Why Do Customers Purchase from a Website? Activity-based Web Presence Readiness Model

This study proposes a web presence readiness model based on pre-payment service functions and a post-payment service function both of which embrace the major concerns of customers in the online purchasing context. Based on the concept of customer utility from the product itself and instrumental utility, the research model suggests four antecedents including, Perceived Economic Benefits, Product Search Support Quality, e-Shopping Method Diversity, and Post-Payment Support Quality. We empirically examined a proposed research model using data collected from online rating company websites. Among the four antecedents, post payment support quality is found to be the most influential determinant of customer evaluation on e-commerce websites. Based on the empirical results, the current study proposes an alternate model of web presence readiness. The findings of this study may provide an insight to field practitioners designing commercial websites. The implications and future research directions are further discussed.