the main effects only and the another one is with both main effects and the

interaction term A significant interaction effect is confirmed by the statistical

significance of the additional variance with the interaction term (Hartmann amp

Moers1999)

Besides our study created new variables to capture the moderating effect of

customer perceived empowerment by multiplying customer perceive empowerment

with each of the independent variable Figure 3 below illustrates the moderating

effects of customer empowerment on our independent variables

a Interactions between Product Review and Customer Empowerment

The result of the Table 2 regression model including the interaction between product

review and customer perceived empowerment is showed in Table 2 The change in Rsup2

was 0033 while the interaction effect of independent variable and customer

perceived empowerment was included in the model The regression model was

significant (p= 0000) The interaction effect of Product Review and Customer

Empowerment was significant (Beta= -0573 t= -5985 p= 0000) It is showed the

interaction of Product Review and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively

related to the purchase intention

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

22

Figure 3 the moderating effects of customer empowerment on our independent

variables

Hypothesis 5b

b Interactions between Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived

Empowerment

The result of the below regression model including the interaction between

Alternative Purchase Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment are showed in

Table 2 The interaction effect of Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant

(Beta=-0431t= -3697 p= 000) It is showed the interaction of Alternative Purchase

Channel and Customer Perceived Empowerment was negatively related to the

purchase intention

Hypothesis 5b

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

23

c Interactions between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Peer Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment

was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was 0033 The interaction effect of Peer

Influences and Customer Perceived Empowerment was not significant (Beta= 217 t=

1728 p= 0086) The result showed that the interaction of Peer Influences and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with purchase intention

The results are shown in Table 2

Hypothesis 5c

d Interactions between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and Customer

Perceived Empowerment

The interaction between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was added in the model the change in Rsup2 was

0033 The interaction effect of Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard and

Customer Perceived Empowerment was significant (Beta=0602 t= 6701 p= 0000)

The result showed that the interaction of Group Buying Companies‟ Services

Standard and Customer Perceived Empowerment was positively associated with

purchase intention The results are shown in Table 2

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

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Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

24

Hypothesis 5d

Table 2 Regression Analysis Result

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

25

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

Note for Table 2

Independent Variables

PW = Product review

APC = Alternative purchase channels

PI = Peer influence

CSS = Group buying companies‟ services standard

Dependent Variables

PUI = Purchase intention

Control Variables

DST = Delivery speed and time

CE = Customers‟ experience

Moderating effect

PW_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between product

review and purchase intention

APC_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

PI_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between peer

influence and purchase intention

CSS_CPE_centre = Moderating effect between Group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase

intention

Moderator

CPE = Customer perceived empowerment

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

26

Table 3 Hierarchical Multiple Regression Table for Interaction Effect

Hypothesis Result

H1 The favorability of product reviews positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H2 The availability of alternative purchase channels negatively

affects customers‟ purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H3 The level of peer influence positively affects consumers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H4 Service Standard of the purchase positively affects customers‟

purchase intention in group buying

Supported

H5a Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of product reviews

Supported

H5b Customer perceived empowerment negatively moderates the

effects of Alternative Purchase Channels

Supported

H5c Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Peer Influences

Not

Significant

H5d Customer perceived empowerment positively moderates the

effects of Service Standard

Supported

5 Discussion of the Results and Implications

We tested a model by using Theory of Reasoned Action to test the direct effects of

product review alternative purchase channels peer influence and group buying

companies‟ services standard to purchase intention of group buying in both Hong

Kong and China

Moreover we incorporated Customer perceived empowerment as the moderator in

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

27

our project to examine how the independent variables and dependent variables would

be affected Thirdly delivery speed and time and customers‟ experience of using

group buying were treated as control variables meaning they would not affect

customers‟ purchase intention

After data analysis all the direct effects between independent and dependent

variables were supported For moderators‟ side there is one moderator out of four was

not supported in our hypothesis

51 Theoretical implications

511 Product review

The study finds that favorability Product Review positively influence purchase

intention Product Review was found to be the most significant factors that

influencing consumers‟ purchase intention directly it affects customers‟ purchase

intention at a highest level comparing with other independent variables in this model

