An Examination of the Impact of Brand and Experiential Factors on the Acceptance of Apparel E-shopping using a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Approach.

MAHESHWARI, RICHA. An Examination of the Impact of Brand and Experiential Factors on the Acceptance of Apparel E-shopping using a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Approach. (Under the direction of Dr. Marguerite Moore, Dr. Jeffrey Joines and Dr. Nancy Cassill). The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of brand and experiential factors on the acceptance of e-shopping for apparel products using a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) approach. The TAM was initially developed by Davis (1989) as an information system model to understand the acceptance of computer based technologies in the workplace. The TAM has been also used to guide analysis of e-commerce adoption among consumers. Ha and Stoel (2009) extended the TAM by integrating trust, enjoyment and e-shopping quality and applying it to understand the adoption of e-shopping for apparel. This study further developed the TAM for the apparel context by integrating brand factors and experiential factors into the conceptual and operational models. The research specifically examined the impact of brand factors including: brand trust, brand loyalty, brand image and brand familiarity; and experiential factors including: trust in e-shopping, shopping enjoyment, e-shopping quality and perceived risk, on the attitude of consumers towards eshopping and their purchase intention. A self-administered survey research design was used to collect data from a sample of college students enrolled in the undergraduate/graduate program in the North Carolina State University. The final sample consisted of 283 students. The survey addressed all the twelve focal constructs of the study, followed by consumer demographics. Measures for the survey were predominantly adopted from the review of literature and previously established scales developed by researchers. Scales were analyzed for reliability among the sample data using Cronbach‟s alpha. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to evaluate the twenty-one hypotheses. Results suggest that e-shopping quality determines consumer perceptions of trust, enjoyment and ease of use, which along with usefulness influence consumers‟ attitude towards e-shopping. Consumer perceptions of perceived risk and attitude towards e-shopping influence consumers‟ purchase intention. With the exception of shopping enjoyment, all experiential factors used in the study gave significant results. The influence of brand factors on consumer attitude and purchase intention produced mixed results. Significant positive relationships were found between brand trust and brand loyalty, and brand trust and perceived risk, whereas non-significant relationships were found between brand familiarity and perceived risk, and brand image and consumer attitude. Implications for apparel and footwear e-retailers are presented along with recommendations for future research. An Examination of the Impact of Brand and Experiential Factors on the Acceptance of Apparel E-shopping using a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Approach