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E-commerce mental models of upper middle classChinese female consumers in BeijingYunfan SongPurdue University

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PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL

Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance

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Is approved by the final examining committee:

To the best of my knowledge and as understood by the student in the Thesis/Dissertation Agreement, Publication Delay, and Certification Disclaimer (Graduate School Form 32), this thesis/dissertation adheres to the provisions of Purdue University’s “Policy of Integrity in Research” and the use of copyright material.

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Yunfan Song

E-Commerce Mental Models of Upper Middle Class Chinese Female Consumers in Beijing

Master of Science

Mihaela VorvoreanuChair

Colin M. Gray

Robert W. Proctor

Mihaela Vorvoreanu

Mihaela Vorvoreanu 04/18/2016

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i

E-COMMERCEMENTALMODELSOFUPPERMIDDLECLASSCHINESEFEMALE

CONSUMERSINBEIJING

AThesis

SubmittedtotheFaculty

of

PurdueUniversity

by

YunfanSong

InPartialFulfillmentofthe

RequirementsfortheDegree

of

MasterofScience

May2016

PurdueUniversity

WestLafayette,Indiana

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ii

TABLEOFCONTENTS

Page

LISTOFTABLES...................................................................................................................v

LISTOFFIGURES................................................................................................................vi

ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................vii

CHAPTER1. INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................1

1.1StatementofPurpose..............................................................................................1

1.2Scope........................................................................................................................2

1.3Significance..............................................................................................................3

1.4ResearchQuestion...................................................................................................5

1.5Definitions................................................................................................................6

1.6Assumptions.............................................................................................................7

1.7Limitations................................................................................................................7

1.8Delimitations............................................................................................................8

1.9Summary..................................................................................................................8

CHAPTER2. LiteratureReview....................................................................................10

2.1MentalModel.........................................................................................................10

2.2Hofstede'sCulturalDimensionsTheory.................................................................12

2.2.1 PowerDistance(PDI).....................................................................................15

2.2.2 Individualismvs.Collectivism(IDV)...............................................................16

2.2.3 Masculinevs.Femininity(LTO).....................................................................17

2.2.4 UncertaintyAvoidance(UAI).........................................................................18

2.2.5 Long-Termvs.Short-Term(LTO)...................................................................19

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Page

2.2.6 Indulgencevs.Restraint(IND).......................................................................20

2.3E-commerceinChina.............................................................................................21

2.4Summary................................................................................................................22

CHAPTER3. Methodology..........................................................................................23

3.1ResearchType........................................................................................................23

3.2Framework.............................................................................................................25

3.3Assessmentinstrumentsanddatacollectionmethods.........................................27

3.4Sampling.................................................................................................................28

3.5DataAnalysis..........................................................................................................30

3.6Summary................................................................................................................33

CHAPTER4. RESULTS..................................................................................................34

4.1Participants............................................................................................................34

4.2MentalModels.......................................................................................................35

4.2.1Decidetoshoponline......................................................................................37

4.2.2Visitane-commercewebsite...........................................................................39

4.2.3Exploreproducts..............................................................................................41

4.2.4Learnmoreabouttheproducts.......................................................................43

4.2.5Checkout.........................................................................................................45

4.2.6Deliver..............................................................................................................48

4.2.7Return..............................................................................................................50

CHAPTER5. DISCUSSION............................................................................................52

5.1SocialMedia...........................................................................................................52

5.2Trustworthiness.....................................................................................................53

5.3Suggestions............................................................................................................55

5.4Limitations..............................................................................................................57

5.5Summary................................................................................................................59

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CHAPTER6. CONCLUSION...........................................................................................60

LISTOFREFERENCES.........................................................................................................62

APPENDICES

AppendixA InterviewProtocol......................................................................................66

AppendixB DemographicSurvey...................................................................................70

AppendixC RecruitmentMaterials................................................................................71

AppendixD IRBInternationalResearch.........................................................................73

v

LISTOFTABLES

Table.............................................................................................................................Page

2.1Hofstede'sFiveCulturalDimensions...........................................................................10

AppendixTable

A.1InterviewQuestions...................................................................................................67

A.2InterviewQuestions(Chinese)...................................................................................69

vi

LISTOFFIGURES

Figure............................................................................................................................Page

1.1China’sE-CommerceMarketin2014............................................................................4

1.2ValueofE-CommerceTransactionsintheUSandChina,2009-2015...........................5

2.1DimensionsofChineseCulture,inComparisonwithUnitedStates(2015)................12

4.1MentalModelsofChineseConsumers.......................................................................36

4.2TasksinTowersinaMentalSpace..............................................................................37

4.3MentalSpaceofDecidingtoShopOnline...................................................................38

4.4MentalSpaceofVisitinganE-Commercesite............................................................41

4.5MentalSpaceofExploringProducts...........................................................................42

4.6MentalSpaceofExploringProducts............................................................................43

4.7MentalSpaceofCheckingOut....................................................................................46

4.8MentalSpaceofDelivery............................................................................................49

4.9MentalSpaceofReturning..........................................................................................51

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ABSTRACT

Song,Yunfan.MS,PurdueUniversity,May2016.E-CommerceMentalModelsofUpperMiddleClassChineseFemaleConsumersinBeijing.MajorProfessor:MihaelaVorvoreanu.

ThepurposeofthisstudywastounderstandandexplorethementalmodelsofChinese

consumerstowardse-commerce.Amentalmodelisarepresentationformedby

consumersbasedontheirexperienceandobservation,whichfinallyinfluencetheirtask

performances.Duetothedifferentexperiencesandcontexts,thementalmodelsof

Chineseconsumerscouldbevarious.Thisstudyinvestigatedoneofthesubgroupsin

depth,whichistheuppermiddleclassfemaleinBeijing,China.

Toachievethepurposeofthestudy,aqualitativeresearchwasconductedinChina,and

participantswereinterviewedabouttheirperceptionsof,andexperienceswith,online

shopping.Datacollectedfromtheinterviewswereanalyzedusingathematicanalysis

methodinordertogroupthesimilaritiestogetherandgeneratethemes.Aftergrouping,

amentalmodelwaspresentedinadiagram,withtasksgroupedintocategoriesin

differentmentalspaces.Thebottomofthediagramshowedthesupportfunctionsfor

thosetasks.Theresultscouldprovideadeepunderstandingofthisgroupofconsumers

andtherelationstructurebetweentheusersandthee-commerceservice.

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CHAPTER1. INTRODUCTION

Thischapterintroducesthebackgroundofthisresearchstudy.Itconsistsofthepurpose,

scope,significance,definitions,researchquestions,andboundariesofthestudy.

1.1 StatementofPurpose

WiththedevelopmentoftheWorldWideWeb,peoplearenowbeginningtorealize

thatculturalconstraintsmaydeterminecertainusabilityproblemsonvariouswebsites.

Forinstance,onewebsitecouldbeeasilyusedbyonegroupofpeoplewhile

demonstratingseveralusabilityproblemsforanothergroup,especiallyforthestructure

andinformationarchitecture.Culturability,themergingofcultureandusability,means

thatbiasesandpreferencesarepartofusers’characteristics,andthatthesequalities

takeonspecialimportanceasfactorsthatcandeterminetheusabilityofdesignsfor

internationalaudiences(Barber,1998).

Inthisway,websiteandservicelocalizationprocessesshouldinvolvemorethan

simpletranslationofthetext.Translationonlysolvestheproblemoflanguage,butthere

arealargenumberofotherfactorsthatneedtobeconsideredtoensureusabilityfor

thetargetculture,suchasbeliefsandvaluesystems,educationlevels,traditions,and

habits,amongvariousotherconsiderations(Shneor,2014).

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Basedonthesedifferencesbetweencultures,webdesignersshouldconsider

somecharacteristicsthatmayneedtovarydependingontheparticularculturalcontext,

suchaslanguage,layout,symbols,informationarchitecture,multimedia,andcolor.

Companiesareconstantlytryingtoattractlocalusersandmaintaintheirglobalimage,

butthechallengesofwebsitelocalizationhavebecomeincreasinglymoreimportant,

sinceculturallyappropriatewebsitecommunicationcanhelpacompanyfitmultiple

needsacrossmultiplecultureswithfewerusabilityproblems.

1.2 Scope

Cultureherecanbedefinedasthelearnedbehaviors,sharedbeliefs,andmental

processofaparticulargroupofpeopleinahuman-madeenvironment(Lee,McCauley&

Draguns,2013).Inthisstudy,Ifocusedontheintersectionofnationalculture,withthe

particularcultureofthesubgroups,asinfluencebytheirsocio-economicstanding.