Similarly other studies also described customer knowledge as a factor for decision

making (Rao and Monroe 1988) Consumer knowledge of a product is useful for

consumers to make their decisions effectively (Li et al 2006) This shows that

entities bdquoability to gain more positive product review in their consumers therefore is

one of the most important elements in group buying

512 Alternative purchase channels

One of our study‟s contributions is the direct effect of alternative purchase channels

to group buying purchase intention was discovered in this study Something related to

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention has been proven in previous

literatures to the best of our knowledge all these two variables have never been

tested in the same model before We discovered that more purchase channels for

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

28

customers would lower their purchase intention in group buying It is related to the

relationship of shopping task shopping risk and channel choices (details covered in

232) We discovered that when customers‟ shopping task is more important their

perceived risk would be higher Then customers would search for more purchase

channels before making decision of buying something Therefore more alternative

purchase channels would lower the purchase intention in group buying in general

case

513 Peer influence

Peer influence leads to higher levels purchase intention was proven by previous

studies (Duncan Haller and Portes 1968 Manski 1993 2000 Burnkrant amp Cousineau

1975 Venkatesan 1966) In our study the result re-confirmed that peer influence

positively influence purchase intention in group buying

Group pressure and conformity brought from peers would affect a person‟s

purchase decision Especially when products he or she is unable to evaluate

completely from direct observation people may frequently buy products that others in

their groups buy as to acquire what they perceive as a good product

514 Group buying companies‟ services standard

Through the four dimensions we used to measure group buying companies‟

services standard we found that group buying companies‟ services standard

positively influence purchase intention It means the more informative easier to

purchase from group buying more creative and attractive design and more reliable

will be more preferable Service quality and customer satisfaction is important to the

formation of consumers purchase intentions are widely recognized (cf Bitner and

Hubbert 1994 Bolton and Drew 1994 Gronroos 1993 Rust and Oliver 1994)

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

29

Therefore if group buying company can provide sufficient and high quality services

to customers they are more willing to purchase from group buying

515 Customer perceived empowerment as moderator

The main contribution of our study rests in the moderating impact of the

Customer Perceived Empowerment on the four independent variables Investigating

moderating relationships are crucial for developing marketing theory (Irwin and

McClelland 2001) To provide further insight to it we can take H5a as an example

Why does customer review become less important when one has higher perceived

empowerment The answer is simple to tell that more empowerment more feedback

the chance of having negative information is increased and will affect the purchase

intention of the customers showing a significant positive relationship

516 Moderating effect of product review

Previous studies stated that perceptions of commitment to service quality and

customer satisfaction (Boshoff 1999) Commitment is an important relationship

variable (Wilson 1995) therefore we expect in voice-to-voice encounters to

building or maintaining better relationships commitment becomes increasingly

crucial In the marketing literature WOM communication is oral person-to-person

communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives

as noncommercial regarding a brand a product a service or a provider (Arndt

1967) Additionally customers are more willing to have power on branding and

advertising making decision pricing and complaint Therefore the effect of product

review to purchase intention is negatively moderated by Customer Perceived

Empowerment

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

30

517 Moderating effect of alternative purchase channels

The relationship between customer perceived empowerment and purchase intention

has been proven in previous literatures (Fuchs e Schreier 2008 Fuchs Prandelli e

Schreier 2010) however the moderating effect to the relation between alternative

purchase channels and alternative purchase channels has not been tested in previous

studies As the finding showed customer perceived empowerment moderates the

relationship between alternative purchase channels and purchase intention

It means that people who have more perceived influence on the product design and

decision making in group buying want find more channel choices before making

purchase decision in group buying than those do not feel they have perceived

influence Then it may be more likely for those have higher perceived influence to

choose other purchase channel rather than group buying finally

Therefore the results we obtained from our study affirm that more alternative

purchase channels have stronger negative effects on purchase intention in group

buying for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

518 Moderating effect of peer influence

The moderating effect to the relation between peer influence and purchase intention

has not been examined in previous studies In our finding showed customer perceived

empowerment moderates the relationship between peer influence and purchase

intention

It means that if customers have more perceived influence in the creation and

selection of new products originating a new democratization process peer comments

and choices may become more important for their purchase decision making On the

other side people‟s purchase intention in group buying who do not have perceived

empowerment may be affected by their peers‟ choices or actions at a lower level

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

31

Therefore higher level of peer influence has stronger positive effects on purchase

