How does the online service level influence consumers’ purchase intentions before a transaction? A formative approach

Abstract

The present paper tries to study the impact of online services level in contexts where transactions have not been done yet, through the adoption of a formative approach. In this scene, the present research considers two main dimensions of online services (pre-purchase services and transaction-related services) in a context of clothing purchasing process. Before defining the research and determining the sector to be analyzed, 7 focus groups were conducted. From the obtained conclusions, this study was carried on in the textile sector. A survey with 370 effective respondents was carried out. To measure the different concepts in the model, several scales were used based on literature proposals. Our model was estimated through partial least squares with SmartPLS (Ringle, Wende, & Will, 2005). Empirical findings provide that both transactions related services and pre-purchase services are determinants of the navigation experience. At the same time, navigation experiences affect attitude to the web, which affects purchase intention. All of this in the SME clothing e-retailing industry.