Specifically,adeepunderstandingofuppermiddleclassfemaleconsumersinBeijing,

Chinawasthefocusofthisresearch.FeminisminHCIprovidesthesupportforchoosing

thisparticulargroup.Insteadofprovidingonesolutionandforcingeveryonetoacceptit,

theuser-centereddesigntriestoanalysistheparticularusersinaparticularcontext,and

createsnewpersonasandscenariosforeachsolution,especiallywhenthetargetusers

arenotthemajority(Bardzell,2010).Inthisstudy,thisparticulargroupofpeoplewas

consideredasasubgroupoftheentireChineseconsumers.InHofstede’stheory,

Chinesesharednationalculturesandprovidethegeneraldescriptionofcharacteristics

ofpeopleaspartofthesociety.Forthisparticulargroupofconsumers,sharethe

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similarculturewithotherChinese,butatthesametime,theyhavetheirownmental

modelstowardsonlineshopping,duetotheirparticularbackgroundsandsocial

contexts.

Onlineshoppingisoneofthemostimportantonlineactivitiesinpeople’sdaily

livesinChina(CNNIC,2014).Furthermore,moreonlineconsumersinChinaarenow

interestedinbuyinginternationalproducts(CNNIC,2015).Atthesametime,

organizationsthatofferonlineshoppingwouldliketoentertheinternationalmarket

andprovidemoreinternationalshoppingservicesforpeoplefromdifferentcountries.In

ordertobesuccessful,onlineshoppingwebsitesneedtocommunicateclearlyandhelp

customerssatisfytheirneeds.Inthiscase,itisreasonabletounderstandthemental

modelofthisparticulargroupofconsumerstowarde-commerceinChina.

1.3 Significance

ThepurposeofthisresearchistounderstandChineseconsumersmentalmodelstoward

e-commerceinChina,andtoprovideadvicetodesignanappropriatee-commerce

websiteforChineseonlineconsumers.

Mentalmodelsaredefinedasarepresentationtothereality,basedonusers

experienceandobservation(Wilson&Rutherford,1989).Theyalsoincludedusers’

behaviorsortasksanddifferentwaysofsupportingmatchingbehaviors(Young,2008).

Thebehaviorsshouldbesupportedbythesolutions.Ifnot,therewillbeothersolutions

oropportunitiestosolvetheproblems.Thementalmodelsprovidetheirunderstanding

ofthesystemandinfluencetheirtaskperformance.Also,differentusergroupshave

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differentmentalmodels,whichwillaffecttheirbehaviorseventually.Theunderstanding

ofChineseonlineconsumers’mentalmodelswillhelpdesignersandresearchersto

learnmoreabouttheirbehaviorsandsupporttheirneeds,inordertodesigne-

commercewebsitesforChineseconsumers.

Moreover,withthenumberofonlineshoppersincreasingalongwithhigher

purchasingpowerandmoreonlinesecurity,Chinahasexperiencedanonlinerevolution

overthepast10years(seeFigure1.1),andthenumberofonlinetransactionsis

predictedtobeevenhigherthanthenumberintheU.S.(seeFigure1.2).Online

shoppingisstillalargemarketthatcouldbeexpanded,buthowtodesignan

appropriatee-commercewebsitetoattractmorefemaleconsumersisstillunclear.

Figure1.1.China’se-commercemarketin2014

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Figure1.2.Valueofe-commercetransactionsintheUSandChina,2009-2015

Itishopedthatthisstudycanhelpresearchersanddesignersgainabetter

understandingofuppermiddleclassfemaleconsumersinBeijing,China.Asaresult,it

mayhelpthemtodeterminedifferentmentalmodelsofpeoplewithdifferent

backgrounds.Byunderstandingthesedifferences,theycanprovidebetterdesign

solutionsforthisparticulargroupofpeopleinthisparticularcontext.Inthisway,the

designsolutionsfillthegapbetweenusersandthecontext.

1.4 ResearchQuestion

WhatareBeijinguppermiddleclassfemaleconsumers’mentalmodelstowardse-

commerceinChina?

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1.5 Definitions

Culture,definedbyHofstedeasthe“collectiveprogrammingofthemindwhich

distinguishesthemembersofonegrouporcategoryofpeoplefromthoseof

another”(Hofstede,1997,p.5).

Culturability,themergingofcultureandusability,meansthatalthoughbiasesand

preferencesarepartofusers’characteristics,thesestilltakeonaspecial

importanceasdeterminedfactorsinusabilitydesignforinternationalaudiences

(Barber,1998).

Internationalizationis“theprocessofdesigningasoftwareapplicationsothatitcan

potentiallybeadaptedtovariouslanguagesandregionswithoutengineering

changes”(Johanson&Vahlne,1977,p24).

Localizationis“theprocessofadaptinginternationalizedsoftwareforaspecificregion

orlanguagebyaddinglocale-specificcomponentsandtranslatingtext”(Cyr&

Trevor-Smith,2004).

Hofstede’sDimensionsincludessixdimensions,whichdescribethevarietyofworld

culturesandtheirfundamentalvalues(Hofstede,2010).Thesesixdimensions

are:

(1)Collectivismvs.individualism,

(2)Femininityvs.masculinity,

(3)Longvs.short-termorientation,

(4)Powerdistance,

(5)Uncertaintyavoidance,

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(6)Indulgencevs.restraint.

1.6 Assumptions

Thefollowingassumptionsareintrinsictothisresearch:

• Individualdifferencesaresystematicandreflectstabledifferencesinperceptual

andprocessingpreferences.

• Individualstendtoselectivelyabsorb,use,andmanipulateinformation

presentedinamannerthatmatchestheircognitivestyleandavoidorignore

informationpresentedinamannerthatdoesnotmatch.

• Theinterviewprotocolisappropriateandcancollectthedataforfurtheranalysis.

• Participantshavetheabilitytounderstandandanswerinterviewquestions

properly.

• Participantsprovidehonestandtrustworthyanswerstotheinterviewquestions.

1.7 Limitations

Thefollowinglimitationsareintrinsictothisresearch:

• Thereareotherfactorsinvolvedintheperceptionofbrowsingwebsites,suchas

computerexperience,educationalbackground,socialrelations,religiousviews,

orotherpossiblyimmeasurableindividualcharacteristics.

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• TheparticipantsmaybeimmersedinanewInternetculture.Thus,the

differencesamongculturalgroupsofpeoplemaybereducedbecausetheyare

exposedtosimilarinformation.

• Theresearcheristheinterviewer,observer,andanalystofthedata.Thestudy

usesscientificresearchmethods,andattemptstostayfreeofbiasesandtobe

objectiveweremade.

• DuetothediversityinChina,theparticipantsdonotrepresentalltypesofonline

customers,butonlytheuppermiddleclassfemaleconsumersinBeijing.

1.8 Delimitations

Thefollowingdelimitationsareintrinsictothisresearch:

• Theresearchdoesnotmakeaninclusiveconclusionforalltypesofwebsites.

• Theresearchdoesnotexamineallfactorsofthewebsites.

• TheresearchonlyfocusesonChineseonlineconsumers.

• Theparticipantsareonlyfromacertaindemographicgroup,withafocuson

uppermiddleclassfemalesages35-50inBeijing,China.

1.9 Summary

Thischapterservesasthefoundationforthestudyandprovidesthebackgroundand

contextoftheresearch.Withtherapiddevelopmentofe-commerceinChina,thisstudy

isnecessaryinordertodevelopanappropriatee-commerceserviceforuppermiddle

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classfemaleconsumersinBeijing,China.Eventhoughtherearemanydifferentfactors

involvedinmakingwebsites,duetothestudy’slimitations,thisresearchdeeply

investigatedthis.

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CHAPTER2. LITERATUREREVIEW

Tobetterunderstandthebackground,thissectionwillreviewrelatedtheoriesand

findingsinthepreviousresearch.Thissectionincludesareviewofmentalmodels,

Hofstede'sculturaldimensionstheory,ande-commerceinChina.

2.1 MentalModel

ThedefinitionofmentalmodelisbyToffler(1970):“Everypersoncarrieswithinhis

headamentalmodeloftheworld–asubjectiverepresentationofexternalreality”

(p.139).Besidesthepsychology,thedefinitioncouldalsobedomain-oriented.For

example,Young(2008)states,“Mentalmodelsgiveyouadeepunderstandingof

people’smotivationsandthought-processes,alongwiththeemotionaland

philosophicallandscapeinwhichtheyareoperating.”Amentalmodelofthesystem

consistsofseveralsections,suchasbehaviorspatternsofatask,andtheethnographic

datafromtheparticipants.Itisbasedonusers’previousexperience,currentperception

andexpectationtothefuture(Norman,1983).

Intermsofcognition,mentalmodelscouldalsobeconsideredasaparticular

typeofinternalrepresentationoftheusers(Wilson&Rutherford,1989).Itislike“a

pictureinmind”,whichallowtheusersto“see”someabstractthought-processes.In

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HCI,users’mentalmodelsarealwaysdescribedbyformalmappingsbetweenthetasks

andthesystem(Wilson&Rutherford,1989).Formalmappingprovidesarepresentation

ofhowusersinteractwiththesystem.Whileusingmentalmodelsinhuman-computer

interactionwork,theideaofa“pictureinthemind”providesgeneraldesignguidancein

ordertoenhancethesystemdesignandusers’taskperformance.Itcouldalsoprovide

theestimationofcomplexityofthesystemandalsodescriptionofusers’behaviorwith

thereasonsbehind.Thementalmodelscouldbevariousindifferentsituations.Itis

necessaryforresearcherstodeterminewhichsituationandusergroupstoinvestigate

deeply.

