Behaviour & Information Technology

Vol. 29, No. 6, NovemberDecember 2010, 621632

Online shopping viewed from a habit and value perspective

Seppo Pahnila and Juhani Warsta*
Department of Information Processing Science, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
(Received 30 June 2008; nal version received 7 June 2010)

In this article, we study e-commerce customer behaviour towards online shops. The theoretical model is based
on Triandis behavioural framework. Prior value research has mostly focused on users attitudes towards online
shopping. We explore the role of perceived value and habit in e-commerce behaviour. Structure equation results
suggest that the utilitarian as well as the hedonic values have a signicant impact on aect, and indirectly also
on e-commerce behaviour. We also assessed the importance of habit on shoppers online behaviour. According
to our results, online shoppers habitual behaviour has a signicant impact on aect. We also found that
normative beliefs (social factors) are the preceding factor of habit in cases in which the shopping experience is
not recurrent.
Keywords: e-commerce; value; habit; social factors; aect; Triandis

1. Introduction e-shopping experiences, such as enjoyment, satisfac-

The rapid and continuous growth of Internet shopping
has forced service providers to pay considerable
attention to factors aecting consumer behaviour.
Service providers also have to consider that the use
of the Internet is changing from earlier users emphasis
on functional aspects of the Internet. As new media
have spread into homes and users have become more
experienced with online shopping, these users have
started to appreciate features which relate to emotional
experiences (Bridges and Florsheim 2008). By the late
1990s, Bellman et al. (1999) had already started talking
about the wired lifestyle, i.e. customers who have
been using the Internet for years.
The purpose of this research is to study the
importance of those issues that have an inuence on
users e-commerce behaviour. Our research model is
based on Triandis theoretical framework, in which
behaviour is seen as a consequence of aect and
intentions (Triandis 1980). In this article, we study
the inuence of habitual behaviour usage and
motivational issues utilitarian and hedonic values
on online behaviour. Habit can be understood as
learned sequences of acts that become automatic
responses to specic situations which may be
functional in obtaining certain goals or end states
(Verplanken et al. 1997). Utilitarian values reect
extrinsic, non-emotional motivational factors like
getting a low price, ease of use or usefulness.
Hedonic values reect intrinsic, emotional motiva-
tional aspects relating to positive or negative
tion or anxiety (Bridges and Florsheim 2008).
We conducted a eld study based on a web
questionnaire which resulted in 211 reliable responses.
Our ndings suggest that normative beliefs have a
signicant impact on habit and habit further signi-
cantly explicates aect. Both the utilitarian value and
the hedonic value have signicant eects on aect. This
article is organised as follows. In the following section,
we will discuss, based on prior literature, issues which
may have an inuence on aect, intentions and
e-commerce behaviour. In Section 3, we introduce
the research methodology. In the nal section, we draw
conclusions from the results of the study.
2. Theoretical background
The research model described in Section 3.3 is based on
Triandis behavioural framework (Triandis 1980). The
basic elements of our model are aect, intentions and
behaviour. Behaviour refers to the consequences of a
persons feelings about a situation. According to
Triandis model, two dimensions aect the behaviour
of the individual: issues that are related to internal
factors, such as personality, and environmental mat-
ters, such as social pressure. An individuals perception
about the outcomes and prior, goal-oriented behaviour
may act as a trigger to action that may lead to actual
behaviour (Triandis 1980).
Aect refers to an individuals emotional feelings:
the feeling of joy, elation, or pleasure, or depression,

*Corresponding author. Email: juhani.warsta@oulu.

