Extended Abstract
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the perceived effectiveness of e-commerce platforms on the perceived economic advantage of the consumer in predicting sustainable consumption in an epidemic. The present research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-correlative in terms of nature and method of data collection; And is specifically based on structural equation modeling. Quantitative research data were used as a distance scale using the standard Research Questionnaire of Lobel Trong Tovi (2021). The statistical population of the present study is all customers of online shopping of e-commerce platforms in Iran. Due to the large number of users and the number of more than 10 active platforms in Iran, and due to the large number of the target community, 100,000 people have been considered. According to Morgan''s table, 384 people were selected as a sample in this study. The sampling method in this study was simple random. The results show that the effect of the perceived effectiveness of e-commerce platforms on the perceived economic advantage of the consumer in predicting sustainable consumption is equal to 0.47, i.e. about 47% of the total perceived effectiveness of e-commerce platforms on the perceived economic advantage of the consumer in predicting sustainable consumption is explained. The GoF criterion was also used to evaluate the overall fit of the model and the measurement for the structural model. Results of average shared values and average values of R Squares shows that the value of GOF is equal to 0.62 which indicates a strong fit of the model.
Introduction
With the increasing growth of the Internet and related technologies, the concept of brand has changed, thus today the value of online brands has grown significantly. The most important factor influencing the success of online brands is the frequent interaction of users with the brand, which achieves as a result of having a positive consume experience from that online brand. Managers need to create the conditions for a favorable experience for their customers and identify the factors effective on online brand consistency, because the undesired customer experience leads to the loss of a large share of the company''s potential sales; which is due to customers'' inability to find whatever they are searching for. Customer dissatisfaction will also lead to a large decrease of visit frequency percentage, which is also due to the initial negative experiences of users and customers (Abdollalipour, 2020)
Research in the field of e-commerce shows that advances in Internet technologies have enabled companies to sell their products directly to consumers through e-commerce platforms (Fan et al, 2020), thus leading to increased sales. Is (Lee et al, 2018). But consumers can not physically examine products in online shopping, thus leading to uncertainty to product (Song et al, 2020).
Research shows that online consumer information is collected and tracked based on data-driven marketing tasks, but there is insufficient protection for this information (Bandaraet al, 2020). Security risk (disclosure of personal information) has had strong negative effects on online transactions (Hubert et al, 2017). This is important because e-commerce platforms now offer a variety of products and services online, from electronics to single products, sanitary and cosmetics, food, and fashion to sports and travel facilities with high volume exchanges. Thus, perceived perceptions of customer information protection to ensure the security of online transactions increase the continuity of intent and motivation to write positive comments about products and services. As a result, online protection is very important for personal information and transactions (Liao & Shi, 2017).
The world has seen an increase in pandemics in recent decades, such as SARS in 2003, H5N1 in 2006, and H1N1 in 2009 and Covid 19 in 2019, each of which hindered business activity and economic growth (Chung, 2015). As scientists have warned long ago, infectious diseases can lead commercial activity to a new reality that strongly influences these activities; unfortunately, there are no clear guidelines for managers on how to respond effectively to these conditions (Hudecheck et al, 2020). Fear of a pandemic refers to a new disease that people are not immune to, and has spread around the world (World Health Organization, 2019). Pandemics have become one of the biggest threats in the world today (Harvard Global Health Institute, 2020). Research on consumer behavior shows that fear refers to the negative consequences of a particular event that may lead to changes in consumer''s behavior and attitudes (Solomon, 2017). As a result of the effects of Covid 19 disease, consumers are increasingly turning to online shopping. Accordingly, the Covid 19 pandemic has altered consumer shopping behavior because consumers are afraid of contracting the disease (Laato et al, 2020; Prentice et al, 2020).