intention for customers who have higher perceived empowerment

519 Moderating effect of group buying companies‟ services standard

Customer Perceived Empowerment increases the impact of service standard on

purchase intention It means that when the individuals using group buying depend on

services standard their purchase intention increases as they have more perceived

empowerment and vice versa Group buying companies have to accept to loss (some)

control ensure that top management is supporting the initiative focuses on the culture

not just the technology When customers have more power to make decision and

reflect opinion the service standard will be more customers oriented That means the

group buying companies‟ services standard will be improved through the power of

customers and then the effect between Group Buying Companies‟ Services Standard

and Purchase Intention also increased

6 Managerial Implications and Recommendation

Group buying is a great opportunity However competition in the market is

fierce in recent years and people still remain reluctant to make purchases due to the

risk of group buying (Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie 2010) Through the research

we found product review is very essential to customers in group buying process

Research in marketing literature points out WOM information plays an essential role

in decision processes or recommendation As decision makers always obtain

recommendations for the purpose of reducing the uncertainty and amount of

information that must be processed to make a decision (Olshavsky and Granbois

1979) Also nowadays customers currently favor goal-directed search over browsing

more participants were satisfied with the Web site designs for the search task

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

32

Therefore group buying companies need to support both modes of information

seeking

Secondly technology becomes more popular competition between group buying

companies is fierce and customers can easy to compare services standard by switching

to other purchase channels and finding others‟ review Group buying model and

technology empower customers and it can attract more customers to join group

buying Company can use Web 20 Participative Web and Social Web to

communicate with customers Also giving customers more power and channel to

voice out their opinion and to involve in decision making is a trend nowadays

Therefore if company finds ways to efficiently and creatively use technology to

empower customers in a way that is more advantageous than competitors (Wathieu et

al 2002)

7 Limitation and Future research

It is believed that this study is meaningful to investigate the direct effects of

alternative purchase channels and purchase intention the direct effects of group

buying companies‟ services standard and purchase intention customer perceived as

moderators in affecting the relationship between the four independent variables and

purchase intention in group buying our study did encounter three limitations

Firstly only convenience sampling was used to be sampling method may have

selection bias‟ problem Simple random sampling is preferred as it can avoid the

selection bias (Malhotra 2007) Although we tried to invite people to do the

questionnaire outside Yuen Long Citistore only few people are willing to finish the

questionnaire Finally we only choose to conduct an online survey in

httpsasiaqualtricscom Although there were more than 200 people (both in Hong

Kong and Mainland China) willing to finish the questionnaire only convenience

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

33

sampling was used may bring selection bias‟ problem

Secondly the result may have limited generalizability and comparability The data

that we collect by using convenience sampling from Hong Kong and China‟s

respondents are mainly from university graduates students in these two regions This

will create the lacks of generalizability and comparability of data because they may

not be the representative of the general population of group buying users

The third limitation concerning about the complexity of China‟s culture In our

project we collect both Hongkongers and Chinese response However as China is a

huge country having variety kinds of social practices and customs also there is

culture difference between Hong Kong and China there are many others factors other

than the four independent variables in this study affecting the result

In the future something can be used to improve the research finding quality Firstly

other than convenience sampling simple sampling method should also be used to

higher data‟s generalizability and comparability Also future study should larger the

respondents number This is because it can release the problem of selection bias

Thirdly as Hong Kong and China‟s cultures have differences they may be treated as

two independent groups Therefore two independent groups can be set up for

comparing the result and leads to a more accurate finding Finally more control

variables and independent variables can be added to the mode making the model to

reflect the real world‟s situation accurately

8 Conclusion

Our study proposed and tested a model of product review alternative purchase

channels peer influence and group buying companies‟ services standard which

always come into customers‟ consideration when deciding whether to buy products

services from group buying in both Hong Kong and China

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

34

The result reaffirms that the positive relationship of product review peer influence

and purchase intention in group buying It is discovered that product review has

largest direct effect to purchase intention comparing with the other three independent

variables meaning that group buying companies should put more concern about

products services‟ comments Therefore suggestion was given in our study so that

more could be done to improve the current situation in order to boost sales of group

buying companies

Additionally one of our study‟s contributions is that we discover the direct

relationship of alternative purchase channels group buying companies‟ services

standard and group buying purchase intention For alternative purchase channels

more purchase channels for customers would lower their purchase intention in group