ISSN 0144-929X print/ISSN 1362-3001 online

2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2010.501115
http://www.informaworld.com
622 S. Pahnila and J. Warsta
disgust, displeasure, or hate associated by an indivi-
dual with a particular act (Triandis 1980). Thus, aect
is a motivational factor that may reinforce the
individuals intention toward behaviour. This is to
some extent consistent with the term attitude in the
Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein and
Ajzen 1975, Fishbein 1980). Emotions are charac-
terised by the same elements as hedonic value, and
consequences have similarities with utilitarian values.
Intentions indicate how hard individuals are willing to
try to perform a behavioural act; the stronger the
intention to carry out the behaviour, the more likely it
is to be carried out. In our study, the more likely the
individuals perceive the positive consequences of using
e-commerce to be, the more probable it is that they will
use it.
2.1. Value construct
Analysing the vendor and buyer relationship, customer
values and perceived shopping values are salient
aggregate concepts that reect the success and con-
tinuity of this relationship. Customer value has been
dened dierently over the years depending on the
research focus (Zeithaml 1988). Value is one of the
important key elements oering competitive advantage
for companies which are changing their development
activities from organisational improvements to a more
outward-facing orientation, focusing towards their
customers (Woodru 1997). Customer value can also
be seen from a quite conceptual level, as Collins et al.
(2007) remind us: values are general and abstract and
refer to what individuals nd important for their own
life in general. Customer value may also become
evident through emotional bonds that lead the
customers to buy repeatedly from the supplier; this is
one of the prime objectives for retailers. This leads to
the requirement to truly understand the customer and
the dierent levels and aspects of customer value (Butz
and Goodstein 1996).
Research around the value concept has pros-
pered, especially since online shopping has become
common. New avenues for research were opened, as
the retailers did not understand for certain how
customers would take this new channel, how they
would use it and what the requirements for its use
were. Keeney (1999) elaborated specic categories of
objectives inuenced by purchases from the Internet.
He gives a denition of the value proposition
associated with Internet commerce as the net value
of the benets and cost of both a product and the
processes of nding, ordering and receiving it.
According to Lumpkin and Dess (2004), the value
adding activities of the Internet are: search, evalua-
tion, problem solving and transaction.
2.2. Shopping channels and utilitarian and hedonic
values
Utilitarian and hedonic value concepts have been used
in the analysis of dierent environments and channels
as shown in Table 1. Earlier, research on utilitarian
and hedonic values concentrated on conventional brick
and mortar channels that are represented nowadays by
shopping malls (Babin and Attaway 2000, Stoel et al.
2004, Jones et al. 2006). Babin and Attaway (2000) use
their structural model to explain how positive and
negative aects do not have a direct eect on customer
share (repeated purchasing behaviour), but are
mediated via the perceived utilitarian and hedonic
shopping values. Jones et al. (2006) construct two
separate models in which utilitarian and hedonic
shopping values are used to explain retail variables
such as customer satisfaction, word of mouth, repa-
tronage and loyalty. They nd that utilitarian shopping
value might be a necessary, but not sucient condition
for building store loyalty. Furthermore, hedonic value
represents the emotional worth of the shopping
experience. Both utilitarian and hedonic values explain
customer satisfaction, though hedonic shopping value
is signicantly stronger. The hedonic value explains the
word of mouth, repatronage anticipation, and loyalty
variables, whereas utilitarian value explains repatro-
nage intention. Stoel et al. (2004) use mall attribute
beliefs, time spent and money spent to explain
utilitarian and hedonic values, and further facilitate
these values to explain repatronage intentions. Mall
attribute beliefs accurately explain time spent, utilitar-
ian and hedonic values, but what is interesting is that
the hedonic shopping value accurately explained
repatronage intentions, whereas the utilitarian value
did not support this relationship.
The Internet became widespread during the 1990s
and provided a new and a fast expanding information
and trading channel for old brick and mortar
companies as well as for new Internet-based rms.
This phenomenon catalysed research to analyse and
compare possible dierences that exist between these
distinct channels based on the old research tradition
and its methods (Childers et al. 2001, Fiore et al. 2005,
Overby and Lee 2006, Bridges and Florsheim 2008).
Childers et al. (2001) use navigation, convenience, and
sub-experience to explain the utilitarian and hedonic
values and ease of use. These three last variables are
also used to understand consumer shopping behaviour
(attitudes toward interactive shopping). According to
their ndings, utilitarian and hedonic shopping values
relate positively with attitudes, although they dier
between distinct categories of the interactive shopping
environment. Fiore et al. (2005) study how image
interactivity technology aects instrumental
 Behaviour & Information Technology 623

Table 1. Utilitarian and hedonic values explain in dierent channels. A plus () sign indicates a positive eect.

Reference Utilitarian value explains Hedonic value explains Channel Findings

Babin and Customer share Customer share Brick and mortar Positive and negative
Attaway aect alters perceived
(2000) hedonic and utilitarian
shopping value, and
through this perceived
value customer share
is aected.
Childers et al. Attitude Attitude Internet shopping While the instrumental
(2001) aspects of new media
are important
predictors of online
attitudes, the more
immersive, hedonic
aspects of new media
play at least an equal
role.
Mathwick el al. Eciency Visual appeal Catalogue and Internet shopping may
(2001) Economic value Entertainment Internet be leading to a
Escapism shopping commoditisation of
Enjoyment products and services,
with an emphasis on
cost reduction over
brand-based
dierentiation.
Catalogue shopping
appears to be based
upon a broader range
of experiential value
sources.
Stoel et al. (2004) Repatronage intention Repatronage intention Brick and mortar Hedonic value is
positively linked with
intention to return
to the mall.
Utilitarian value does
not necessarily have
this dependency.
Bruner II and Attitude toward the act Attitude toward the act Mobile commerce/ Hedonic aspect
Kumar aects (behavioural aects (behavioural Internet shopping contributes more than
(2005) intention) intention) utilitarian aspect to
consumer adoption
of Internet devices.
Fiore et al. (2005) Attitude toward the Attitude toward the Internet shopping Image interactivity
online retailer online retailer technology provides
Willingness to purchase Willingness to purchase consumers with
from the online retailer from the online retailer instrumental
Willingness to patronise Willingness to patronise (utilitarian) value
the online retailer the online retailer from enriched product
information and the
convenience and
experiential (hedonic)
value of an engaging
shopping experience.
Noble et al. Channel utilisation N/A Brick and mortar, Signicant dierences
(2005) catalogue and found in the
Internet shopping underlying utilisation
values inuencing
consumer channel
utilisation.

(continued)
624 S. Pahnila and J. Warsta

Table 1. (Continued).
Reference Utilitarian value explains Hedonic value explains Channel Findings
Jones et al. (2006) Satisfaction Satisfaction Brick and mortar Utilitarian shopping
Repatronage Word of mouth value might be a
intentions Repatronage necessary but not
anticipation sucient condition
Loyalty for building store
loyalty. Hedonic
value represents the
emotional worth of
the shopping
experience.
Overby and Lee Preference aects Preference aects Internet shopping Utilitarian value is
(2006) Intentions Intentions more strongly related
than hedonic value to
preference towards
the Internet retailer,
and intentions and
shopping frequency
can play a moderating
role.
Bridges and Online ow Online ow Internet shopping Utilitarian ow elements
Florsheim increase purchasing.
(2007) Hedonic elements of
ow are unrelated to
online buying.
Kleijnen et al. Intention to use N/A Mobile commerce/ Time convenience is the
(2007) Internet shopping most important
benet. User control
over the service
delivery process
aects utilitarian
value perceptions.

