The evolvement of online consumer behavior: The ROPO and reverse ROPO effect in Poland and Germany

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study was to find out whether the online shopping behaviors ROPO and Reverse ROPO Effect differ between Poles and Germans. Methodology: The author conducted quantitative research among Polish and German students (129 questionnaires). The measures for this study were hypotheses that tested in mean and comparative analysis. Findings: In the context of online consumer behavior, the results indicate that consumers display different preferences for ROPO or Reverse ROPO Effect. These differences trace back to cultural differences, particularly different uncertainty avoidance levels, and different stage of e-commerce markets maturity. Research implications: E-commerce markets constantly evolve and so does online consumer behavior. While immature e-commerce markets follow their mature counterparts, their respective online consumer behavior also evolves, currently displaying different tendencies in ROPO and Reverse ROPO Effect between markets. Limitation: Respondents that cover all age groups would be more representative of the respective countries of analysis. Moreover, instead of a cross-sectional, one should conduct further research with a time-series study to capture trends in behavior adoption, which effect from the evolving nature of the e-commerce retail market.