buying We discovered that the higher importance the shopping task is more purchase

channels would be find before making purchase decision as customers want to lower

their shopping risk This would bring negative effect to their business model

Improving group buying companies‟ services standard would be one of the

suggestions Although group buying companies‟ services standard is marginally

significant independent variables improving the services provided would higher

customers‟ confidence of group buying at a certain level

Moreover our study contributes most in testing the moderating effects of customer

perceived empowerment influencing the four independent variables to purchase

intention in both Hong Kong and China The hierarchical multiple regressions proved

that customer perceived empowerment will not have significant moderating effect to

the relationship between peer influence and purchase intention More importantly it

was found that there are significant interactive effects of the relations of the other

three independent variables to purchase intention Customer perceived empowerment

moderates the positive relationship between group buying companies‟ services

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

35

standard it moderates the negative relationship between alternative purchase channels

and purchase intention it weakens the positive relationship between product review

and purchase intention It is believed that these results can help group buying

companies and products services providers in Hong Kong and China to identify areas

on that they should put more focus on To generalize the project future studies should

adopt a more extensive approach when collecting data in order to increase the

generalizability

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

36

9 Reference 1 Bernoff and Li (2008) laquoHarnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Webraquo MIT Sloan

Management Review 49 (3) 36-42

2 Arjan Burgers Ko de Ruyter Cherie Keen and Sandra Streukens Customer expectation

dimensions of voice-to-voice service encounters a scale-development study Customer

expectation dimensions

3 Bacharach SB and Lawler E Power and Politics in Organizations San Francisco

Jossey-Bass 1980

4 Robert E Burnkrant and Alain Cousineau ldquoInformational and Normative Social Influence in

Buyer Behaviorrdquo The Journal of Consumer Research Vol 2 No 3 (Dec 1975) pp 206-215

5 Yubo Chen Scott Fay Oi Wang ldquoMarketing Implications of Online Consumer Product Reviewsrdquo

February 2003

6 Patrali Chatterjee (2001) ONLINE REVIEWS DO CONSUMERS USE THEM in Advances

in Consumer Research Volume 28 eds Mary C Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy Valdosta GA

Association for Consumer Research Pages 129-133

7 Chen Jian Chen Xilong Kauffman Robert J(2009) ldquoShould we collude Analyzing the benefits

of bidder cooperation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS 卷 8 期 4 页 191-202

8 Brian Detlor Susan Sproule Chris Gupta ldquoPRE-PURCHASE ONLINE INFORMATION

SEEKING SEARCH VERSUS BROWSE‟ Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 4

NO 2 2003

9 Irem Eren Erdogmus Mesut Cicek a(2011) ldquoOnline Group Buying What Is There For The

Consumersrdquo Procedia Social And Behavioral Sciences 24(2011)308-316

(httpwenkubaiducomview49f8cc373968011ca30091cahtml)

10 Johann Fuumlller Hans Muumlhlbacher Kurt Matzler and Gregor Jawecki ldquoConsumer Empowerment

Through Internet-Based Co-creationrdquo Journal of Management Information Systems Winter

2009ndash10 Vol 26 No 3 pp 71ndash102

11 Bressolles G Durrieu F Impact of e-Service Quality on Satisfaction and Loyalty Intention

different Buyes and Visitorsrdquo BEM Management School

12 Greacutegory Bressolles Franccedilois Durrieu ldquoService quality customer value and satisfaction

relationship revisited for online wine websites ldquo 6th AWBR International Conference

Bordeaux Management School 9-10 June 2011

13 Huang-Chi Lin Robert J Kauffman and Hsiangchu Lai (2010) ldquoConsumer adoption of

group-buying auctions an experimental studyrdquo Information Technology Management DOI

101007s10799-010-0068-z

14 Jian Chena Robert J Kauffmanb Yunhui Liuc Xiping Songd Special Issue ldquoTheoretical and

Empirical Advances in Electronic Auction Researchrdquo Electronic Commerce Research and

Applications Volume 9 Issue 2 MarchndashApril 2010 Pages 126ndash147

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

37

15 Jing Xiaoqing Xie Jinhong (2011)ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 卷 57 期 8 页

16 Kauffman Robert J Lai Hsiangchu Ho Chao-Tsung (2010)ldquoIncentive mechanisms fairness and

participation in online group-buying auctionsrdquo ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH AND