(utilitarian) and experiential (hedonic) values that
furthermore explain consumers attitudes towards the
online retailer, willingness to purchase from the online
retailer and willingness to patronise the online retailer.
Here, again, only the instrumental value showed a
strong relationship with these variables. In the model
developed by Overby and Lee (2006), utilitarian and
hedonic values explain online shopping preferences
and intentions. They also nd that utilitarian value is
more strongly related than hedonic value to the
preference towards the Internet retailer and intentions.
Bridges and Florsheims (2008) study also supports the
opinion that the utilitarian ow elements aect online
purchasing positively, while they found hedonic
elements of ow to be unrelated to online shopping.
The trading channel that most closely resembles the
Internet as a channel is the catalogue business, where
the customer gets information by ipping through a
paper catalogue and making orders based on this
information. The Internet replaces the catalogue,
giving more versatile ways of acquainting oneself
with the products and services provided by the rms
(Mathwick et al. 2001, Noble et al. 2005). Mathwick
et al. (2001) further conrmed the attitudes that the
perceived return on nancial, temporal and behaviour-
al investment (utilitarian values) were found to be
signicantly related to preferences for online shopping.
Interestingly, catalogue shopping appears to entertain
and delivers visual appeal that is either missing from,
or, was not noticed in the online context (Mathwick
et al. 2001). This raises the question of whether the
users of these dierent channels value dierent matters
in the shopping process. Noble et al. (2005) were able
to conrm these ndings in their study, which covered
three dierent channels: brick and mortar, catalogue
and online shopping. They also found notable dier-
ences in utilitarian values aecting consumer channel
utilisation.
At the moment, the newest channel is the Internet
combined with mobility, that is, getting information
and placing orders using a mobile device, instead of
sitting in front of a tabletop computer (Bruner II and
Kumar 2005, Kleijnen et al. 2007). Bruner II and
Kumar (2005) use their c-TAM model to describe how
the fun factor (hedonic value) is emphasised compared
to usefulness (utilitarian value), in explaining a
 Behaviour & Information Technology
customers attitude toward the act of using the system.
Kleijnen et al. (2007) found that time, convenience and
user control over the service delivery process aect
utilitarian value perception. Their study supports the
view that the value of the mobile channel signicantly
and positively aects intention. Customers consider
competition with alternative channels to be between
traditional brick and mortar and electronic (online
shopping, be it mobile or Internet) channels.
2.3. Social factors
The TRA has proven successful in predicting and
explaining behaviour across a wide variety of domains
(Davis et al. 1989). According to the TRA, a persons
performance of a given behaviour can be dened using
the formula:
BI A SN
where BI is the persons behavioural intention to
perform a given behaviour, which is jointly determined
by the persons attitude (A) and subjective norm (SN).
The normative component SN denes the inuence of
the social environment on behaviour, where SN is
determined by the persons normative beliefs (social
factors), that is, perceived beliefs that a reference group
or individual thinks whether the person should or should
not perform behaviour BI. Behavioural intention means
the persons subjective probability that he will perform a
given behaviour (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975). TRA
explains that individual will perform a behaviour if he
or she has a feeling that there could be positive benets
(outcomes), for example nding a lower price, associated
with actual behaviour during online shopping (Compeau
and Higgins 1995). Thus, TRA is based on reasoning.
Individuals make their decisions consciously as a result
of thorough deliberation.
Aydin and Rice (1991) suggest that individuals
create their behaviour towards the information system
based on their interaction with each other and
membership of a social environment or the inuence
of important people may have a persuasive inuence
on whether or not to perform a specic behaviour.
Karahanna et al. (1999) found that social factors have
an inuence on the intention to adopt information
technology.
As mentioned earlier, habits are dened as auto-
matic, goal-oriented behaviour, which is based on a
learning process. However, when the behaviour has
not yet become established, the physical environment
may have an inuence on an individuals decision-
making process (Aarts et al. 1997). In their study, they
argued that persuasive messages or social pressure may
have a positive eect on an individuals decision as to
625
whether or not to exercise. Thus, the views of others
may inuence an individuals prior assessment. If the
individual has little or no previous experience with
the behaviour, then the normative eect may help the
individual in his or her decision-making process (Aarts
et al. 1997). It can be supposed that colleagues and
peers recommendations or persuasion may act as
environmental stimuli, having an eect on individuals
habits. Recommendations may enhance the strength of
habit. Thus, we can hypothesise:
H1: Social factors have an impact on habit.
2.4. Habit
A habit is unconscious or automatic behaviour, as
opposed to intentions, or conscious behaviour
(Triandis 1980, Limayem and Hirt 2003, p. 71). Habits
dier from reexes as, in order to become a habit, an
activity requires learning that is composed of several
factors, such as the number of short-term repetitions,
reinforcement, the clarity of the situation, interest and
ability to learn and so on (Triandis 1980). Thus, habit
is considered as an unconscious construct explaining
behaviour (Kim and Srivastava 2007).
According to Ajzen (2002), habitual behaviour is
dened by past behaviour: the more frequently a
behaviour has been performed in the past, the stronger
the habit. This is consistent with Triandis (1980). He
suggests that the strength of habit can be measured by
the frequency of occurrence of behaviour. Ajzen
(2002), on the other hand, suggests that the frequency
of past behaviour, the number of times that the past
behaviour has been performed, is not an indicator of
habitual behaviour. He suggests that it is very dicult
to demonstrate when habit strength is related to
frequent behaviour. Furthermore, he emphasises that
conscious control is an important issue, which has an
eect on habitual behaviour. Individuals always use
deliberation in their decision to take a given action.
This perspective, using reasoning, is consistent with the
TRA (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975). Verplanken et al.
(1997) emphasise that when behaviour is performed
repeatedly and becomes habitual it may lose its
reasoned-based antecedents. Rather than reasoning,
habitual behaviour is based on goal-oriented beha-
viour. According to Ajzen (2002), the association of
past behaviour frequency and frequency of later
behaviour only indicates that the behaviour in question
is stable over time, not that it is habitual behaviour.
Furthermore, he argues that past behaviour is a good
predictor of later behaviour only in demonstrating that
the behaviour is stable over time.
Based on Triandis model, habits are found to
explain IS usage (Limayem and Hirt 2003, Cheung and
Limayem 2005). It is argued that the inuence of habits
626 S. Pahnila and J. Warsta
on actual behaviour increases in the long run, while the
inuence of behavioural intentions decreases (Limayem
and Hirt 2003, p. 84) in the long run. Hence, it is
proposed that technology use can be made habitual by
initially making it mandatory, or by introducing rewards
and other incentives for the use of the technology.
Verplanken et al. (1997) demonstrated that strong habits
reduce the need for decision-making information and
also simplify information search strategies. Furthermore,
they found that in complex decision-making contexts,
strong habits could only temporarily be overruled.
Following this lead, we suggest that habitual behaviour
explains e-commerce behaviour:
H2: Habit has an impact on consumer aect towards
e-commerce behaviour.
2.5. Utilitarian and hedonic value
The general value concept is further specied to consist
of the utilitarian and the hedonic value dimensions,
indicating an assessment of the overall worth of
shopping activity (Babin and Attaway 2000, Senecal
et al. 2002, Kurki et al. 2007). According to Eggert and
Ulaga (2002), customer-perceived value relates to
satisfaction, and they conrm that these concepts are
two complementary, yet distinct constructs. The
utilitarian value is characterised in the online context
by task-related worth, one-click purchasing, intuitive
search engines, usefulness, information attainment,
price comparison and assortment describing attributes.
Thus we can hypothesise:
H3: Utilitarian value has an impact on consumer aect
towards e-commerce behaviour.
The hedonic value, on the other hand, reects
worth found in the shopping experience itself, aside
from any task-related motives, the ow construct
embodying aspects of fun and playfulness, and multi-
sensory, fantasy and emotive aspects of the shopping
experience (Babin and Attaway 2000, Childers et al.
2001, Noble et al. 2005, Jones et al. 2006, Bridges and
Florsheim 2008). Overby and Lee (2006) dene
utilitarian value concisely as reecting functional
benets and sacrices, and hedonic value as describing
experiential benets and sacrices, such as entertain-
ment and escapism. From this we construct the
following hypothesis:
H4: Hedonic value has an impact on consumer aect
towards e-commerce behaviour.
3. Research methodology
We ensured content validity by measuring all items in
the instrument using a seven point Likert scale
(strongly disagree strongly agree). Since not all the
measures used in this study have been tested in the
e-commerce environment, the present research tests
these measures in this context, and provides new
insight in this respect, as well. Hence, the questions
were rst pilot tested using 35 people and, based on
their feedback, the content validity of the questions
was checked and improved.
The use of a Likert-type scale is often discussed
among researchers because it is, in a purely statistical
sense, categorised as a non-parametric ordinal scale.
However, in behavioural research it is commonly
treated as a parametric scale, similar to an interval
scale. An ordinal scale does not indicate the exact
dierence between the points on the scale. When
researching beliefs and attitude, it is dicult to
dene the exact distances between the points. It can
be presumed that the distance between, for example,
points 1 and 2 describes a similar dierence in the
phenomenon under examination as the dierence
between points 6 and 7. In particular, when the
number of respondents is adequate, and distances
between the points are proposed to be regular and
the scale reminds one of an interval scale (Agresti
1990). Literature suggests variety of optimal number
of scale points (Cronbach 1950, Komorita and
Graham 1965, Mattel and Jacoby 1971, Rasmussen
1989). In general, the identication of the measure-
ment scale is meaningful because it helps to separate
non-metric data from metric data and secondly, the
measurement scale used inuences the selection of an
appropriate method for analysis of the data (Hair
et al. 1998).
As mentioned earlier, the questions used in this
research are based on literature and prior research; the
questions are validated in other research, (Table 4).
According to Straub (1989) and Boudreau and Gefen
(2001), one can improve the reliability of constructs
and results by using validated and tested questions.
3.1. Demographic proles
Our target group was students and users of the
Internet. A eld study was conducted, gaining 220
responses. The total sum of reliable responses was 211.
Table 2 summarises respondents descriptive statistics.
The demographic data shows that the number of males
is 68.2% and females is 29.9%. Most of the
respondents are young, 51.6% representing the age
group 2231 years and 19.4% representing the age
group less than 22 years. Most of the respondents
(69.7%) assess that they use e-commerce services less
frequently than once a week. 68.2% of the respondents
assess their e-commerce usage time being less than 0.5
hours in a week. Respondents computer expertise is
 Behaviour & Information Technology 627