Webdesignrequiresacompleteunderstandingoftargetusergroups.What

userswanttoaccomplish,theirgoals,andtheirawarenessofthedesignareimportant

tounderstandasadesigner.Tocreateamentalmodel,designersorresearchersneedto

askthetargetusersaboutwhattheyaredoing,organizethembasedonsimilaritiesand

providedesigncriteriafromthemodels.Anaffinitydiagramisagoodwaytolookfor

patternsandgeneratemodels.Oncethedesignersunderstandtheline-upofbehaviors,

theyneedtoconsiderthepotentialfeaturesofproductsandalignthemwithpeople’s

behaviors(Young,2008).Foronespecificbehavior,therecouldbeseveralfeaturesor

functionsthattheproductprovides.Theresultingdiagramprovidesanoverviewofthe

wholebehavior,andhowthecurrentproductsaccomplishusers’goalsandstrategies

needtobethoughtaboutinthefuture.

Fore-commerce,customerswithdifferentbackgroundindifferentcontextmay

havedifferentmentalmodels.Theirpreviousexperienceandexpectationsmay

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influencetheirbehaviorsofonlineshoppingbehavior.Asmentionedbefore,different

cultureswillhavedifferentwaytoorganizeandgroupthings.Userswillstruggleandbe

frustratedifthedesignofawebsitedoesnotcorrespondwiththeirmentalmodels.

Takemotivationasanexample.Ifthewebsiteisdesignedforthepurposeof

entertainmentwhilethegoaloftheusersisacademic,therewillbeusabilityproblems,

asthepurposeofthewebsiteandthegoaloftheusersdonotmatch.Soinorderto

designanappropriatewebsite,itisimportanttounderstandthementalmodelofthe

targetusers.

Forexample,accordingtoRau,ChoongandSalvendy’s(2004)study,Americans’

cognitivestyleisanalytical-categorical(functional).Conversely,theChinesecognitive

styleisrelational-contextual(thematic).Finally,theycreatetwoinformationstructures

accordingtothesetwocognitivestyles.Userscanperformbetterwhentheyusethe

websitesthatcorrespondwiththeirmentalmodels.However,thisstudyonlyexamined

thecognitivestylesandinformationstructures;thecurrentmentalmodelsofChinese

onlineconsumers,especiallytheuppermiddleclassfemalesinBeijing,intheirwhole

onlineshoppingprocessarestillunclear.

2.2 Hofstede'sCulturalDimensionsTheory

Hofstedewasapsychologist,andhisdivisionofthedimensionsofcultureisoneofthe

mostwell-knowntheoriesincross-culturalusability.Culturesaroundtheworld,and

eventhosewithinsomecountries,areverydifferent.Therearesubcultureswithin

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subgroupsofasociety.Inhistheory,culturesareevaluatedintermofnations.There

aresixdimensionstoconsiderwhendefiningaculture,whichincludepowerdistance,

collectivism/individualism,masculinity/femininity,uncertaintyavoidance,long-

term/short-termorientation,andindulgencevs.restraint(Hofstede,Hofstede&Minkov,

2010).ThedescriptionsofeachdimensionareasfollowsinTable2.1:

Table2.1(continued)

CulturalDimensions ExplanationsPowerDistance Addresseshowpeopleperceiveequality,orinequality,between

peoplesofaparticularnationorculture.

Ahighscoresuggeststhatthereisahugedifferencebetweentherichandpoorandpeopleexpectthedifference.Alowscoresuggeststhatpeopleshouldhaveequalrightsandsmalldifferences.

Individualismvs.collectivism

Focusesonthedegreetowhichindividualshavetiestoothersaroundthem.

Individualisticpeopletendtolookforpersonalityandfreedom.Collectivisticpeopleconsiderthemselvesasamemberofthegroupanddeveloptheirsocialnetworking.

Masculinityvs.Femininity

Referstothepreferencesinsocietyplacedontraditionallymaleorfemalevalues.

Masculineculturesvaluetheachievement,successandrewards.Feminineculturesfocusmoreontherelationshipandsocialcohesion.

UncertaintyAvoidance

Focusesonthedegreeoftoleranceforuncertaintyandambiguity.

Cultureswithstronguncertaintyavoidancelevelhavelittle

Table2.1.Hofstede'sCulturalDimensions(Hofstede,2010)

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Table2.1(continued)

toleranceforuncertaintyandambiguity.Lowuncertaintyavoidancecountriestendtobeadaptableandfree.

Longtermvs.Shortterm

Describeshowpeopleperceivetheirfutureversusthepastandpresent.

Inlong-termorientedsocieties,peopletendtobepersistentandworkhardtopreparefortheirfuture.Inshort-termorientedsocieties,peopletendtorespecttheirtraditions,fulfilltheirsocialduties,andpreserveone’s“face”.

Indulgencevs.Restraint

Standsforthedegreethatpeopleareabletohavefunandenjoytheirlives.

Indulgencecountriestendtoenjoytheirleisuretimeandvaluefriendship.Restraintcountriesbelievesatisfactionshouldberepressedandvaluemoralbehaviors.

Thistheoryconsiderscultureinanationallevel.Eachcountryhasownscoresin

eachdimensionandtwocountriescouldbecomparedwiththosescores.However,the

diversityinChinaishuge.Eventhoughtheymayhavesharedbeliefs,inthepurposeof

thisstudy,itishardtoconsidertheentireChineseconsumerssharedthesamebeliefs

andphilosophiestoe-commerce.Basedontheirpersonalexperienceandsocialcontext,

thescoresofsubgroupscouldbedifferentfromtheaveragenationalculturescoresin

eachdimension.However,itisstillnecessarytounderstandeachdimensionindetail

andhowtheyarerelatedtoe-commerce.

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Inthiscase,accordingtotheprevioussixdimensions,China’sscores(Hofstede,

Hofstede&Minkov,2010)areasfollows;eachdimensionwillbediscussedinthe

followingsections:

Figure2.1.DimensionsofChineseculture,incomparisonwithUnitedStates

(2015)

2.2.1 PowerDistance(PDI)

Power Distance is defined as“the extent to which the less powerful members of

institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is

distributedunequally” (Hofstead, 1997). This dimensionmeans that the less powerful

membersinthesocietybelievethepowerisdistributedunequally.Thehigherscorein

this dimension means people accept their hierarchical order and need no further

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justification.Thelowerdegreeofpowerdistancemeanspeopledemandjustificationof

inequalitiesofpower.Thebasicideabehindthepowerdistanceishowasocietyhandles

inequalitiesamongpeople(Hofstede,1997).

Chinahasthescoreof80inPDI,whichisahighrankingamongothercountries.

In other words, the inequality is acceptable for people living in this kind of society

(Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov, 2010). This score means there is no defense against

powerabusebysuperiors.PeopleinahighPDIsocietyareinfluencedbyauthorityand

order. They accept it and should not have aspirations beyond their rank (Hofstede,

Hofstede & Minkov, 2010). Due to the high PDI score in China, wealth inequality is

serious andmost people accept their position to some degree. This would influence

theironlineshoppingbehavior,consideringtheirsocialclassandincomelevels,andthey

wouldnotconsiderchange.

2.2.2 Individualismvs.Collectivism(IDV)

Individualismimpliesthat“everyoneisexpectedtolookafteroneselforimmediate

family,butnotnecessarilyanyoneelse”(Hofstede,1997,p4).TheUnitedStates,Great

Britain,Australia,andCanadahavethehighestindividualismscoresbasedonHofstede’s

research.Ontheotherhand,collectivismimpliesthat“peopleareintegratedfrombirth

intostrong,cohesivegroupsthatprotecttheminexchangeforunquestioningloyalty”

(Hofstede,1997,p4).LatinAmericaandcertainAsiancountriesarecollectivistcultures.

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Whenitcomestowebdesign,Marcus(2000)believesthatindividualismand

collectivismmayinfluencethemotivationofusers,imagesofsuccess,rhetoricalstyle,

emphasisonchangeandwillingnesstoprovidepersonalinformation.

Fore-commercewebsites,customerswhoarefromindividualisticorcollective

culturesmayhavedifferentexpectationsandperceptionswhilebrowsingormaking

purchasingdecisions.Inthiscase,“Chinaisahighlycollectivistculturewherepeopleact

intheinterestsofthegroupandnotnecessarilyofthemselves”(Hofstede,Hofstede&

Minkov,2010,p4).Chineseonlineconsumersconsidertheirfamiliesororganizations

morethanthemselves.Theyconsiderthemselvesaspartofthegroup,sotheyconform

tothegroup.Forexample,ifanindividualfindsthatmostpeopleinthegrouphavean

item,he/shelikelywantstobuythisitem,too.