APPLICATIONS 卷 9 期 3 特刊 SI 页 249-262

17 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai Huang-Chi Lin (2010) ldquoConsumer Adoption of

Group-Buying Auctions An Experimental Studyrdquo Information Technology Management 11

191-211

18 Kauffman Robert J Hsiangchu Lai and Chao-Tsung Ho (2010) ldquoIncentive Mechanisms

Fairness and Participation in Online Group-Buying Auctionsrdquo Electronic Commerce Research

and Application 9 249-262

19 Jing Xiaoqing and Jinhong Xie (2011) ldquoGroup Buying A New Mechanism for Selling Through

Social Interactionsrdquo Management Science 57 (8) 1354-1372

20 Muhammad Asif Khan ldquoAn Empirical Study of Automated Teller Machine Service Quality and

Customer Satisfaction in Pakistani Banksrdquo European Journal of Social Sciences ndash Volume 13

Number 3 (2010)

21 Hsiangchu Lai Her-Sen Doong Chen-Yuan Yang ldquo The Effect of Price Disersion in an e-Market

on Consumers‟ intentions to Join Group Buyingrdquo 39th

Hawaii International Conference on

System Sciences2006

22 Anand K and Aron R (2003) ldquoGroup-buying On The Web A Comparison of Price Discovery

Mechanismsrdquo Management Science 49(11) 1546ndash1562

23 Ms PMcIver Dr SLuxton and Dr SSands ldquoMultichannel Shopping The Relationship between

Search and Purchase Channel Choicerdquo ANZMAC 2009

24 Gerard Prendergast David Ko Siu Yin V Yuen ldquoOnline word of mouth and consumer purchase

intentionsrdquo

25 Stephen P (Steve) Czerniak ldquoEarned Empowermentrdquo Project Management Institute March 12

2007

26 Mitchell P(2002) ldquoInternet-enabled Group Purchasing Get A Buy With A Little Help From

Your Friendsrdquo Technical Report AMR Research Boston MA 2002

27 Marco Di Dio Roccazzella ldquoThe increasing cutomer empowerment in high Aesthetic and creative

impact industriesrdquo Value Lab 2011

(httpwwwmymarketingnetpublicmymarketingallegatiarticolo20VL20_20Customer

20empowerment_da20allegare20come20pdf20ENGpdf)

28 Sylvain Senecal ldquoA Major E-CommerceTrend Customer Empowermentrdquo HEDMontreal

29 John Strand Michael L Rothschild and John R Nevin ldquoPlace and channels of distributionrdquo

ISM Conference Proceedings SMQ VOL X NO 3ndash4 FALLndashWINTER 2004

30 Rashid Shafiq Irfan Raza Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman ldquoAnalysis of the factors affecting

customers‟ purchase intention The mediating role of perceived valuerdquo African Journal of

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

38

Business Management Vol 5(26) pp 10577-10585 28 October 2011

31 Voltaire ldquoCustomer Service and Satisfactionrdquo

32 M Venkatesan ldquoExperimental Study of Consumer Behavior Conformity and Independencerdquo

Journal of Marketing Research Vol 3 No 4 (Nov 1966) pp 384-387

33 Woo Gon Kim Xiaojing Ma Dong Jin Kim ldquoDeterminants of Chinese hotel customers‟

e-satisfaction and purchase intentionsrdquo Tourism Management 2006

34 Yujie Wei Detmar W Straub Amit Poddar ldquoThe power of many an assessment of managing

internet group purchasingrdquo Journal of Electronic Commerce Research VOL 12 NO 1 2011

35 Yao Lei Li Ying Wang Feng-jie ldquoResearch on Trust of Group- buying in E-commerce Based on

Game-theoryrdquo East China Economic Management Vol24 No03 Mar 2010

36 Young-Hyuck Joo and Michael Hyung-Jin Park ldquoInformation search and purchase channel choice

across in-home shopping retail formatsrdquo Academy of Marketing Studies Journal July 2008

(httpfindarticlescomparticlesmi_hb6167is_2_12ai_n32103627tag=contentcol1)

37 Yen Benjamin (2009) ldquoTug of War Between The Retailers and Consumers The Phenomenon of

Group Purchase in Chinardquo The 9th International Conference on Electronic Business Macau

