Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
H5: Trust will have a positive affect on ease of
use for older consumers.
H9: Older respondents will perceive online shop-
ping to be less easy to use.
H6: Trust will have a positive affect on usefulness
for older consumers.
The elderly are often the victims of financial
exploitation and fraud (O'Neill & Flanagan, 1998).
Zeithaml and Gilly (1987) found older consumers
were quite concerned with safety issues related to
adopting technological innovations. It is hypoth-
esized that the elderly, aware of the potential for
fraud and abuse on the Internet, will view online
shopping more skeptically and will have less trust
concerning online purchases.
To what extent does age impact electronic
commerce directly or indirectly through perceived
ease of use, usefulness and trust? Although there
are many older Americans who are active Internet
users, the common perception is that the elderly
are less likely to use technology and would there-
fore not shop online. Individuals in their 50s and
60s are more likely to have used computers in
their work and would, perhaps be more likely to
use the Internet and make purchases online. We
hypothesize that electronic commerce usage will
be the lowest for oldest respondents.
H10: Older respondents will have less trust con-
cerning online purchases.
method
measures
H7: Age will have a negative affect on the four di-
mensions of electronic commerce participation.
Respondents were first asked some demographic
questions, including age, gender and highest level
of education attained. Respondents were then
asked if they had access to the Internet. Those
respondents who indicated they did not have access
to the Internet were excluded from all analyses. As
other researchers have done to improve reliability
(Igbaria et. al., 1995; Igbaria, Zinatelli, Cragg, &
Cavaya, 1997; Straub, Limayem, & Karahanna-
Evaristo, 1995), usage was assessed in different
ways. Respondents were asked to indicate the
number of times they purchased products online
over the last 6 months. Frequency of use was as-
sessed with a 6-point scale ranging from (1) not
at all to (6) daily . Additionally, those respondents
who made online purchases were asked to esti-
mate the total dollar amount of their purchases
for the last 6 months. This timeframe was elected
because it was thought to be long enough to be
comprehensive but not so long as to make usage
estimates uncertain.
Davis (1989) developed a set of six items to
assess ease of use, which focus on whether the
Shopping can be physically burdensome. The
physical exertion required to shop, such as driving,
walking and carrying packages, can make shop-
ping difficult for the elderly. Going from store to
store for price comparisons or availability can be
trying on healthy adults, let alone those who are
in poor health or are frail. Because it allows for
the elimination of the physical nature of shopping,
online shopping could be the most beneficial to
this demographic.
H8: Older respondents will perceive online shop-
ping to be more useful.
The physical deterioration that makes shop-
ping more difficult could conceivably make the
act of online shopping challenging as well. Online
shopping requires both manual dexterity, to use
the mouse, and strong vision to see small links
and read the type. Older users may find shopping
online to be more difficult than younger users.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search