2.2.3 Masculinevs.Femininity(LTO)

Amasculine societymeansmenneed to be competitive and tough.A high degreeof

masculinityindicatesthatthesocietywillbedrivenbychallenge,earningsandsuccess,

“withsuccessbeingdefinedbythewinner/bestinfield–avaluesystemthatstartsin

schoolandcontinuesthroughoutorganizational life”(Hofstede,1997,p5).A lowscore

of masculinity, which is considered femininity, means that the dominant values in

societyarecaringforrelationshipsandqualityoflife.“AFemininesocietyisonewhere

qualityoflifeisthesignofsuccess,andstandingoutfromthecrowdisnotadmirable”

(Hofstede,1997,p5).Thebasicideaiswhetherpeoplewanttobethebestorlikewhat

theydo.

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Chinaisamasculinesociety,whichmeansitissuccess-orientedanddriven.The

needtosucceedandachievecompelsmanyChinesechoosetoworkhard,evenifthey

have to sacrifice their familyand leisure time.When it comes toe-commerceservice,

people(suchascustomerservice)willprovideservicesuntilverylateatnight.Shipping

service is always available all the time and provides quick delivery in big cities. For

example, in thenews,during this year’s shopping festival, one consumer receivedhis

package14minutesafterheplacedtheorderatmidnight.

2.2.4 UncertaintyAvoidance(UAI)

Theuncertaintyavoidancedimensionconsidershowasocietydealswiththeunknown

future (Hofstede, 1997). Different cultures have different ways to deal with this

ambiguous situation: “should people try to control the future or just let it happen”

(Hofstede,Hofstede&Minkov, 2010,p5). So theuncertainty avoidance score reflects

the degree to which a culture feels threatened by ambiguous or unknown future

situations and alsohowpeople try to avoid these situations.AhighUAI scoremeans

peoplearethreatenedbyambiguityandneedstableandpredictableworkplaces.They

rely on rules.On the other hand, a societywith lowUAI embraces the unpredictable

futureandhasfeweradherencestorules,proceduresorhierarchies.

In this case, China has a relatively low score on uncertainty avoidance.

“Adherence to laws and rules may be flexible to suit the actual situation and

pragmatism is a fact of life” (Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov, 2010, p5). The Chinese

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acceptambiguityandtheuncertainfuture.Chineseareadaptableandentrepreneurial

(Hofstede, 2010).When it comes to the e-commerce, themajority of Chinese online

businessestendtobesmallormedium-sized.OnChina’slargeste-commerceplatform,

peoplecanopentheirownbusinessesanddesignandorganizebythemselves.

2.2.5 Long-Termvs.Short-Term(LTO)

Thisdimensionrelatestohowthesocietylinkstotheirhistorywhilefacingchallengesin

thefuture.Long-termoriented(LTO)societiesarefocusedonthefuture.They

encouragepeopletousepracticalmethodstopreparefortheirfuture.Incontrast,

short-termoriented(STO)societiesarefocusedonthepresentandthepast,“rewarding

reciprocityinsocialrelationsandthefulfillmentofsocialobligations”(Hofstede,1997,

p5).Short-termorientedsocietiesalsofocusontraditionsandnormsandexpectsocial

changes(Rau,Plocher,&Choong,2012).China,HongKong,Taiwan,Japan,andSouth

Koreaareexamplesofhighlylong-termorientedcultures(Rau,Plocher,&Choong,

2012).TheUnitedStateshasarelativelylowerscoreinthisdimension,whichmeansthe

societyisshort-termoriented.

Shah(2013)foundthatlong-termorientedcountriesvaluerelationshipsas“a

sourceofinformation,credibility,andcontentthatisfocusedonpracticalvalue,”

whereasshort-termorientedcountriesprefercontentbasedon“truth,adesirefor

immediateresults,andthemorerapidachievementofgoals.”Furthermore,whenit

comestowebdesign,visualelementsarevaluedmoreinlowLTOcountries,buthigh

LTOculturesplacemoreemphasisonmorallygoodbehavior(Shah,2013).Asaresult,in

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highLTOcultures,contentandnavigationaremoreimportantbecausetheyshowthe

long-termgoalsandstatementsofthebusiness.

Shah(2013)alsoprovidedChinaasanexampleofoneofthemostlong-term

orientationculturesintheworld.AccordingtoanexampleprovidedbyShah(2013),

“theinformationarchitectureofthesitehassurfacedtheirCSRinitiativesonthe

homepage.Thevisualsandtheirslugstalkaboutresponsibility,reciprocityand

efficiencytocreateabetterworld.”Chinesepeopleshowanabilitytoadapttraditions

andmakeeffortsineducationtoprepareforthefuture.

Ontheotherhand,withinthecountriesthataremoreshort-termoriented,

companiesalsooperateonashort-termbasis(Shah,2013).Theyfocusontheirprofits

andlossesinashortperiodoftimeandrequiretheiremployeestoachievetheirgoalsin

ashorttime.

2.2.6 Indulgencevs.Restraint(IND)

Thisdimensionisameasureofhappiness,orifthejoyofpeoplehasbeenfulfilled

(Hofstede,2010).Indulgenceisdefinedas“asocietythatallowsrelativelyfree

gratificationofbasicandnaturalhumandesiresrelatedtoenjoyinglifeandhavingfun”

(Hofstede,2010).Also,itemphasizestheextenttowhichpeopletrytocontroltheir

desiresandurges.Alowindulgencescoremeanspeoplehaveatendencytoward

cynicismandpessimism(Hofstede,2010).

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Chinaisarestrainedsocietywitharelativelylowscoreinthisdimension.The

Chinesedonotputmuchemphasisonleisuretimeandcontroltheirneedsordesires.

Peopleareregulatedbystrictnorms.Theyhardlyexpresstheirhappinessandother

positiveemotions.However,Qiu(2015)statesthatyoungergenerationsareincreasingly

willingtopaytoenjoytheirlife.TheChineseconsidershoppingasoneoftheirfavorite

leisureactivities.

2.3 E-commerceinChina

Consumers’onlinebehaviorisdifferentinnaturefromtraditionalconsumerbehaviors

duetotheuniquecharacteristicsandinteractionoftechnologyandculture(Chau,Cole,

Massey,Montoya-Weiss&O’Keefe,2002;Christou&Kassianidis,2002).Itisimportant

fortargetconsumerstointeractwiththewebsitesthatcorrespondwiththeir

characteristicsandcultures.Inthiscase,thee-commercewebsitesinChinadeveloped

dramaticallyinpastdecades.Duringthedevelopmentofe-commerce,some

characteristicsofChineseconsumerswerediscovered,butsomestillneedtobe

explored.Thosecharacteristicsdirectlyinfluencethewayofdesign.

TanandOuyang(2004)pointedoutsomebarriersofdiffusionofe-commercein

China:

• Thelackofsolidfoundationofconsumersandtheircognitiontowardsonline

shopping,

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• Thelackofintegrationofdifferentbusinessmodels

• Thebarriersofsecurityissuesandtheinsufficiencyofpolicyandlaws

• Thelowcredibilitybetweensellersandconsumers

• Andthetroublesomereturnprocessandothersupportservices.

Currently,theinformationarchitectureofmostChinesee-commercewebsitesis

simplyacopyofwesternsites,eventhoughtherearehugeculturaldifferencesbetween

thecustomers(Tan&Ouyang,2004).Imagineane-commercewebsitebeingvisitedby

usersfromdifferentpartsoftheworld:Arethereelementsthatmaybedifficultfor

peoplefromcertainculturestonavigate?Aretheremetaphorsthatsomepeoplecannot

understand?Dosomepeopleneeddifferentinformationformakingdecisions?Withthe

dramaticgrowthofe-commerceservicesinChinaoverthepastdecade,peoplehave

startedtothinkaboutamoreappropriatestructureforChinesecustomers,butmore

researchisstillneeded.

2.4 Summary

Basedontheserelatedtheories,inordertounderstandChineseconsumers’mental

modelsthatarerelevanttothedevelopmentofe-commerce,toestablishandachieve

thegoalsofbothChineseandinternationalcompanies,andtoexploretheperceptions

andbehaviorsoffemaleconsumersinBeijing,themethodsofcollectingdata,sampling

strategies,andanalysiswillbediscussedinthenextchapter.

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CHAPTER3. METHODOLOGY

Thischapterdescribesthemethodthatwasusedtobeginansweringtheresearch

questionsofthisstudy.Thisincludestheresearchtype,theframework,datacollection

andanalysismethods,andsamplingstrategies.

3.1 ResearchType

TounderstandthementalmodelsandbehaviorsofChineseonlineconsumers,a

qualitativestudywasconducted.Thepurposeofqualitativeresearchistounderstand

andexplaineachparticipant’spersonalexperienceandthemeaningthatheorshe

drawsfromit,andthentofurtherunderstandtheirbeliefsintheirsocialcontextand

otherrelatedsocialphenomenon.Ratherthanshowingtheinformationandthe

phenomena,thisqualitativeresearchfocusesmoreondeterminingthereasonbehind

thephenomena.