rather high, 43.6% assess their expertise to be fairly method. For example, ML is employed in LISREL, EQS
good and 46% very good. and AMOS statistic software (Gefen et al. 2000). The
second is variance- or component-based analysis em-
ployed in PLS, which is designed to explain variance.
3.2. The measurement model Covariance-based SEM techniques are appropriate in
Descriptive statistics of the study was analysed using situations where prior theory is strong and stable (Chin
SPSS 16.0 software package. The data analysis was and Newsted 1999). Therefore, covariance-based full-
conducted using the Smart Partial Least Squares (PLS) information method (i.e. ML) is best suited for
structural equation modelling (SEM) technique (Ringle conrmatory, theory testing research. In contrast, PLS
and Wende 2005). PLS has been widely used and is more suited for predictive research and theory
accepted in dierent contexts and disciplines (Limayem development (Chin and Newsted 1999). Therefore,
et al. 2000, Venkatesh et al. 2003, Kleijnen et al. 2007). some researchers have suggested PLS as a complemen-
There are two primary methods of SEM analysis. tary technique to covariance-based techniques (Gefen
The rst approach is covariance-based analysis, which et al. 2000). PLS applies as default a bootstrap method,
typically uses as default the maximum likelihood (ML) which is an iterative algorithm consisting of a series of
ordinary least squares analysis and multiple linear
regression, analysing one construct at a time while
Table 2. Prole of the respondents. minimising the residual variance of all dependent
Per variance in the model. Thus, it diers from the
Measure Items Frequency cent covariance-based techniques, which estimate the variance
of all the observed variables at a time (Gefen et al. 2000).
Gender Male 144 68.2 Bootstrapping is a resampling procedure in which
Female 63 29.9
Missing 4 1.9 the researchers original sample is treated as the
Age 522 41 19.4 population. Cases from the original data set are
2231 109 51.6 randomly selected with replacement to generate other
3241 24 11.4 data sets, usually with the same numbers of cases as the
4251 21 10.0
451 16 7.6 original. Therefore, because of the replacement, the
Frequency of Not at all 13 6.2 same case may be selected more than once in a
e-commerce Less than once a week 147 69.7 generated data set. When repeated many times, for
use About once a week 31 14.7
2 or 3 times a week 13 6.2
example in this study 300 times, bootstrapping
Several times a week 4 1.9 simulates the drawing of numerous samples from a
About once a day 0 0 population (Kline 1998).
Several times a day 2 0.9 It is suggested that PLS is a powerful path
Missing 1 0.5
Computer Very weak 0 0 modelling procedure because of minimal demands on
expertise Fairly weak 0 0 measurement scales (i.e. categorical to ratio level
Average 22 10.4 indicators can be used in the same model), sample
Fairly good 92 43.6 size and residual distributions (Simon and Bruce 1991,
Very good 97 46.0
E-commerce 50.5 h 144 68.2 Chin and Newsted 1999).
usage time Less than 1 h 45 21.3 One of the main reasons why component-based PLS
per week l5 h 18 8.6 was used in this study, instead of covariance-based and
510 h 1 0.5 explanatory SEM techniques, is the starting point of the
More than 10 h 0 0
Missing 3 1.4 research. First, this research is more predictive than
conrmatory theory testing by nature. Second, the

