The antecedents of purchase and re-purchase intentions of online auction consumers

This research explores some factors affecting purchase and repurchase intentions towards online auctions. An experiment, in the context of PChome & eBay and Yahoo Auction online auctions websites, was conducted to simulate an environment manipulating branding, seller evaluation, volume of information, and price ranges to influence purchase intentions, reflecting some aspects of utilitarian and hedonic approaches towards purchase and repurchase intentions. Furthermore, mediation strategies, trust, and media richness were also introduced in the study to examine their influence on repurchase intentions. 120 participants validated the experimental design, where all variables influencing purchase intentions were found to be significant in varying degrees, and where mediator strategies and trust were found to significantly influence repurchase intentions. These results reinforce notions that online auctions are complex processes, especially to induce purchase and repurchase intentions, and that both buyers and sellers have complex utilitarian and hedonic approaches to develop purchase and repurchase intentions. Further theoretical and managerial implications are detailed in this research.