Qualitativeresearchersgenerallymaintainthatsociallifeisalwaysdynamicand

developing(Berg&Lune,2012).Socialliveinvolvesacomplexseriesofactivities,andso

qualitativeresearchisadynamicandmalleableprocess.Moreover,qualitativeresearch

paysmoreattentiontoindividualexperiencesbecausethesearethebasesfor

understandingsocialphenomena(Berg&Lune,2012).BergandLune(2012)havealso

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mentionedthatindividualdailyroutinesandexperiencescanbeobservedandviewed

asobjectivelymeasurabledata.Inthisway,duetotheindividualconditionsofeach

participant,theresearchresultscannoteasilybeduplicatedandappliedtoother

situations.

Thequalitativepointofviewfocusesonthereasonbehindevents.Qualitative

researchersareinterestedinthein-depthexplanationofproblemsandtheprovisionof

solutionstosuchproblems.Insteadofprovidingquantitativeinformation,the

qualitativeperspectiveprovidesanexplanatorycomprehensionoftheworldthroughan

analysisofhumanexperience.Forinstance,whenqualitativeresearcherswantto

understandsomeparticularsocialphenomenon,theypreferconsideringthe

phenomenonincontextinordertounderstandtheprocessesinvolvedintheevent.

Duringtheprocessofdatacollection,Iusedqualitativeresearchmethodsinorderto

understandtheirbehavior.Also,whenIanalyzedparticipants’interviewanswers,Itried

tofindpatternsintheirbehaviorsfromtheiranswers.

Myviewwasestablishedaccordingtomybackgroundandithelpedmeto

understandthesocialcontextinBeijing,China.Ispentmy18yearslivinginBeijing,

Chinaandreceivededucationfromkindergartentohighschoolthere.IlearnedChinese

culture,geography,humanity,politicsandlawsintheclassandstillcanrecallthemnow.

MandarinChineseismynativelanguagesoIcanspeak,read,andunderstandMandarin

Chinesethoroughly.IconductedmyinterviewinBeijingandtheprimarylanguageusing

inBeijingisMandarinChinese.ThewholeinterviewprocesswillbeinMandarinChinese.

Itiscomfortableforintervieweetoanswerthequestionsandalsogoodformeto

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interprettheiranswers.Myparentswereconsideredasuppermiddleclassconsumers

inthiscase.Especiallymymotherhadthesimilardemographicstotheparticipants,who

wereuppermiddleclassfemalesconsumersinBeijing.ShehadherMaster’sdegreeand

livedwithotherfamilymembers.Itwashelpfultounderstandtheparticipants’situation

andtheiranswersaftertalkingwithmymother.BecauseIwasnothavesimilar

demographicswithmyparticipantsandalsoIleftChinafor5years.Mybiasesof

previousstereotypesofe-commerceinChinamayinfluencethedataanalysis.

3.2 Framework

Accordingtothepreviousliterature,theHofstede’sculturedimensionscanonlyprovide

anoverviewunderstandingofthecultureinthenationallevel.However,thesubculture

withinthesocietycouldbeuniqueandrelatedtotheirbackgroundandsocialcontexts.

Inordertounderstandoneparticularsubgroup,feministHCIcouldprovideatheoretical

frameworkforthisstudy.

BasedonfeministHCI,“theexperienceofallhumanbeingsisvalidandmustnot

beexcludedfromourunderstanding”(Bardzell&Bardzell,2011,p.677).Bardzell(2010)

providedsomequalitiesoffeministinteraction.Pluralismsuggeststhatthehuman-

centeredismoreimportantthanuniversalbecausehumanisdiverseandcomplex.A

universalsolutionmaynotabletosatisfyalluserswithculturaldifferenceindifferent

contexts.Participationmeanstherelationshipbetweenresearchersandusers“leadto

thecreationandevaluationofdesignprototypes”(Bardzell,2010,p1306).Advocacy

allowsdesigners“toquestiontheirownpositiontoassertwhatan‘improvedsociety’is

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andhowtoachieveit”(Bardzell,2010,p1306).ThosequalitiesoffeministHCIallowed

metofocusmoreonthesmallscaleamongChineseconsumersandinvestigateddeeply

ontheexperienceofthissubgroup.Theirexperienceshouldbeconsideredinthesocial

scienceresearch.InfeministHCI,researchersarenotonlyconcernedaboutthe

efficiencyofthesystem,butalsocultures,socialcontexts,andtheirinfluencetowards

theuserexperience.Itcanalsoletresearchershaveacriticalthinkingaboutthedesign

solutionsandhowtheyrelatedeachindividual.WithfeministHCI,therearemore

possibilitiesofsolutions,insteadofacceptingthemajoranduniversalone.Thehuman-

computerinteractioniscomplexbecausetheinteractionorrelationcouldbedifferentif

thetargetusersandtheircontextsaredifferent.Everydesignsolutionisuniquefora

particulargroupofusersinaparticularcontext.Itmakesthedesignmoreflexiblebut

naturalfortheuserstointeractwith.

Whenitcomestothisstudy,theexperienceandopinionsofeachindividualare

valuabletounderstandtheirmentalmodelsforfuturedesignpurpose.Inthiscase,the

participants’experienceofonlineshoppingwasvaluableinordertounderstandthis

particulargroupofusers,whichwereuppermiddleclassfemalesinBeijing,China.Their

experienceinacertaincontexthelpstounderstandtheirpurposes,procedure,

behaviors,andbarriers,whicharevariablesthatneedtobemeasuredduringthe

interview.

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3.3 Assessmentinstrumentsanddatacollectionmethods

Afterrealizingthedifferencesbetweencultures,whileusinge-commercewebsites,

usersmayperformbetterandhavemorepositiveexperienceswithinformation

architecturethatismorecompatiblewiththeircognitivestyle.Tounderstandthe

correlationbetweencultureanduserperformance,anexplorationinterviewwas

conductedtograspChineseconsumers’mentalmodelstowardsonlinefashionretailers.

Thecollecteddataincludedtheparticipants’shoppingexperience,motivation,

difficulties,barriers,usagebetweendesktopandmobiledeviceandsoon.Interviews

helpcompletemyunderstandingofChineseconsumers’shoppingexperienceand

mentalmodelsbehindthebehaviors.

Tocollectdata,Iconductedinterviewswith19Chineseconsumers.Eachsession

lastedabout30minutes,includingpre-questionnaireandinterviewquestionsabout

theirexperience.Beforetheinterviewsession,eachparticipantwasaskedtocompletea

questionnaire.Thequestionnaireincludedtwoparts:demographicandonlineshopping

characteristics.Thedemographicquestionsincludedage,gender,location,educational

levels,occupations,incomelevelsandhouseholds(seeAppendixB).Theonline

shoppingcharacteristicsquestionsincludedcontext,decisionmaking,onlineshopping

behavior,andonlineshoppingcost.

Afterparticipantsfinishedthequestionnaire,aninterviewwasconductedin

ordertounderstandtheirbehaviorinthetestandgeneralonlineshoppingexperience.

Basedontheirshoppingexperience,theinterviewquestionscouldbeadjustedand

reorderedforclarification(Berg&Lune,2012).Duringthedatacollectionprocedure,all

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textandinterviewquestionsweretranslatedtotheappropriateMandarinChineseand

theinterviewtranscriptsweretranslatedbacktoEnglishforanalysisafterwards.

Twogroupsofparticipantswererecruited;onegrouphadexperiencedonline

shopping,buttheothergrouphadnot.Theyanswereddifferentinterviewquestions

accordingtotheirpreviousexperience.Forthegroupwithonlineshoppingexperience,I

askedthemtoshowthee-commercewebsitestheyliketouseandtodiscussthebad

shoppingexperiencestheyhadencountered.Forthegroupwithoutanyshopping

experience,theirworriesandbarrierswerediscussed.Bydoingthis,boththeusability

problemsofcurrentcustomersandworriesofpotentialcustomerscouldbefound.

Theinterviewprotocol(seeAppendixA)usedinthisstudywasdevelopedbased

onYoung(2008).Youngintroducedaproceduretodevelopatooltodefinethemental

modelofspecificgroupofusers.BasedontheconceptsthatIwanttounderstand,the

scopeoftheinterviewwassetandthelistofinterviewpromptswasdeveloped

afterwards.Moreover,theinterviewwasaudiorecordedwithpermissionforfuture

analysis.

3.4 Sampling

Theparticipantswererecruitedusingthecriterionsamplingstrategyandthesnowball

samplingstrategy.

Criterionsamplinghaspredeterminedimportantcriterionsandthenfinds

samplesinaccordwiththecriterions(Patton,2001).Eventhoughthesamplesizemay

besmall,criterionsamplingcanprovidethemostinformation-richcasesinorderto

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determineimportantpatternsamongaspecificgroupofpeople.Inthiscase,ithelpedin

obtaininghighquality,detaileddescriptionsofeachcase,whichisusefulwhenitcomes

totheanalysisphaseandisimportantinfindingpatternsacrosscases(Patton,2002).

Forthisstudy,participantsfromBeijingwererecruited.Chinesepeoplefrom

differentareas,orprovinces,mayhavedifferentlevelsofincome,costsofliving,habits,

dialects,andsoon.Amongallprovinces,BeijingisthecapitalcityofChinaandoneof

thelargestcitiesinChina.ThepopulationofBeijingisabout22million(WPR,2015)and

thenumberisstillgrowingcontinuously.Also,BeijingisthepowerhouseoftheChinese

economy.Withthequickeconomicexpansion,peoplefromotherprovincesofChina

cametoworkinBeijing(BeijingPopulation,2013).IchoseBeijingtoprovidein-depth

andvariousdata.

