Flow in internet shopping: a validity study and an examination of a model specifying antecedents and consequences of flow
Year: 2005
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This dissertation studies the antecedents and consequences of the flow \nexperience in online retailing environments. Flow is the enjoyable and engrossing \nexperience that people feel when acting with total involvement. A review of previous \nstudies suggests that applying the notion of flow to understand the online consumer \nexperience is a promising but underdeveloped field with several conceptual and \nmethodological issues. \nThis dissertation attempts to contribute to our understanding of flow in online \nshopping in three ways. First, a three-part validity study was carried out using different \napproaches to construct validity and involving two sets of two flow measures: the Flow \nState Scale (FSS, Jackson and Marsh 1996) and the Internet Flow Scale (IFS). The first \nstudy related flow to behavioral criteria in online shopping. The second conducted a \ntraditional construct validity study in which we developed and tested a nomological \nnetwork of relationships between flow measures and other logically-related constructs. \nThis study also included a Multitrait-Multimethod validity study. The third was a \nfactorial validity study of the flow construct. These studies provided evidence of \nconstruct validity for flow and suggested that the FSS had advantages over the IFS in \nterms of validity. \nSecond, this dissertation tested a comprehensive model of flow that included the \nunderlying dimensions of flow, the mediating effects of perceived challenge and skill on \nflow, and antecedents and consequences of flow. Consequences of flow include \nperceived usefulness, affective responses to the site, and intentions to revisit and \npurchase. Overall, results based on data collected by a controlled experiment supported \nour model, suggesting that flow is a second-order construct and positively related to \noutcome variables. \nThirdly, we studied the effect of Web site complexity on flow. Perceived site \ncomplexity was found to effect flow negatively. Investigating the effects of it on \ninducing flow in online shopping may eventually lead us to guidelines for improving the \nshopping experience by designing more capable Web sites.
Author: Yi Guo
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2294411127