Covid 19 has issued a global warning because it spreads quickly through human-to-human contact (Harvard Medical School, 2020). The virus can be spread through droplets of cough or inhalation of an infected person (The World Health Organization, 2020). To reduce the spread of the virus, therefore, the consumption method should be turned to e-commerce platforms; because it increases purchasing efficiency, enables new purchases, and increases access to information and online communication between the consumer and the seller (Guillen-Royo, 2019). But the managers who look for online sales execution do not currently have any specific guidelines for improving the consumer''s decision for sustainable consumption over time and on environmental conditions (Guillen-Royo, 2019؛ Hernant, 2017 & Rosengren).Given the above, the main issue of the research is whether the perceived effectiveness of e-commerce platforms affects the perceived economic advantage of the consumer in predicting sustainable consumption in an epidemic.
Theoretical literature
The Covid 19 pandemic, and the fear of contagion caused by that, have also created chaos around the world, such as hoarding, market rotation, and travel restrictions (McNulty, 2020). A pandemic has led to fears of infection and social distance, which is increasingly leading to online shopping; and as a result, the importance of e-commerce platforms is increasing. Naeem (2021) in his research investigated that if social media platforms expand the customers'' nervous shopping, while they are afraid of corona disease. Findings show that there is evidence of uncertainty, purchase due to persuasion, evidence of product inaccessibility, official announcements, global connectivity, and expert opinion are some of the reasons on social media platforms that has created the consumer''s nervous shopping situation during the Covid 19 crisis. Abdollalipour (2020) in his research reviewed the role of cooperative online distribution platforms and brand loyalty. The results show that the most important factor influencing the success of online brands is the frequent interaction of users with the brand, which is the results of having a positive consumption experience of that online brand.
Methodology
The present research is applicable in terms of purpose, and is a descriptive correlative type in terms of nature and method of data collection, and specifically based on structural equation modeling. The research method was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design with control group. Quantitative research data has been used as a distance scale using the standard research questionnaire of Lob Trung Tui (2021). The statistical population of the present study is all customers of online shopping of e-commerce platforms in Iran. Due to the large number of users and the number of more than 10 active platforms in Iran and due to the large number of the target community, 100,000 people have been considered as the statistical population. And according to Morgan''s table, 384 people will be selected as a sample in this study. The sampling method in this research will be simple random.
Discussion and Results
In order to test the research hypothesis, Structural equation modeling (SEM) method was used with the help of SmartPLS 3 software, and the results showed that the perceived effectiveness of e-commerce platforms affects the perceived economic advantage of the consumer in predicting sustainable consumption in an epidemic. Online customers'' fear of the Covid 19 epidemic moderates the perceived effectiveness of e-commerce platforms and economic advantage. Online customers'' fear of the Covid 19 epidemic moderates the relationship between economic advantage and sustainable consumption.
Conclusion
The present study aimed at the perceived effectiveness of e-commerce platforms on the perceived economic advantage of consumers in predicting sustainable consumption during an epidemic. The findings are consistent with Laato et al. (2020), who, in their study entitled Unusual Purchasing Behavior in the Early Stages of Covid 19Epidemic: Stimulus-Organism Response Approach. Further results showed that exposure to online information sources has led to a too much increase in information and cyberchondria. Overload Information was also a strong predictor of cyberendria. Perceived severity and cyberchondria had a significant effect on people''s intentions for unusual purchases and voluntary isolation. Accordingly, the Covid 19 pandemic has altered consumer purchasing behavior because consumers are afraid of contracting the disease. Lobel Trong Thuy (2021) in his research considered the effectiveness of e-commerce platforms in an epidemic. The results of this study showed that fear of pandemic positively modulates the relationships among e-commerce platforms, economic benefits and sustainable consumption. The results showed that the economic benefits of the relationship between e-commerce platforms and sustainable consumption are related to the level of fear of epidemic and moderate it. The results of this study are consistent with the results of Mark Peterson (2021) research, entitled Sustainable Marketing and Consumer Support for Sustainable Business. The results show that: 1) values ​​based on consumer nature have the most positive effect on consumer support for sustainable businesses, 2) then the attitude towards corporate altruism, and 3) and then concern about corporate ethics has the most impact. Assessing social justice and acknowledgement of the role of business in improving the quality of life of the customer had no effect on consumer support for sustainable businesses.