Confidence and Acquiescence, Two Phases for Successful E-Commerce

Confidence and acquiescence are essential ingredients for successful business relationships inbusiness-to-consumer electronic commerce. Yet there is little research on confidence andacquiescence in e-commerce that takes a longitudinal approach. Drawing on three primary bodiesof literature, the theory of reasoned action, the extended valence framework, and expectationconfirmation theory, this study synthesizes a model of consumer confidence and acquiescence inthe context of e-commerce. The model considers not only how consumers formulate theirprepurchase decisions, but also how they form their long-term relationships with the same websitevendor by comparing their prepurchase expectations to their actual purchase outcome. The resultsindicate that confidence directly and indirectly affects a consumer's purchase decision incombination with perceived risk and perceived benefit, and also that confidence has a longer termimpact on consumer e-loyalty through acquiescence. Thus, this study extends our understandingof consumer Internet transaction behavior as a three-fold (prepurchase, purchase, andpostpurchase) process, and it recognizes the crucial, multiple roles that confidence plays in thisprocess. Implications for theory and practice as well as limitations and future directions arediscussed.