Table 3. The mean, standard deviation and correlations of the constructs.

Construct Mean Standard deviation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

1. Behaviour 1.86 0.69 1
2. Intentions 4.94 1.38 0.441 0.867
3. Aect 5.32 0.86 0.199 0.583 0.725
4. Utilitarian value 5.40 0.92 0.246 0.553 0.581 0.825
5. Hedonic value 2.45 1.24 0.238 0.266 0.319 0.137 0.838
6. Habit 3.51 1.19 0.437 0.781 0.570 0.548 0.285 0.836
7. Social factors 3.31 1.56 0.184 0.295 0.262 0.235 0.221 0.250 0.810

Note: The diagonal elements in italics are square roots of the average variance extracted.
628 S. Pahnila and J. Warsta

Table 4. Convergent validity, internal consistency and reliability.

Average
Factor variance Cronbachs Composite
Construct Items loading extracted a reliability
Intentions Intent1 I will do online shopping on a 0.871 0.752 0.836 0.901
regular basis in the future.
Triandis (l980), Intent2 I will frequently do online 0.880
Thompson et al. shopping in the future.
(1991) Intent3 I will strongly recommend others 0.852
to do online shopping.
Aect Aect1 Doing online shopping is smart. 0.743 0.526 0.707 0.816
Triandis (l980), Aect2 Doing online shopping is enjoyable. 0.795
Limayem and
Hirt (2003) Aect3 Doing online shopping is boring. 0.693
Aect4 Doing online shopping is fun. 0.665
Utilitarian value Utvalue1 The prices of the product and/or 0.863 0.680 0.765 0.864
Overby and Lee services I purchased from the online
(2006) shop are at the right level,
given the quality.
Utvalue2 The products and/or services I purchased 0.877
from the online shop were a good buy.
Utvalue3 The online shop oers a good 0.725
economic value.
Hedonic value Hedval1 Making a purchase totally absorbs me. 0.788 0.701 0.860 0.903
Overby and Lee Hedval2 The online shop doesnt just sell 0.890
(2006) product or services it entertains me.
Hedval3 Making a purchase from an online 0.897
shop gets me away from it all.
Hedval4 Making a purchase from an online 0.764
shop truly feels like an escape.
Habit Habit1 Online shopping has become a 0.804 0.699 0.788 0.875
habit for me.
Limayem and Habit2 I am addicted to online shopping. Dropped
Hirt (2003) Habit3 I must do online shopping. Dropped
Habit4 I dont even think twice before 0.854
doing online shopping.
Habit5 Doing online shopping has become 0.850
natural to me.
Social factors Socfact1 People in my organisation have 0.644 0.656 0.743 0.849
recommended me to do online shopping.
Fishbein and Socfact2 My peers have recommended me to 0.863
Ajzen (l975) do online shopping.
Socfact3 My immediate friends have recommended 0.899
me to do online shopping.