November 30-December 4

38 Zero2ipo Research Group ldquo2011 年中國團購市場投資研究報告rdquo

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

39

10 Appendix

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

40

101 Appendix A

Questionnaire sample

(Chinese Version and English Version)

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

41

有關團購之意向調查

本人是香港浸會大學工商管理(榮譽)學士 中國商貿學三年級的學生現正進行

一項有關顧客對團購的意向調查希望閣下能抽出數分鐘的時間完成這份問卷

是次調查所得的資料只會作學術之用在此先感謝閣下的協助

第一部份 過濾問卷

1 你對團購有認識嗎 有 沒有

2 請問你過去一年內有沒有從團

購購買產品服務的經驗

沒有

(問卷完成感謝你的參與)

第二部份 產品評論

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

3 在團購前我會搜尋有關產品服務的資訊 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 在一般情況下我會依賴同輩的意見來作出選

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 如果接收到有關產品服務的負面批評我不

會參與團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 即使沒有產品服務的有關資訊我仍會從團

體購買該產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第三部份 其他購買途徑

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

7 在決定購買產品服務前我會搜尋不同的購

買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 如果我要購買一些重要的產品服務我會搜

尋不同的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 整體而言我會選擇使用團購購買產品服務

多於其他的購買途徑

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 如果產品服務的質量或價格是難於事先觀察

的(例如衣服)我會選擇從商店購買它

而不是從團購

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

42

第四部份 朋輩的影響

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

11 我的朋友也有使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 我的朋友支持我用團購作購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 當我不能完全從直接的觀察評估某種產品

服務我會相信我的朋友在團購中的選擇是對

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 我經常與朋友一起從團購購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 購買產品服務完全是我個人的決定 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第五部份 團購公司的服務水平

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

16 如果團購公司能提供更多有關產品服務的資

訊我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 如果團購公司能提供更多不同產品服務的選

擇我會願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 如果團購公司能恰當處理投訴我會願意使用

團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 如果團購公司以前的交易都是可靠的話我會

願意使用團購購物

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第六部份 購買日期及優惠期限

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

20 優惠期限日子愈遠更值得用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 離交易期限愈近愈促使我用團購購買產品

服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

43

第七部份 顧客的經驗

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

22 之前失敗的交易會影響我用團購購買產品服

務的意欲

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 成功的交易令我會再次使用團購 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 整體而言我不會經常轉換其他團購公司購買

產品服務

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第八部份 消費者的知覺權力

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

25 我的團購的行為會影響公司日後在團購的優

惠種類

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 從團購的設計中我能夠明白產品的功用和優

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 團購的設計令我有所啟發 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 團購的設計令我更能表達自己的想法 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 參與團購交易我能夠投入其中 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 整體而言團購的設計能更令我有意欲去購買

產品

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第九部份 購買意向

非常

不同意

不同意 有點

不同意

沒意見 有點

同意

同意 非常

同意

31 我願意再使用團購去購買產品服務 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 我很有可能在日後會使用團體購物 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 整體而言我會使用團購購買產品服務多於

從商店購買

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 在多種購物途徑中團購是我的首選 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

第十部份 個人資料

性別 男 女

年齡 lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

教育程度 小學或以下 中學 大專 碩士或以上

問卷完謝謝你的參與

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

44

Questionnaire on factors affecting purchase intention in Group buying

We are Year 3 students studying Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in China

Business Studies in Hong Kong Baptist University We are now conducting a survey

concerning your opinion towards purchase intention in group buying Please kindly spare a

few minutes to answer the following questions The information you provide will be used for

academic purpose only Thanks for your cooperation

Part 1 Screening

1 Have you heard about

group buying

Yes No

2 Did you have group

buying experience during

the past year

Yes No

(It is the end of this questionnaire thank

you)

Part 2 Product review

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

3 I would search for different information about

the products services and the companies before

purchasing from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 In general I would rely on my friends‟

comments for making purchase decision

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I would not buy products services from group

buying if there are negative comments about the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Without information I will still purchase the

products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 3 Alternative purchase channels

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

7 I would search for different purchase channels

before deciding to buy a product service

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I would search for more purchase channels if I

buy something important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 In general I would buy products from group

buying rather than from other purchase channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

45

10 If the quality or price of a productservice is

difficult to observe in advance(eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a store rather than

