Influence Of Choice Context On Consumer Decision Making In Global Electronic Commerce

The objective of this paper is to understand how choice context will influence the decision making process of consumers when shopping at electronic shopping malls. This paper provides a framework for exploring context effects on consumer judgment and choice processes in the special case of electronic commerce. First an outline of the judgment process is presented which is used to identify the stages where the context effects may occur. Theliterature in experimental and social psychology, behavioral decision theory and consumer research are selectively reviewed for evidence regarding context effects on judgment. The approach adopted in this paper borrows directly from at least two converging sources : the cross-functional research in judgment and decision making in consumer behavior and cognitive psychology and the research in marketing issues in electronic commerce. The managerial implications of this research are answers to questions such as how best can the firm exploit this new form of transacting business to maximize its leverage in the market place and increase its market share. The academic contribution of this research on context effects is that it helps to reconcile two diverging research streams on judgment and choice (the economic perspective and the behavioral perspective)