A study on information disclosure, trust, reducing search cost, and online group-buying intention

Abstract

Purpose

More and more disputes have quickly emerged and accumulated, hence generating uncertainties and doubts among consumers regarding the online group-buying. In order to decrease such uncertainties, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships among information disclosure, trust, reducing search cost, and online group-buying intention, as well as proposing concrete suggestions for enhancing online group-buying intention.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to explore the relationships among information disclosure, trust, reducing search cost, and online group-buying intention, the questionnaire and statistical analytical techniques were used. Moreover, as this study was an early attempt to develop a model for information disclosure, trust, reducing search cost, and online group-buying intention, partial least square therefore was appropriately to analyze data.

Findings

The results showed that the level of information disclosure and trust on a group-buying website have positive influence on reducing search costs, while reducing search costs and trust have positive influences on online group-buying intention.

Research limitations/implications

This research applied a purposive sampling method and obtained a slightly inadequate number of respondents. Therefore, it is suggested that future research should apply a random sampling method to collect more responses and increase the generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

By more actively disclosing information it is possible for group-buying websites to increase consumer trust and decrease search costs, thus enhancing their group-buying intentions.

Originality/value

There are few studies on the relationships among reducing search cost, trust, and group-buying intention from the perspective of information disclosure. This study thus applies a questionnaire survey method to explore the relationships among them. This study also offers concrete suggestions to enhance group-buying intentions, and provides marketing strategies that can be used by online group-buying websites to raise their sales.

Citation

Tseng, S.-M. and Lee, M.-C. (2016), "A study on information disclosure, trust, reducing search cost, and online group-buying intention", Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 29 No. 6, pp. 903-918. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-07-2015-0063