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 4 Peer influence

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

11 My friends also use group buying 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 My friends support me to buy products services

from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 When I am unable to evaluate a product service

completely from direct observation I think my

friends‟ choice in group buying is good

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 I frequently buy products services with my

friends from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 I decide to buy a product service fully by

myself

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 5 Group buying companiesrsquo services standard

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

16 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more

information about the products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can provide more different

kinds of products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 I am willing to buy products services if group

buying companies can handle complaints well

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 I am willing to buy products services if the

previous deals done by group buying

companies are reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

46

Part 6 Delivery speed and time

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

20 The longer the deadline of a coupon the

worthier for me to buy products services from

group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

21 The closer the deal date the more willing for me

to buy the products services from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 7 Customersrsquo experience

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

22 Failed auction before will lower my intention to

buy productsservices from group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

23 Successful trading will let me repeat using group

buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

24 In general I do not always switch from one

group buying companies to other different group

buying companies to buy products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 8 Consumer perceived empowerment

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

25 My buying behavior in group buying will

influence the varieties of productsservices in the

future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26 The design of the group buying helps me to

understand the functions and benefits of the

products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27 The design of group buying helps me to get

inspiration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28 The design of group buying helps me to express

my ideas more

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29 I have sense of involvement when participating

in group buying

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30 In general the design of group buying can

encourage me to purchase products services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

47

Part 9 Purchase intention

Strongly

disagree

Disagree Partly

disagree

Neutral Partly

agree

Agree Strongly

agree

31 I am willing to buy products services from

group buying again

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 It is very likely that I will buy products services

from group buying in the future

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33 In general I would buy products services from

group buying rather than going to a physical

store

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

34 Group buying is my first choice of purchase

channels

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part 10 Personal Information

Gender M F

Age lt15 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 gt54

Education level Primary

School

or below

Secondary

school

Undergraduate Postgraduate

or above

End of question Thank you

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

48

102 Appendix B

Demographic Statistics

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

49

Statistics Frequencies

Statistics

Heard of group

buying

Experience of group

buying

What is your

gender What is your age

What is your

educational level

N Valid 242 242 212 212 212

Missing 0 0 30 30 30

Minimum 00 100 100 100 200

Maximum 200 200 200 600 400

1 Heard of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 00 1 4 4 4

Yes 221 913 913 917

No 20 83 83 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

2 Experience of group buying

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 212 876 876 876

No 30 124 124 1000

Total 242 1000 1000

3 What is your gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid male 96 397 453 453

female 116 479 547 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

50

4 What is your age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid lt15 2 8 9 9

15-19 15 62 71 80

20-24 167 690 788 868

25-34 22 91 104 972

35-44 4 17 19 991

45-54 2 8 9 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

5 What is your educational level

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Secondary school 22 91 104 104

Undergraduate 186 769 877 981

Postgraduate or above 4 17 19 1000

Total 212 876 1000

Missing System 30 124

Total 242 1000

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

51

103 Appendix C

Measurements

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

52

Table 1 Factors

Item no

Item in Questionnaire

Source

Product review PW 1 1 I would search for different

information about the products

services and the companies

before purchasing from group

buying

Hodkinson et al

2000 Rowley 2000

PW2 2 In general I would rely on

my friends‟ comments for

making purchase decision

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW3 3 I would not buy products

services from group buying if

there are negative comments

about the products services

Robert E Burnkrant

and Alain Cousineau

1975

PW 4 4 Without information I will

still purchase the products

services from group buying

Self-constructed

Alternative

purchase channels

APC1 1 I would search for different

purchase channels before

deciding to buy a product

service

Self-constructed

APC2 2 I would search for more

purchase channels if I buy

something important

Mathwick et al

2002 Zeithaml

1988

APC3 3 In general I would buy

products from group buying

rather than from other purchase

channels

Self-constructed

APC4 4 If the quality or price of a

productservice is difficult to

observe in advance (eg dress) I

would most likely buy it in a

store rather than from group

buying

Liang amp Huang

1998

Peer influence PI1 1 My friends also use group

buying

Self-constructed

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

53

PI2 2 My friends support me to buy

products services from group

buying

Self-constructed

PI3 3 When I am unable to evaluate

a product service completely

from direct observation I think

my friends‟ choice in group

buying is good

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI4 4 I frequently buy products