Snowballsamplingalsoprovidesinformation-richcases,whichalsofulfillmy

researchneeds(Patton,2002).Snowballsamplingisthemostfrequentlyusedmethod

ofsamplingacrossthesocialscience(Noy,2008).Thebasicconceptistheresearcher

accessesparticipantsthroughcontactinformationprovidedbyotherparticipants.This

processisrepeatableandaccumulative(Noy,2008).Thisstrategyalsoprovidedsamples

thatmeetthecriterion.Aftertheparticipantsagreedtodotheinterview,Iaskedeach

participanttobringafriendthattheythinkhasasimilarculturalbackgroundwiththem.

Atthesametime,asonlinecustomers,participantsneededtohaveaccesstothe

Internetandsufficientincomeforshopping.Thepreviousstudiesandtheassociated

researchpointtotwobarriersofthedevelopmentofe-commerceinChina:“economic

andtechnologicaldevelopmentsinChina”and“theuniquecharacteristicsofChinese

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culture”(Efendioglu&Yip,2004).ThelatestChinaInternetNetworkInformationCenter

(officialdatacollectorfortheChinesegovernment)figuresshowthat55.7%ofChina’s

361millionwebusershaveboughtproductsonline(CNNIC,2014,2015).However,even

thoughtheamountofpeoplewhoshoponlinehasincreaseddramaticallyoverthepast

fewdecades,whenconsideringthepopulationofChina,onlyabout23%ofChinese

peoplehaveonlineshoppingexperience.HalfofthepeoplewhohaveInternetaccess

havenevershoppedonlinebefore.Therefore,thereisstillhugemarketpotentialthat

couldbeexpandedandexplored.

Intermsoftheagerange,accordingtotheCNNICreport(2013),mostonline

consumersinChinaarebetween20-29yearsold,comprisingabout56.4%oftheonline

shoppingpopulation.Thesecondlargestgroupis30-39yearsold,whichcompriseabout

22.5%ofthepopulation.Sincetheyoungergenerationhasalreadybecomefamiliarwith

technologyandthuslearnedaboutitmorequickly,forthepurposeofthisstudy,which

istoattractmorepotentialconsumers,theagerangewas35-50yearsold.

3.5 DataAnalysis

Whenitcomestothedataanalysisprocedure,thethematicanalysismethodwas

adoptedtoanalyzetheinterviewanswers.Thematicanalysisisdrivenbythe

researcher’stheoreticaloranalyticinterestsinthearea.Itisusedtoorganizeandsort

rawdataintocodesandthemestoidentifykeyfeatures(Braun&Clarke,2006).Itisan

appropriatemethodheresinceithelpsmetofindpatternsintherawdataandorganize

thechaoticbutrichdatainanefficientway.Therewerebasicallysixphasesinthematic

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analysis:familiarizationwithdata,generatinginitialcodes,combinecodestothemes,

reviewingthemes,definingandnamingthemes,andproducingthefinalreport(Boyatzis,

1998).

First,withthenotesandaudiorecordsoftheinterview,Ibegantranscribing

theirinterviewanswersintowrittenform.EventhoughallparticipantswereChinese

andtheyansweredallinterviewquestionsinChinese,Ididnottranslatetheinterviews

untillateronintheanalysisprocess,inordertoreducetheinaccuracyand

misunderstandingoftheirrawinterviewanswers.Thus,transcriptionofinterview

answerswasalsoinChinese.Readingandre-readingthedatawereperformedtocheck

bothsemanticandlatentmeaningsoftheiranswers.Afterthisstage,Iwasfamiliarwith

theiranswerandsomepotentialcodeswerenoticedduringtheprocessoftranscription,

becausetheywererepeatedorsimilarinoneormorethanoneinterview.Somestart

codescouldbeidentifiedandpreparedforthenextphases.BasedonYoung’s(2008)

methodsofgeneratingmentalmodels,Ialsoanalyzedthetranscriptandidentifyeach

quoteifitwastask,belief,philosophy,feelingorothercategories.

Second,afterfamiliarizationwiththedata,Istartedtofindsomeinitialcodes.

Thecodingprocesswaslookingfortherepeatinginformationthatalsorelatedtomy

researchquestion.Theywereimportantmomentsintherawdataandtheresearchers

shouldbeabletoidentifythembasedontheirunderstandingwithoutinterpretation.In

thiscase,I,asaresearcherandasaChineseaswell,finishedthisphasesaftergoing

througheveryinterviewtranscription.Withtheassignedtypesofeachquote,codesalso

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havedifferenttypes,suchastasks,beliefs,feelingsandsoon.Duringthisprocess,codes

maybemodifiedorcombined.

Third,amongcodes,Igroupedthemandsearchedforthemes.Itriedtolookfor

theirsimilaritiesandsomebroaderpatterns.Aftergroupingandcombiningthosecodes,

Igeneratedthemes.Forcodesaboutbehaviors,theyweregroupedfirstbasedontheir

majortasks.Thosetasksweregroupedtogetherbasedonwhichshoppingphasesthey

werein.Thiswasthestartpointofcreatingthementalmodelsdiagram.Forcodes

aboutbeliefsandfeeling,theywerealsoorganizedandgroupediftheyweresimilarto

generatethemes.Inthisprocess,Ihadabetterunderstandingofrelationshipsbetween

codes,themesandtheirhierarchy,whichwouldbeafoundationofamentalmodel

diagramafterwards.Fourth,withthosepotentialthemes,Ireviewedthembylooking

backthecodeddataandexploringifthethemescouldbecombinedorsplit.Withthe

ideaofmentalmodels,Itriedtoreviewandorganizethethemesinthesequenceof

behaviors.Itwaseasytogeneratethementalmodelslateron.

Finally,themesweredefinedandItranslatedthemintoEnglish.Eachthemehad

anametoprovideusersasenseofitscontentandcodeswereblockswithineachtheme.

Themeswerepresentedintheresultschapterandthementalmodelwasgenerated

basedonthecodesandthemes,inthediagramformat.Withthecodesandthemes

fromtherawdata,thementalmodelwastheorganizationofthosepatternsfrom

bottomupintoamodel.

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3.6 Summary

Thischapterprovidesanoverviewoftheprocessofansweringtheresearchquestion.It

includestheresearchtype,theframework,datacollectionandanalysismethods,and

samplingstrategies.Successfulcompletionofthisstudywillgeneratethemesofmental

modelsofChineseonlinecustomers.

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CHAPTER4. RESULTS

Thepreviouschaptercoveredthegoal,researchquestion,andmethodology.Inthis

chapter,thedataandresultswillbepresentedinadiagramthatshowsthemental

modelsofChineseconsumerstowarde-commerce.Therearesevenstagesintheonline

shoppingprocess:(1)decidetoshoponline,(2)visitane-commercewebsite,(3)explore

products,(4)learnmoreabouttheproducts,(5)checkout,(6)deliver,and(7)return.

Eachstageconsistsofseveraltasksandsupportfunctionsfromthewebsiteside.

4.1 Participants

Therewere19participants,allage35-50,withanaverageageof40.47years.According

tothecriterionsampling,onlyfemaleswholivedinBeijing,Chinawererecruited.Some

demographicinformationwascollectedtounderstandtheirshoppinghabits(see

AppendixB).Six(31.5%)participantshadbachelor’sdegreesand13(68.5%)had

master’sdegrees,whichisrelativelyhigherthantheaveragelevel.Theoccupationsof

participantswerevaried:eight(42%)participantswereemployeesinprivatecompanies,

andeight(42%)participantsweregovernmentofficials.One(5%)wasahighschool

teacher,andtwo(11%)wereunemployedorretired.Becausetheyhaddifferent

occupations,incomelevelsvaried.AmountswerestatedinChineseRMB(�)permonth

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onthequestionnaire,butresultsarepresentedinUSD($)peryearhere,forbetter

understanding.Oneparticipant(5%)hadannualincomeof$2,000-$5,000,andanother

(5%)earned$5,000-$10,000.Eleven(58%)participantshadincomesbetween$10,000-

$15,000,andfive(27%)earned$15,000-$20,000.Onlyone(5%)participanthadan

incomeof$30,000-$35,000.TheaveragesalaryofurbanemployeesinBeijingwas

$16,475in2015,whichwasrankedasNo.1among34provincesinChina.Theaverage

salaryofChineseemployeeswasabout$9,000in2015.Theincomelevelofparticipants

wassimilartotheaveragelevelinBeijing,buthigherthantheaverageofentireChinese

employees.

Householdsizeisanotherimportantfactorforonlineshopping.Most

participants’householdshadthreemembers,andtheaveragewas3.15members.Afew

participants’householdshadfivemembers,includingtheirparentsandachild.