selected resampling method frees us from the assump-
tion that the data conforms to a bell-shaped curve.
The mean, standard deviation and correlations of
the constructs are shown in Table 3. The content
validity of the instrument was ensured by carrying out
a pilot test with IT students. Convergent validity was
ensured by assessing the factor loadings and by
calculating variance extracted.
Discriminant validity indicates the extent to which
a given construct diers from other constructs. For
adequate discriminant validity, the square root of the
variance extracted should be greater than the correla-
tion of the constructs. Discriminant validity was
assessed by computing the correlations between con-
structs, and the correlations between all pairs of
constructs were below the threshold value of 0.90
(Hair et al. 1998). The square root of the variance
extracted was greater than the correlations of the
constructs (Table 3). Hence, the reliability and validity
of the constructs in the model are acceptable.
Table 4 presents all the research constructs and
items, convergent validity, internal consistency and
reliability. As Table 4 shows, all the model items
loaded well, values exceeding 0.50 (Hair et al. 2006).
Internal consistency reliability among the items was
assessed by calculating Cronbachs a. Table 4 shows
that this coecient exceeds the suggested value of 0.60
for all constructs (Nunnally 1978, Hair et al. 2006),
except in the case of Habit2 and Habit3, which were
dropped. The variance extracted of all the constructs
 Behaviour & Information Technology
exceeded 0.5 (Fornell and Larcker 1981, Hair et al.
1998). The composite reliability of all the constructs
exceeded the suggested value of 0.7 (Nunnally 1978).
3.3. The structural model
The results of our study are shown in Figure 1, which
shows estimated path coecients and the signicance
of the path, which is indicated with an asterisk. Tests
of signicance were performed using the bootstrap
procedure. The ndings indicate that all the hypothe-
sised paths are signicant. Standardised bs show that
habit ( 0.304) and utilitarian value ( 0.388)
have a strong and signicant inuence on aect.
Hedonic value ( 0.187) also has a signicant
inuence on aect. Social factors have a signicant
inuence ( 0.250) on habit. At the online usage
level, intentions have a strong and signicant inuence
on behaviour ( 0.443). Overall, the research model
accounts for 19.6% (R2 0.196) of the variance in
behaviour.
Hypothesis H1 stated that normative beliefs would
have a clear impact on habit. This hypothesis consisted
of elements that described how the respondents were
persuaded by their friends, fellow students or collea-
gues in their working environment. This is consistent
with the Triandis model, which stated that habit
(learning) is a function of, amongst other things,
reinforcement and social desirability (Triandis 1980).
Our ndings also conrm earlier research results, cf.
Section 2.3. This interdependence does not shed light
on the basic and open question though, of when
repeated actions become a habit. For example, in this
e-commerce case, how many times must the individual
frequently visit the online site in order to make a habit
Figure 1. The research model. * 0.05 level, ** 0.01
level, *** 0.001 level.
629
out of this behaviour? However, frequency is not the
only variable which may explain this problem (Ajzen
2002). According to the data (Table 2), in e-commerce
the frequency of visit to the actual site is low, but social
factors have a quite strong eect on habit, thus other
situational beliefs (external factors) must also be used
to explain this phenomenon (Aarts et al. 1997).
Furthermore, hypothesis H2 was supported, de-
scribing the strong impact of habit on aect. This
interdependence showed clearly how the use of online
shopping sites had become a natural custom (habit) for
the respondents. In some cases it could even be
described as a compulsive and pathological behaviour
(Morahan-Martin and Schumacher 2000).
Even though the term aect refers to the
emotional system of an individual (Triandis 1980),
hypothesis H3 was more strongly supported than
hypothesis H4. This rational side is explained with
utilitarian values, such as the price being right, time
being saved or overall satisfaction with the products or
services bought from an online shop. Hypothesis H4
indicated that hedonic values reect enjoyment-related
elements in aect, such as online shopping absorbing
the shopper, online shopping also being a nice way to
spend time, or the online shopper experiencing escapist
emotions. Both rational and hedonic values are
important factors inuencing the online shopping
aect, thus strengthening emotional and rational
attitudes towards e-commerce behaviour. From the
customers viewpoint and that of their aect towards
an online shop, these values should appear in the
construction and functionality of the web pages so the
customer can have both kinds of experience, in order
to nd the site valuable and further to patronise the
online shop. These ndings are also consistent with
earlier research, cf. Table 1.
4. Conclusion
In this research article, we have focused on e-com-
merce customer behaviour towards online shopping
viewed from a habit and value perspective. We choose
a subset of constructs and causal relationships from
Triandis Behavioural Framework (1980). Triandis
model explains individuals behaviour while taking
into consideration the individuals habitual behaviour
and the judgement of social peers on the individuals
own behaviour. We extended the Triandis model with
utilitarian value and hedonic value constructs. In
Triandis model, the independent variable habit
explains the individuals actual behaviour. Our results
suggest that the social factor is a preceding factor of
habit and the social factor has an important aect on
habit formulation. Our results support the conjecture
that habit has an important role in e-commerce
630 S. Pahnila and J. Warsta
customer behaviour. According to data, the Triandis
model rened with utilitarian and hedonic value, both
values play an important role in explaining individuals
e-commerce customer behaviour. Results also support
the preconception that Triandis model is applicable in
explaining consumers online behaviour.
We found that normative beliefs have a signicant
