This study examines whether social presence through a virtual sales associate (VSA) affects mature consumers’ perceptions of technical and social supports from an apparel retail website and whether these perceptions influence consumers’ attitudes and patronage intentions toward the website. Sixty mature consumers participated in a laboratory experiment and completed a shopping task on a mock apparel website with or without a VSA. Results revealed that participants in the VSA (vs. no-VSA) condition perceived significantly greater social support; however, no significant difference existed in perceived technical support between the two conditions. This study also revealed that mature consumers’ perceived social support and ease of use of the retail website positively influenced their attitude toward the retail website, which in turn led to their website patronage intentions. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed with respect to the potential of VSAs in enhancing the e-tail service quality for mature consumers.
BauerH. H.FalkT.HammerschmidtM. (2006). eTransQual: A transaction process-based approach for capturing service quality in online shopping. Journal of Business Research, 59, 866–875.
5.
BradyM. K. (2001). Some new thoughts on conceptualizing perceived service quality: A hierarchical approach. Journal of Marketing, 65, 34–49.
6.
CaiS.JunM. (2003). Internet users' perceptions of online service quality: A comparison of online buyers and information searchers. Managing Service Quality, 13, 504–519.
7.
CareyJ. C.WadeS. L.WolfeC. R. (2008). Lessons learned: The effect of prior technology use on web-based interventions. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11, 188–195.
8.
ChoyR.LokerS. (2004). Mass customization of wedding gowns: Design involvement on the Internet. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 22, 79–87.
9.
ChungD. (2005). Something for nothing: Understanding purchasing behaviors in social virtual environments. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8, 538–554.
CronbachL. J.ShavelsonR. J. (2004). My current thoughts on coefficient alpha and successor procedures. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64, 391–418.
12.
CyrD.HassaneinK.HeadM.IvanovA. (2007). The role of social presence in establishing loyalty in e-service environments. Interacting With Computers, 19, 43–56.
13.
CyrD.HeadM.IvanovA. (2009). Perceived interactivity leading to e-loyalty: Development of a model for cognitive-affective user responses. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 67, 850–869.
14.
CzajaS. J.LeeC. C. (2007). The impact of aging on access to technology. Universal Access Information Society, 5, 341–349.
15.
DabholkarP. A.ThorpeD. I.RentzJ. O. (1996). A measure of service quality for retail stores: Scale development and validation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 24, 3–16.
16.
DashS.SajiK. B. (2007). The role of consumer self-efficacy and website social-presence in customers' adoption of b2c online shopping: An empirical study in the indian context. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 20, 33–48.
17.
DavisF. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13, 319–339.
18.
DavisF. D.BagozziR. P.WarshawP. R. (1989). User acceptance of computer technology: A comparison of two theoretical models. Management Science, 35, 982–1003.
19.
FinnD. W.LambC. W.Jr. (1991). An evaluation of the SERVQUAL scales in a retailing setting. Advances in Consumer Research, 18, 483–490.
20.
GronroosC. (1984). A service quality model and its marketing implications. European Journal of Marketing, 18, 36–44.
21.
GronroosC. (1991). Service management and marketing in the service sector. Lund, Sweden: Studentlitteratur.
22.
HackmanM. Z.WalkerK. B. (1990). Instructional communication in the televised classroom: The effects of system design and teacher immediacy on student learning and satisfaction. Communication Education, 39, 196.
23.
HassaneinK.HeadM. (2005). The impact of infusing social presence in the Web interface: An investigation across product types. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 10, 31–55.
24.
HassaneinK.HeadM. (2007). Manipulating perceived social presence through the web interface and its impact on attitude toward online shopping. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 65, 689–708.
25.
HervéC.MulletE. (2009). Age and factors influencing consumer behaviour. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 33, 302–308.
26.
HolzwarthM.JaniszewskiC.NeumannM. M. (2006). The influence of avatars on online consumer shopping behavior. Journal of Marketing, 70, 19–36.
27.
HostlerE. R.YoonV. Y.GuimaraesT. (2005). Assessing the impact of internet agent on end users’ performance. Decision Support Systems, 41, 313–323.
28.
JohnsonR. D. (2011). Gender differences in e-learning: Communication, social presence, and learning outcomes. Journal of Organizational & End User Computing, 23, 79–94. doi:10.4018/joeuc.2011010105
29.
JosephN.StoneB. (2005, April 25). Diagnosis: Internet phobia. Newsweek, 145, 74.
30.