Thisdemographicinformationshowsthecurrentcharacteristicsofthisgroupof

peopleinBeijing,China.Theyhadsteadyincomesandrelativelyhigheducationallevels,

andtheylivedwiththeirfamilymembers.Theirbackgroundsultimatelyaffectedtheir

shoppinghabitsandtheitemstheybought.

4.2 MentalModels

Afterdataanalysis,thementalmodelsofChinesee-commerceconsumersare

presentedinadiagram.Inthediagram,thereareseveralmentalspaces,indicatingthe

phasesofonlineshopping(seeFigure4.1).Ineachmentalspace,taskboxesare

groupedtogetherandorganizedastowers(seeFigure4.2).

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Figure4.1MentalmodelsofChineseconsumers

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TherearesevenmentalspacesforChineseconsumers:(1)decidetoshoponline,

(2)visitane-commercewebsite,(3)exploreproducts,(4)learnmoreabouttheproducts,

(5)checkout,(6)deliver,and(7)return.Eachspaceconsistsofseveraltowers.

4.2.1 Decidetoshoponline

ThisisthefirstmentalspaceofChineseconsumers,whichisthemotivationforonline

shopping.Therearetwotowersinthismentalspace:need-basedandprice-based(see

Figure4.3).Whenparticipantshavethedesiretoshop,theyhavedifferentreasonsand

usevariousphilosophieswhendecidingwhethertobuyitemsonlineorin-store.

Figure4.2Tasksintowersinamentalspace

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First,mostparticipantsmentionedthattheywouldliketopurchaseitemsthat

theyneed.Theyrarelybrowsedtherecommendationlistorwereinfluencedby

advertisements.Oneparticipantsaid,“Iwon’tbuysomethingjustbecauseit’scheapor

onsale.”

Figure4.3.Mentalspaceofdecidingtoshoponline

Anotherimportantreasonforshoppingonlinewasthedifficultyinpurchasing

heavyproducts.Thisgroupofpeoplefeltitwasmucheasiertobuyheavyproducts

onlineandhavethemdeliveredtothehomedirectlyratherthangotoastoreandcarry

backhome.Theparticipantsdecidedtobuysomecookingsuppliesonline,suchas

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cookingoil,rice,andflour.Moreover,peoplerecentlywantedtotrysomenon-local

products.Forexample,someparticipantssaidtheywouldbuysomesnacksfromother

countries,butthosesnacksareonlyavailableonline.Theyalsohadsomeworries:

Iamworriedaboutdamageofmyproducts.Soifitisfragile,Iwon’tbuyitonline.

Iwillgotostores.OnceIreceivedmyfreshfruit,itwasnotfreshanymore.The

qualityoftheproductsisnotgoodenough.SoIalwayschoosethebrandthatI

amfamiliarwith,eventhoughothersmaybecheaper.

Inadditiontoneed,priceisanimportantreasonforpeopletoshoponline.Every

November11,mostChinesee-commercesiteshaveashoppingfestivalwheremost

productsareonsale.Participantsstatedthattheyhavealwayssavedseveralproductsin

theironlineshoppingcartsandwaitedforthesaledays.Theyalsoboughtsomethings

thatwerereallycheapbutmightnotbenecessary.Someconsumersdidnotliketobuy

expensiveproducts(e.g.,television,airconditioner)online,buttheirdefinitionsof

“expensive”maydiffer.Additionally,thereisatrendofconsumersshoppingfor

electricalappliancesonline.

4.2.2 Visitane-commercewebsite

Twotowersareinthismentalspace,indicatingthementaldevicesusedwhilevisitinge-

commercewebsites(seeFigure4.4).Among19participants,13(68.4%)ofthem

preferredtousemobileapplicationsratherthanusingcomputers.Theyreportedthat

almosteverypopulare-commercecompanyhasitsownsmartphoneapp,andthe

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respondentshadinstalledthoseappsontheirownphones.Theemployedparticipants

saidtheyweretoobusytovisite-commercewebsites.Instead,theycouldbrowseand

shopusingsmartphoneapps,especiallyontheircommutes.However,participantswho

stillpreferredvisitingwebversionsofe-commercesitesfeltusingalaptopordesktop

wasmoretrustworthy.Ononehand,mobileversionsmayomitsomeinformation;also,

thefontsizeistoosmallformanyusersinthisagegroup.Oneparticipantsaid,“Icannot

findimportantinformationon[the]mobileversion.”Ontheotherhand,some

participantswereworriedaboutthesafetyoftheirbankaccountiftheylosttheir

phones.

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Figure4.4.Mentalspaceofvisitingane-commercesite

4.2.3 Exploreproducts

Aftervisitingane-commercewebsite,consumershadtwostylesofexploring—browsing

orsearching—whicharetwotowersinthismentalspace(seeFigure4.5).Thisphase

washighlyrelatedtotheparticipants’motivationsforshopping.Consumerswhohad

cleardesireslikedtosearchusingkeywordsdirectlyinordertosavetime.Some

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participantsalsomentionedthattheysearchedtheirshoppinghistorytobuythesame

productsagain.Savingtimewasimportantforthem,andtheirobjectivesweretoshop

online,thenreceivetheirproductsinashorttime.

Figure4.5.Mentalspaceofexploringproducts

Bycontrast,theotherparticipantslikedtospendtimebrowsingthepage.They

werewillingtoskimthroughthesuggestedorpopularitems.Theydidnothaveclear

objectivesandwantedtoexploresomethingnew.Otherthansomerandom

advertisements,participantsalsopointedoutthattheypreferredthesuggested

productsthatgeneratedfromtheparticipants’browsinghistories,orbrowsednewly

arriveditemsintheirsavedstores.

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4.2.4 Learnmoreabouttheproducts

Afterexploringproductsindifferentways,whileconsideringseveralproducts,

consumershadtheirownphilosophiesanddifferentfocuseswhenmakingdecisions.

Therearefourtowersinthismentalspace:sorting,review,sizeandcolors—four

aspectsthatconsumersaremostconcernedabout(seeFigure4.6).

Figure4.6.Mentalspaceoflearningmoreabouttheproducts

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First,whenconsideringsimilarproducts,thefirstchoiceforChineseconsumers

wassorting.Mostparticipantschosetosortthesearchresultsbynumberofsales.The

reviewsofthestoreswerealsoimportant.Onlyafewofthemchosetosortbyprice.

Someothersortingcriteriawerementioned,includinglocation.

Second,otherthancomparingandsortingproductinformation,readingreviews

wasoneofthemostimportantconsumerbehaviorsbeforemakingshoppingdecisions.

Mostparticipantssaidtheywerenotgoingtobuyaproductifithadnegativereviewsor

evaluations.Reviewswithpictureshelpedconsumerstolearnmoreabouttherealcolor

andqualityoftheproducts.Picturesuploadedbyotherbuyersseemedmorepersuasive

thanthosepostedbysellers.However,participantswerealsoworriedaboutthe

reliabilityofthepositivereviews,becausetheyhadheardtalkofmisleadingpositive

reviews.Oneparticipantshared:“Theonlinereviewisnotcredible.Iheardsome

businessownerspayforsomebodyelsetoprovidethemgoodreviewsonline.”

Third,womenwerealwaysdeeplydistressedaboutthesizesofclothesorshoes

whiletheywereshoppingonline.Participantsstatedthatsizechartswerenotaccurate

enough,sotheyconsultedwiththesellersdirectlybychattingonline.Consumerssent

theirheightsandweightstothesellersinordertogetappropriatesizestoorder.Some

participantsalsomentionedthat,sinceitwashardtodecidetheirsizes,theytriedon

theclothesorshoesinthephysicalstoresfirst,andthenplacedordersonlinewiththe

appropriatesizes.Afterthistypeofpurchaseprocess,theydecidedtokeepbuyingthe

samebrandsbecausetheyalreadyknewthesizes.Afewparticipantsboughttwoitems

andthenreturnedtheinappropriateonesafterreceivingpackages.

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Fourth,colordifferenceisanotheraspectthatconsumerswereconcernedabout.

Sellerstakepicturesofproductsinareallyidealenvironment,withperfectlightingand

background,andsomesellerseveneditthephotosbeforeuploading.Thus,most

consumersalreadyunderstandandadmitthecolordifferenceswhileplacingorders.To

makesurethecolorwaswhattheywanted,participantssaidtheycheckedthereviews

withpictures,triedtofindotherpicturesonsearchengines,oraskedtheirfriends’

opinionswhenfriendshadboughttheitemsbefore.

4.2.5 Checkout

Afterlearningdetailsofproducts,consumersfinallydecidedtobuythem.Thereare

threetowersinthecheckingoutmentalspace:login,revieworderinformation,andpay

(seeFigure4.7).

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Figure4.7.Mentalspaceofcheckingout

First,moste-commercewebsitesrequireconsumerstologintheiraccount

beforeplacingorders.Mostparticipantsstatedthattheyusedthesameusernameand

passwordforalle-commercewebsitesbecauseitwaseasierforthemtomemorizejust

onelogin.Also,severalparticipantsmentionedtheyreliedontheautofillfunctionof

theirbrowserorevenwroteonmemopadstocatalogtheirusernamesandpasswords.