impact on habit and, further, that habit itself had a
strong signicant impact on aect. The former nding
indicates that when the frequency of past behaviour is
not high, habit is determined by deliberate decision-
making, in our case the recommendations or persua-
sion of others. It could be that when the behaviour is
not repetitive, consumers are not familiar with online
shopping; their behaviour is based on reasoning,
taking into consideration others opinions or experi-
ences relating to online shopping.
Our respondents were moderate online users, as
their online usage time per week and their weekly
online frequency were not very high (Table 2).
However, their computer expertise and readiness
were good, meaning that the respondents had a good
ability to establish frequent usage behaviour.
Both the utilitarian and the hedonic values have a
signicant impact on aect, and on e-commerce
behaviour. This indicates that intrinsic motivational
matters such as fun and enjoyment are important
issues that have an inuence on consumer behaviour.
When consumers are recreationally motivation-
oriented, it has a positive aect on pleasantness and
sales because recreational consumers appreciate rich
and engaging shopping experiences (Kaltcheva and
Weitz 2006). According to Bloch et al. (1986), in a
physical store consumers enjoy the shopping experi-
ence itself and browsing shopping catalogues without
the intention to buy. Furthermore, van der Heijden
(2004, 696) states: The objective of a utilitarian
information system is to increase the users task
performance while encouraging eciency. With this
objective the user achieves productive use of the
system. On the other hand, he continues: Therefore,
important tactics that developers employ are the
inclusion of hedonic content, animated images, a focus
on colours, sounds, and aesthetically appealing visual
layouts. In this way, the online shopping site
encourages a prolonged stay on the site. This is also
supported by Babin et al. (1994), as they found that
hedonic customers just browse and play around in the
website without any real buying intentions.
The online shop has both to amuse and to benet
the customer; thus when planning, designing and
maintaining the website for an online shop, these
attributes should be kept in mind. Considering the
ndings of our research we would recommend that
online service providers, in order to serve utilitarian
customers, should, for example, explicitly present the
total costs related to the product or service at quite an
early stage of the shopping process, and provide clear
product information concerning quality and warranty.
A substantial proportion of the customers took time to
reconsider when ordering, and for this reason we
would recommend that the retailers should encourage
the customer to make a decision in this nal crucial
moment of the buying process. Furthermore, we
suggest that retailers should take care of these
customers, for example oering them information
about up-coming products or services, or introducing
targeted special oers. Satisfying customers varying
expectations is a sti challenge for retailers. However,
winning a new customer is more expensive than trying
to keep an existing customer relationship.
References
Aarts, H., Paulussen, T., and Schaalma, H., 1997. Physical
exercise habit: on the conceptualization and formation of
habitual health behaviours. Health Education Research,
12 (3), 363374.
Agresti, A., 1990. Categorical data analysis. New York: John
Wiley & Sons.
Ajzen, I., 2002. Perceived behavioral control, self-ecacy,
locus of control, and the theory of planned behavior.
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 120.
Aydin, C.E. and Rice, R.E., 1991. Social worlds, individual
dierences, and implementation. Predicting attitudes
toward a medical information system. Information and
Management, 20, 119136.
Babin, B. and Attaway, J., 2000. Atmospheric aect as a tool
for creating value and gaining share of customer. Journal
of Business Research, 49, 9199.
Babin, B., Darden, W., and Grin, M., 1994. Work and/or
fun: measuring hedonic and utilitarian shopping value.
Journal of Consumer Research, 20 (4), 644656.
Bellman, S., Lohse, G., and Johnson, E., 1999. Predictors of
online buying behavior. Communications of the ACM, 42
(12), 3238.
Bloch, P., Sherrell, D., and Ridgway, N., 1986. Consumer
search: an extended framework. Journal of Consumer
Research, 13 (1), 119126.
Boudreau, M.-C. and Gefen, D., 2001. Validation in
information systems research: a state-of-the-art assess-
ment. MIS Quarterly, 25 (1), 116.
Bridges, E. and Florsheim, R., 2008. Hedonic and utilitarian
shopping goals: the online experience. Journal of Business
Research, 61, 309314.
Bruner II, G. and Kumar, A., 2005. Explaining consumer
acceptance of handheld Internet devices. Journal of
Business Research, 58, 553558.
Butz, H.Jr and Goodstein, L., 1996. Measuring customer
value: gaining the strategic advantage. Organizational
Dynamics, 24 (3 Winter), 6377.
Cheung, C.M.K. and Limayem, M., 2005. The role of habit
in information systems continuance: examining the
evolving relationship between intention and usage. In:
Proceedings of the International Conference on Informa-
tion Systems, ICIS 2005, 1114 December. Las Vegas,
NV, USA. Association for Information Systems.
 Behaviour & Information Technology
Childers, T., et al., 2001. Hedonic and utilitarian motivations
for online retail shopping behavior. Journal of Retailing,
77, 511535.
Chin, W. and Newsted, P., 1999. Structural equation
modeling analysis with small samples using partial least
squares. In: R. Hoyle, ed. Statistical strategies for small
sample research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Collins, C., Steg, L., and Koning, A., 2007. Customers
values, beliefs on sustainable corporate performance, and
buying behavior. Psychology and Marketing, 24 (6), 555
577.
Compeau, R.D. and Higgins, A.C., 1995. Computer self-
ecacy: development of a measure and initial test. MIS
Quarterly, 19 (2), 189211.
Cronbach, L., 1950. Further evidence on response sets and
test design. Educational and Psychological Measurement,
10, 331.
Davis, D.F., Bagozzi, P.R., and Warshaw, R.P., 1989. User
acceptance of computer technology: a comparison of two
theoretical models. Management Science, 35 (8), 982
1003.
