One good behavioral study deserves another

Citation

Schwartz, D.G. (2004), "One good behavioral study deserves another", Internet Research, Vol. 14 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr.2004.17214caa.001

One good behavioral study deserves another

One good behavioral study deserves another

Four of the leading contenders to explain user behavior are the theory of reasoned action (TRA), the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the decompose theory of planned behavior (DTPB). In this issue of Internet Research each of these theories is put through its paces.

George, in “The theory of planned behavior and Internet purchasing”, presents a TPB-based study that examines how beliefs about trustworthiness, privacy, perceived behavioral control, and the expectation of others, impact purchasing behavior on the Internet. Through this article we gain insights not only into purchasing behavior, but also into the proper application of TPB to study similar questions.

We then present two fascinating studies on Internet banking. Shih and Fang study, “The use of a decomposed theory of planned behavior to study Internet banking in Taiwan”. Pikkarainen et al. turn their attention to Finland in “Consumer acceptance of online banking: an extension of the technology acceptance model”. Different analytical models are chosen in each study and, as might be expected, cultural difference influence the results in each country. Each result, of course, stands in its own right but readers following the development of Internet banking will find a comparison between the two studies particularly interesting.

Lace, in “At the crossroads of marketing communications and the Internet: experience of UK advertisers”, brings us a detailed analysis of a rather broad study conducted in conjunction with the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA). Over 900 respondents were drawn from a who's who of British marketing professionals in sectors ranging from refreshments to telecom. The result is a comprehensive set of insights into what online marketers are doing today – and why.

Understanding online search is a key factor in any Internet strategy. Kulviwat and Guo have developed a new conceptual model to help us deepen this understanding. In “Determinants of online information search: a conceptual model”, they crystallize and consolidate a number of key factors that influence search motivation into an integrated framework.

Finally in this issue we present “Project-based knowledge maps: combining project mining and XML-enabled topic maps”, by Liu and Hsu. In this applied research paper, they show how a two-phased data-mining approach can be used to harness topic maps for Internet-based knowledge management in general and project management in particular.

David G. Schwartz