JoynerA. (2010, June). An animated salesperson. Business to Business Electronic Markets, 32, 108–109.
31.
KeelingK.McGoldrickP.BeattyS. (2010). Avatars as salespeople: Communication style, trust, and intentions. Journal of Business Research, 63, 793–800.
32.
KehrwaldB. (2008). Understanding social presence in text-based online learning environments. Distance Education, 29, 89–106.
33.
KimJ.DamhorstM. L. (2010). Effects of level of Internet retailer's service quality on perceived apparel quality, perceived service quality, perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions toward an Internet retailer. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 28, 56–73.
34.
KimJ.FioreA. M.LeeH.-H. (2007). Influences of online store perception, shopping enjoyment, and shopping involvement on consumer behavior towards an online retailer. Journal of Retailing & Consumer Services, 14, 95–107.
35.
KleinR. (2007). Internet-based patient-physician electronic communication applications: patient acceptance and trust. e-Service Journal, 5, 27–51.
36.
KwonW.-S.LennonS. J. (2009). Reciprocal effects between multichannel retailers's offline and online brand images. Journal of Retailing, 85, 376–390.
37.
LokerS.AshdownS.CarnriteE. (2008). Dress in the third dimension: Online interactivity and its new horizons. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 26, 164–176.
38.
MoskowitzD. S.SuhE. J.DesaulniersJ. (1994). Situational influences on gender differences in agency and communion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 753–761.
39.
OliverR. L. (1999). Whence consumer loyalty?Journal of Marketing, 63, 33–44.
40.
ParasuramanA.ZeithamlV. A.BerryL. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64, 12–40.
41.
ParasuramanA.ZeithamlV. A.MalhotraA. (2005). E-S-QUAL: A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality. Journal of Service Research, 7, 213–233.
42.
ParkJ.StoelL.LennonS. J. (2008). Cognitive, affective and conative responses to visual simulation: The effects of rotation in online product presentation. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 7, 72–87.
QiuL.BenbasatI. (2009). Evaluating anthropomorphic product recommendation agents: A social relationship perspective to designing information systems. Journal of Management Information Systems, 25, 145–181.
45.
RiceR. (1993). Media appropriateness: Using social presence theory to compare traditional and new organizational media. Human Communication Research, 19, 451–484.
46.
RickelJ.JohnsonW. L. (2000). Task-oriented collaboration with embodied agents in virtual worlds. In CassellJ.SullivanJ.Prevost, S.ChurchillE. F. (Eds.), Embodied conversational agents. Boston: MIT Press.
47.
SantosJ. (2003). E-service quality: A model of virtual service quality dimensions. Managing Service Quality, 13, 233–246.
48.
ShortJ.WilliamE.ChristieB. (1976). The social psychology of telecommunication. London, England: Wiley.
49.
SkalskiP.TamboriniR. (2007). The role of social presence in interactive agent-based persuasion. Media Psychology, 10, 385–413.
50.
StraubD. W. (1994). The effect of culture on IT diffusion: E-mail and FAX in Japan and the U.S. Information Systems Research, 5, 23–47.
UwaifoS. O. (2008). Computer anxiety as predictor of librarians’ perceived ease of use of automated library systems in Nigerian university libraries. African Journal of Library, Archives, & Information Science, 18, 147–155.
53.
van der HeijdenH.VerhagenT.CreemersM. (2003). Understanding online purchase intentions: Contributions from technology and trust perspectives. European Journal of Information Systems, 12, 41–48.
54.
VasalouA.JoinsonA.BänzigerT.GoldieP.PittJ. (2008). Avatars in social media: Balancing accuracy, playfulness and embodied messages. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 66, 801–811.
55.
WangL. C.BakerJ.WagnerJ. A.WakefieldK. (2007). Can a retail web site be social?Journal of Marketing, 71, 143–157.
56.
WyerR. S. (1980). The acquisition and use of social knowledge: Basic postulates and representative research. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 6, 558–573.
57.
YangZ.FangX. (2004). Online service quality dimensions and their relationships with satisfaction: A content analysis of customer reviews of securities brokerage services. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 15, 302–327.
58.
YangZ.JunM.PetersonR. T. (2004). Measuring customer perceived online service quality. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 24, 1149–1174.
59.
YooY.AlaviM. (2001). Media and group cohesion: Relative influences on social pretense, task participation, and group consensus. MIS Quarterly, 25, 371–390.
60.
ZimetG. D.DahlemN. W.ZimetS. G.FarleyG. K. (1988). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52, 30–41.