Eggert, A. and Ulaga, W., 2002. Customer perceived value: a
substitute for satisfaction in business markets? Journal of
Business and Industrial Marketing, 17 (2/3), 107118.
Fiore, A., Kim, J., and Lee, H., 2005. Eect of image
interactivity technology on consumer responses toward
the online retailer. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 19
(3), 3853.
Fishbein, M., 1980. A theory of reasoned action: some
applications and implications. Nebraska symposium on
motivation 1979. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska
Press, 65116.
Fishbein, M. and Ajzen, I., 1975. Belief, attitude, intention
and behavior: an introduction to theory and research.
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Fornell, C. and Larcker, F., 1981. Evaluating structural
equation models with unobservable variables and mea-
surement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18 (1),
3950.
Gefen, D., Straub, D., and Boudreau, M.-C., 2000.
Structural equation modeling and regression: guideline
for research practice. Communications of the Association
for Information Systems, 7 (7), 178.
Hair, J.F. Jr., et al., 1998. Multivariate data analysis. 5th ed.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Inc.
Hair, J.F. Jr., et al., 2006. Multivariate data analysis. 6th ed.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Heijden van der, H., 2004. User acceptance of hedonic
information systems. MIS Quarterly, 28 (4), 695704.
Jones, M., Reynolds, K., and Arnold, M., 2006. Hedonic and
utilitarian shopping value: investigating dierential
eects on retail outcomes. Journal of Business Research,
59, 974981.
Kaltcheva, V. and Weitz, B., 2006. When should a retailer
create an exciting store environment? Journal of Market-
ing, 70 (1), 107118.
Karahanna, E., Straub, D.W., and Chervany, N.L., 1999.
Information technology adoption across time: a cross-
sectional comparison of pre-adoption and post-adoption
beliefs. MIS Quarterly, 23 (2), 183213.
Keeney, R., 1999. The value of internet commerce to the
customer. Management Science, 45 (4), 533542.
Kim, Y. and Srivastava, J., 2007. Impact of social inuence in
e-commerce decision making. In: Proceedings of the ninth
international conference on electronic commerce (ICEE
07), Minneapolis, MN, USA. New York: ACM, 293301.
631
Kleijnen, M., de Ruyter, K., and Wetzels, M., 2007. An
assessment of value creation in mobile service delivery
and the moderating role of time consciousness. Journal of
Retailing, 83 (1), 3346.
Kline, R.B., 1998. Principles and practice of structural
equation modeling. New York: The Guilford Press.
Komorita, S. and Graham, W., 1965. Number of scale points
and the reliability of scales. Educational and Psychologi-
cal Measurement, XXV, 987995.
Kurki, S., Tuunainen, V., and Oorni, A., 2007. Consumer
value in electronic retailing: a laboratory experiment in
buying cloths. In: H. Osterle, J. Schelp, and R. Winter,
eds. Proceedings of the 15th European Conference on
Information Systems, University of St Gallen, Switzer-
land, 112.
Limayem, M. and Hirt, S.G., 2003. Force of habit and
information systems usage: theory and initial validation.
Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 4, 65
97.
Limayem, M., Khalifa, M., and Frini, A., 2000. What makes
consumers buy from internet? A longitudinal study of
online shopping. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man,
and Cybernetics - Part A: Systems and Humans, 30, 421
432.
Lumpkin, G. and Dess, G., 2004. E-business strategies and
internet business models: how the internet adds value.
Organizational Dynamics, 33 (2), 161173.
Mathwick, C., Malhotra, N., and Rigdon, E., 2001.
Experiential value: conceptualization, measurement
and application in the catalog and Internet shopping
environment. Journal of Retailing, 77, 3956.
Mattel, M. and Jacoby, J., 1971. Is there an optimal number
of alternatives for Likert scale items? Study I: reliabilty
and validity. Educational and Psychological Measure-
ment, 31, 657674.
Morahan-Martin, J. and Schumacher, P., 2000. Incidence
and correlates of pathological Internet use among
college students. Computers in Human Behavior, 16,
1329.
Noble, S., Grith, D., and Weinberger, M., 2005. Consumer
derived utilitarian value and channel utilization in a
multi-channel retail context. Journal of Business
Research, 58, 16431651.
Nunnally, J.C., 1978. Psychometric theory. 2nd ed. New
York: MacGraw-Hill.
Overby, J. and Lee, E.-J., 2006. The eects of utilitarian and
hedonic online shopping value on consumer preference
and intentions. Journal of Business Research, 59, 1160
1166.
Rasmussen, J., 1989. Analysis of likert-scale data: a
reinterpretention of gregoire and driver. Psychological
Bulletin, 105, 167170.
Ringle, C. and Wende, S., 2005. SmartPLS 2.0 (M3) Beta.
University of Hamburg, Germany.
Senecal, S., Gharbi, J.-E., and Nantel, J., 2002. The
inuence of ow on hedonic and utilitarian
shopping values. Advances in Consumer Research, 29,
483484.
Simon, J. and Bruce, P., 1991. Resampling: a tool for
everyday statistical work. Change: New Directions for
Statistics and Computing, 4, 2232.
Stoel, L., Wicklie, V., and Lee, K., 2004. Attribute beliefs
and spending as antecedents to shopping value. Journal
of Business Research, 57, 10671073.
Straub, D.W., 1989. Validating instruments in MIS research.
MIS Quarterly, 13 (2), 147169.
632 S. Pahnila and J. Warsta

Triandis, H.C., 1980. Values, attitudes, and interpersonal
behavior. Nebraska symposium on motivation 1979.
Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 195259.
Venkatesh, V., et al., 2003. User acceptance of information
technology: toward a unied view. MIS Quarterly, 27 (3),
425478.
Verplanken, B., Aarts, H., and Knippenberg van, A., 1997.
Habit, information acquisition, and the process of
making travel mode choices. European Journal of Social
Psychology, 27, 539560.
Woodru, R., 1997. Customer value: the next source for
competitive advantage. Academy of Marketing Science,
25 (2), 139153.
Zeithaml, V., 1988. Consumer perceptions of price, quality,
and value: a means-end model and synthesis of evidence.
Journal of Marketing, 52 (3), 222.
Copyright of Behaviour & Information Technology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may
not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written
permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.