ALTRUISM OR BENEFIT SEEKING? EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BEHAVIORAL BELIEFS ON ONLINE SHOPPERâ•ŽS ATTITUDE AND INTENTION TO BE AN ONLINE GROUP BUYING INITIATOR

Among the various online shopping business models, one that specifically attracts the attention of Internet users is “online group buying. which is characterized by group negotiation benefits and online word-of-mouth effects. Extant online group buying research has examined topics covering pricing mechanisms, pricing models, sales performance, and online users’ motivation to participation. Whereas online group buying requires close collaboration among the group buying website, the supplier, the initiator, and the participants, little attention has been paid on the role of the initiator. This study investigates the antecedents of behavioral intention of online group buying initiators from the social exchange theory perspective. The aim is to understand the influence of social exchange factors and the effects of cognitive psychology determinants on the behavioral intention to be an online group buying initiator. This study employed an online survey method, in which a total of 428 valid responses were acquired. Results indicated that self-efficacy, altruism, perceived benefits, and perceived risks significantly affect the attitude toward being an online group buying initiator. Moreover, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, and attitude positively affect the behavioral intention to be an online group buying initiator. Further analysis also showed that the experience of being an online group buying initiator plays an important moderating role on certain paths between research constructs. For Internet users who had experience in being online group buying initiators, altruism positively and perceived risks negatively affect attitude. In addition, subjective norm positively influences the behavioral intention to be online group buying initiators for inexperienced Internet users. Besides the discussion of research findings, we offer suggested directions for future research.