services with my friends from

group buying

Burnkrant amp

Cousineau 1975

Venkatesan 1966

PI5 5 I decide to buy a product

service fully by myself

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

Group buying

companies‟

services standard

CSS1 1 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

information about the products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS2 2 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can provide more

different kinds of products

services

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS3 3 I am willing to buy products

services if group buying

companies can handle

complaints well

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

CSS4 4 I am willing to buy products

services if the previous deals

done by group buying

companies are reliable

Irem Eren

Erdogmus Mesut

Cicek a 2011

Delivery speed and

time

DST1 1 The longer the deadline of a

coupon the worthier for me to

buy products services from

group buying

Self-constructed

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

54

DST2 2 The closer the deal date the

more willing for me to buy the

products services from group

buying

Kauffman Robert J

Lai Hsiangchu Ho

Chao-Tsung 2010

Customers‟

experience

CE1 1 Failed auction before will

lower my intention to buy

productsservices from group

buying

Hsu et al2006

CE2 2 Successful trading will let me

repeat using group buying

Hsu et al2006

CE3 3 In general I do not always

switch from one group buying

companies to other different

group buying companies to buy

products services

Self-constructed

Customers‟

empowerment

CPE1 1 My buying behavior in group

buying will influence the

varieties of productsservices in

the future

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE2 2 The design of the group

buying helps me to understand

the functions and benefits of the

products services

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE3 3 The design of group buying

helps me to get inspiration

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE4 4 The design of group buying

helps me to express my ideas

more

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE5 5 I have sense of involvement

when participating in group

buying

ME Sharpe

Inc2010

CPE6 6 In general the design of

group buying can encourage me

to purchase products services

Self-constructed

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

55

Purchase intention PUI1 1 I am willing to buy products

services from group buying

again

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

PUI2 2 It is very likely that I will buy

products services from group

buying in the future

Self-constructed

PUI3 3 In general I would buy

products services from group

buying rather than going to a

physical store

Self-constructed

PUI4 4 Group buying is my first

choice of purchase channels

Kauffman Laiamp

Huang 2010

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

56

104 Appendix D

Reliability Test Result

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

57

421 Product review

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

937 4

422 Alternative purchase channels

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

923 3

423 Peer influence

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

959 5

424 Group buying companies

services standard

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

966 4

425 Delivery speed and time

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

976 2

426 Customers experience

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

938 3

427 Customer perceived

empowerment

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

988 6

428 Purchase intention

Reliability Statistics

Cronbachs Alpha N of Items

947 4

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

58

105 Appendix E

Regression Analysis Result

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

59

Regression

Variables EnteredRemovedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 CE CSS CPE

DST PI PW

APC

Enter

2 PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre

PI_CPE_centre

Enter

a All requested variables entered

b Dependent Variable PUI

Model Summary

Model R R Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std Error of the

Estimate

1 967a 935 933 28590

2 984b 968 966 20289

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre

CSS_CPE_centre APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

ANOVAc

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig

1 Regression 239024 7 34146 417762 000a

Residual 16674 204 082

Total 255698 211

2 Regression 247465 11 22497 546498 000b

Residual 8233 200 041

Total 255698 211

a Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC

b Predictors (Constant) CE CSS CPE DST PI PW APC PW_CPE_centre CSS_CPE_centre

APC_CPE_centre PI_CPE_centre

c Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI

60

Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig B Std Error Beta

1 (Constant) 665 095 7016 000

PW 1397 107 1366 13057 000

APC -500 118 -446 -3772 004

PI 405 128 484 3777 000

CPE 454 111 440 3954 000

CSS 203 110 252 2294 023

DST -011 095 -013 -119 727

CE 135 096 142 1405 162

2 (Constant) 1093 1397 108 12358 000

PW 856 091 837 9437 000

APC -296 089 263 -2949 004

PI 286 103 342 3306 000

CPE 235 085 228 2677 000

CSS 037 094 046 483 023

DST -440 079 -374 -4724 727

CE 030 080 028 350 162

PW_CPE_centre -312 052 -573 -5985 000

APC_CPE_centre -208 056 -431 -3697 000

PI_CPE_centre 131 076 217 1728 086

CSS_CPE_centre 368 055 602 6701 000

a Dependent Variable PUI