The Mediating Roles of Customer Confusion towards Purchase Intention in Evaluating Stimuli and Store Knowledge

刺激與商店知識對購買意願的影響：顧客困惑的中介效果

10.6220/joq.2015.22(4).01

魏兆璟(Chao-Ching Wei)；黃志強(Chih-Chiang Hwang)；許育文(Jerry-Yuwen Shiu)

便利商店 ； 顧客困惑 ； 購買意願 ； 刺激 ； 商店知識 ； convenience store ； customer confusion ； purchase intention ； stimuli ； store knowledge

品質學報

22卷4期（2015 / 08 / 30）

283 - 297

英文

根據公平交易委員會的統計資料，臺灣的便利商店的店鋪數量在過去10年間有著大幅度的成長，全國的店鋪數量從2000年的5,674家增加為2010年的9,483家，店鋪的密集度居世界之最。但是對顧客來說，便利商店的選擇太多而且所提供的服務大同小異，造成顧客在店舖選擇上的困難。本研究將探討刺激與商店知識對購買意願的影響，以及不同類型的顧客困惑（超載困惑、相似困惑與含糊困惑）在此關係中的中介影響，以便深入探討因臺灣便利商店發展密度提高與經營模式同質化對顧客的消費決策模式的影響。研究結果發現，相似困惑與含糊困惑在刺激與購買意願的關係中具有部分中介的效果，亦即刺激會正面影響相似困惑與含糊困惑，而相似困惑與含糊困惑進一步負面影響購買意願；另一方面，商店知識與超載困惑有關，但超載困惑卻對購買意願無負面顯著性影響，此結果顯示顧客的確對超商的促銷活動與商品或服務的快速更迭感到資訊超載，卻不影響其購買意願，其原因可能是臺灣的顧客早已習慣超商的經營方式與操作模式。

After a period of exceptional growth, according to statistics released by the Fair Trade Commission in Taiwan, the number of convenience stores in the country has increased from 5,674 in 2000 to 9,483 in 2010. And Taiwan continues to have the highest density of convenience stores in the world. However, the homogeneity of service providing and the redundancy of marketing stimulation make customer even difficult to seek for the better solutions or choices among the varied chain stores. The study identified the dimensions of customer confusion, its antecedents and the consequences in the context of Taiwanese convenience store industry. The findings imply that the stimuli do result in customers' confusion in both of similarity and ambiguity, and which in turn partially and negatively affect their purchase intention. In addition, Store knowledge contributes to overload confusion, which however does not affect customers' purchase intentions, indicating customers do feel the information overloading from the promotion activities and the rapid replacement of products or services, but they have been experienced and get used to the manipulations of operation of convenience store chains.

1. Wu, C. and Hsu, E., (accessed January, 2013), One convenience store every 500 meters in Taiwan..
2. Hsu, A., (accessed January, 2013), Convenience store numbers leap 67 percent in Taiwan..
3. Baron, R. M.,Kenny, D. A.(1986).The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,51(6),1173-1182.
4. Chen, Y. S.,Chang, C. H.(2013).Greenwash and green trust: the mediation effects of green customer confusion and green perceived risk.Journal of Business Ethics,114(3),489-500.
5. Clarkson, J. J.,Janiszewski, C.,Cinelli, M. D.(2013).The desire for consumption knowledge.Journal of Customer Research,39(6),1313-1329.
6. Devasenathipathi, T.,Saravanan, S.(2012).A study on customer confusion among urban, semiurban and rural customers with special reference to laptop market: a post-purchase recall survey.Abhinav-National Monthly Refereed Journal of Research in Commerce and Management,2(3),77-86.
7. Edward, M.,Sahadev, S.(2012).Modeling the consequences of customer confusion in a service marketing context: an empirical study.Journal of Service Research,12(2),127-146.
8. George, D.,Mallery, P.(2003).SPSS for Windows Step by Step: A Simple Guide and Reference.Boston, MA.:Allyn and Bacon.
9. Hadar, L.,Sood, S.,Fox, C. R.(2013).Subjective knowledge in customer financial decisions.Journal of Marketing Research,50(3),303-316.
10. Hebeisen, K.(2012).Increasing customer retention.Collector,77(9),43-46.
11. Howard, D. J.,Kerin, R. A.,Gengler, C.(2000).The effects of brand name similarity on brand source confusion: implications for trademark infringement.Journal of Public Policy and Marketing,19(2),250-264.
12. Huffman, C.,Kahn, B. E.(1998).Variety for sale: mass customization or mass confusion?.Journal of Retailing,74(4),491-513.
13. Lee, Y. J.,Haley, E.,Yang, K.(2013).The mediating role of attitude towards values advocacy ads in evaluating issue support behaviour and purchase intention.International Journal of Advertising,32(2),233-253.
14. Matzler, K.,Stieger, D.,Füller, J.(2011).Customer confusion in internet-based mass customization: testing a network of antecedents and consequences.Journal of Customer Policy,34(2),231-247.
15. Matzler, K.,Waiguny, M.,Füller, J.(2007).Spoiled for choice: customer confusion in internetbased mass customization.Innovative Marketing,3(3),7-18.
16. Miceli, G.,Pieters, R.(2010).Looking more or less alike: determinants of perceived visual similarity between copycat and leading brands.Journal of Business Research,63(11),1121-1128.
17. Mitchell, V.-W.,Walsh, G.,Yamin, M.(2005).Towards a conceptual model of customer confusion.Advances in Customer Research,32,143-150.
18. Nunnally, J. C.(1978).Psychometric Theory.New York.:McGraw-Hill.
19. Nunnally, J. C.(1970).Introduction to Psychological Measurement.New York.:McGraw-Hill.
20. Olavarrieta, S.,Hidalgo, P.,Manzur, E.,Farías, P.(2012).Determinants of in-store price knowledge for packaged products: an empirical study in a Chilean hypermarket.Journal of Business Research,65(12),1759-1766.
21. Schweizer, M.,Kotouc, A. J.,Wagner, T.(2006).Scale development for customer confusion.Advances in Customer Research,33,184-190.
22. Walsh, G.,Hennig-Thurau, T.,Mitchell, V.(2007).Customer confusion proneness: scale development, validation, and application.Journal of Marketing Management,23(7-8),697-721.
23. Wang, Q.,Shukla, P.(2013).Linking sources of customer confusion to decision satisfaction: the role of choice goals.Psychology and Marketing,30(4),295-304.
24. Warlop, L.,Alba, J. W.(2004).Sincere flattery: trade-dress imitation and customer choice.Journal of Customer Psychology,14(1),21-27.