Annals of the University of Oradea: Economic Science (Jul 2017)
IS INCOME CORRELATED TO ASSESSMENT OF CREDIBILITY DIMENSIONS OF COMMERCIAL WEBSITES?
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to understand if young Internet users’ income has any connection with their manner to appreciate credibility dimensions of online acquisition websites. The hypotheses are: (H1) - Among the credibility dimensions identified there will be Ease of use, Framing Adverts, Real World Feel, Expertise; (H2) - The income is correlated with the dimensions of credibility of online acquisition websites. (H3) - Certain credibility dimensions are predictors of the income level of the young Internet user. The objectives of this research are: (1) to identify the dimensions of credibility of online acquisition websites;(2) to identify potential correlations between income levels of young Internet users and dimensions of credibility of online acquisition websites;(3) to understand if certain credibility dimension of online acquisition websites may be used as predictors of the income level of young Internet users. The research method was a quantitative survey based on a questionnaire and the sample consisted of 276 young Internet shoppers. Seven credibility dimensions were identified in this research: Ease of Use/Professionalism, Transparency, Expertise, Real World Feel, Product Support, Framing Adverts and Online Order. The income level has connection with the manner Internet users appreciate a part of credibility dimensions of online acquisition websites. The dimensions correlated with the income level are: Ease of Use/Professionalism, Transparency, Real World Feel, Framing Adverts and Online Order. Expertise and Product Support are not correlated with the income level of the young Internet user. Ease of Use/Professionalism and Transparency may be used as predictors of income level of young Internet users. This research is original because it investigates the correlation of income levels and the scores of credibility dimensions of online acquisition websites. There are studies investigating the connection between the income level of participants and the rating of the dimensions of credibility. The novelty brought by this research is that dimensions are computed as factor score in SPSS. The investigated correlations involved the factor scores and the income levels. The results of this research are useful to managers, when planning to build a credible website for various income level targets.