Somewebsitesrequireddifferentpasswordsforloginandpayment,soitwashardfor

participantsinthisagegrouptomemorizeeverypassword.Thisparticipantdescribed:

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“It’shardformetomemorizealltheaccountsandpasswords.AndIfeelunsafeifIuse

thesamepasswordforallaccounts.”

Second,beforeplacingorders,consumersneededtoreviewtheirorder

informationagain.Inthistower,themostimportanttaskbuyershadwastodecide

addressesfordelivery.Asemployeesorofficers,mostparticipantsworkedfrom

MondaytoFridayandfromearlymorningtonight.Asaresult,theywerenotableto

receivetheirpackagesathome,sotheyselectedtheirofficeaddressesfordelivery.For

heavyproducts,however,theycontinuedtochoosetheirhomeaddresses.

Third,paymentplatformsinChinaaredifferentfromthoseintheUnitedStates.

Chineseconsumersusedtoaskforfreeshippingiftheyboughtseveralitemsinone

store,buttheyarenowwillingtopayshippingfeesforbetterdeliveryservice.Thereare

variouspaymentmethodsinChina,andsomee-commercewebsitesonlyaccept

selectedmethods.AlipayisoneofthemajorpaymentplatformsinChina(Hendrichs,

2015).Thisisathird-partyplatform,whichmeansthatwhenreceivingproducts,

consumersneedtoconfirmreceiptandaskthisplatformtomakeatransactiontothe

sellers.Someconsumersthoughtitwassafetopayathird-partyplatform,butother

consumerswerestillworriedaboutthesafetyoftheirbankaccounts.Inordertoavoid

fraud,someconsumersdecidedtoopennewbankaccountsonlyforonlineshopping

andonlyputasmallamountofmoneyinthededicatedaccountbeforeconnectingit

withthepaymentplatform.Alipayisnottheonlythird-partypaymentplatforminChina;

shoppersneedtoregisterandhaveaccountswitheveryplatforminordertobe

competitivewitheverye-commercewebsite.Thisparticipanttalkedaboutthe

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competitionbetweenplatforms:“IcannotuseAlipayonJingDongbecausetheyarerival.

Ihavetohavemanyaccountsondifferentpaymentplatforms.”

Forconsumerswhowouldliketoshopwiththeirsmartphones,paymentcould

beeasier,butwithhigherrisk.Theysaidtheywereworriedaboutlosingtheirphones

andleakingpersonalinformation.Forpeoplewhodonothaveanyonlinebanking

service,orwhodonottrustthepaymentplatforms,theymayhavetheoptiontopayon

receipt.Afewparticipantsinthisagegroupwerenotopentothenewtechnology;they

likedtochoosepaymentonreceiptbecausetheyfeltmuchmoresecureinpayingafter

receivingtheirpackages.

4.2.6 Deliver

DeliveryservicesarequiteuniqueinChina,andthereareseveralcourierservice

companiesinthemarket.Figure4.8showsthetowerofdeliveryserviceinthismental

space.Thetowerofconfirmationisnotrequiredforeverywebsite,anditonlyapplies

whenconsumerspaywiththird-partypaymentplatforms.ChinaovertooktheUnited

Statesandhashadthehighestexpressdeliveryvolumeintheworldsince2014(Top10

courierservicesinChina,2015).Somee-commercecompaniesevenhavetheirown

deliverysystems.Inthisway,consumersinlargecities(e.g.,Beijing,China)expectto

receivetheirpackagesintwotothreedays.E-commercewebsiteswiththeirown

deliverysystemscoulddelivershipmentsonthesamedaytheordersareplaced.Once

thepackagesareshipped,consumerscancheckthetrackinginformationonthee-

commercewebsites.Consumerssaidtheyexpectedphonecallsfromthecourierswhen

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deliveriesarrived.Iftheconsumerswerenotavailable,theycouldaskthecouriersto

leavethepackagessomewhereorattemptdeliverythenextday.

Forsomee-commercewebsites,iftheconsumerspaidwiththird-partyplatforms,after

receivingthepackages,theywererequiredtologbackintotheiraccountsandclick

“confirm.”

Figure4.8.Mentalspaceofdelivery

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4.2.7 Return

Figure4.9showsthethreetowersinthismentalspace:communicate,applyforreturn,

andshipback.Noteveryparticipanthadusedreturnservice;participantsthought

returnservicewastroublesome,andtheywerenotfamiliarwiththereturnpolicies.

Theysaidiftheproductsizewasnotappropriateorhadsomebearableproblems,they

wouldgiveittofriendsorkeepitratherthanreturningit.Consumersfeltconfused

aboutthereturnprocessesandsaiditalwaystookalongtimetocompletepaperwork.

Oneparticipantstated,“Ittookmetwomonthstogetmymoneyback.”Participants

alsoworryaboutshippingcostswhenreturningitems.Mostsellersaskedconsumersto

payforthereturnshippingfees.Someparticipantssaidtheyboughtreturninsurance

duringpayment,whichwouldcoverthereturnshippingfees.

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Figure4.9.Mentalspaceofreturning

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CHAPTER5. DISCUSSION

Basedontheresults,besidesfunctionsandinterfacedesign,thischapterattemptsto

understandthementalmodelsthatpresentedinthepreviouschapter.Byinvestigating

thefemaleconsumersinBeijing,Chinadeeply,somesuggestionsareprovidedfor

designerstoconsiderwhiledesigninge-commercewebsitesforthisparticulargroupof

consumersandinternationalcompaniestoentertheChinesemarket.

5.1 SocialMedia

Others’opinionsplayanimportantrolewhenfemaleconsumers,inBeijing,are

makingdecisions.Socialmediaisoneoftheplaceswhereconsumerscanreadother

people’sopinions.Beforemakingshoppingdecisions,thefemaleconsumersliketo

searchandreadotherpeople’sfeedbackonproductsonsocialmedia.Someproducts

arepopularonsocialmediabecausesomecelebritiesrecommendthem.Otherthan

advertisement,femaleconsumerslikethiskindofrecommendation.Oneofthe

participantssaid,”Ineverbuyitemsafterwatchingadvertisement,butthe

recommendationbysomeoneIknowmakemoresensetome.”Inordertofeelpartof

thegroupororganization,thefemaleconsumerswouldconsiderbuyingtheseproducts.

Besides,thereviewsone-commencewebsitesprovidetheconsumersthemost

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meaningfulfeedbackfromotherconsumers;consumersalsoliketosharetheirown

experiencesoropinionstowardstheproducts.

ForChineseconsumers,onlineshoppingisnotjusttheactivityofbuyingdesired

products.Viewingandsharingopinionswithotherpeoplebecomessocialnetworking,

andalsoawayofunderstandingthetrendsofdailylife.Somepeoplestarttosell

somethinginsmallscaleintheirfriendcircles.FemaleconsumersinBeijingthinkitis

interestingbecausetheycantrysomenewproductsfromtheirfriends.Otherpeoplein

thesamefriendcirclewouldalsoliketosharetheiropiniontothisproduct.Other

peoplecouldalsobethesellersandbringsomenewproductstothesocialnetworking.

Thisnewbusinessmodelisacceptableforthemduetoitsuniquesocialcontext.

5.2 Trustworthiness

ItishardforfemaleconsumersinBeijingtotrustonlineshoppingcompletely.They

worryaboutfraudorinaccurateinformation.Inthephaseoflearningmoreaboutthe

products,consumersthinktheproductinformationandpicturesuploadedbythesellers

arenotcredible.Oneparticipantexpressedthisfeeling:

Thephotosuploadedbysellersarealwaysperfect.Iamguessingtheytake

picturesinareallyidealenvironmentandeditalot.Iusedtoreceiveaproduct

thatlookedtotallydifferentfromthepicture.Thecolordifferenceisalsoseriousif

thesellersadjustthecolorofthepictures.Thecolorsofpicturesarealwaysbright

andpretty.

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Inpaymentphase,consumersstillcannottrustthepaymentsystem;thus,paying

directlywithcreditordebitcardnumbersisnotpopular.Consumersdonotwantto

providetheircardnumberstothee-commercewebsites.Instead,thethird-party

paymentplatformsprovenecessary–consumerspaythethird-partyplatformfirstwhile

placingorders.Becausethemoneyisnotpaiddirectlytothesellers,Chineseconsumers

feelmoresecure.Afterreceivingthepackage,consumersmustconfirmreceiptonthee-

commercewebsitesinordertorequestthatthethird-partyplatformscompletethe

transactions.Bydoingthis,bothsellersandbuyersfeelmorecomfortablebecausethey

onlyconducttransactionswiththethird-partyplatforms.

Regardingdelivery,oneofthereasonsthatconsumersdecidedtochoosetheir

officeaddressesfordeliverywasthattheydidnottrustthecourierservices.A

participantsaid:

Idon’tfeelsafetoprovidemyhomeaddressfordelivery.Duringworkdays,only

childrenandtheseniorareathome.Ithinkitisdangerousforthemtoanswerthe

doortoreceivepackages.Also,Iwillalwayscrossoutmynameandaddressonthe

boardboxbeforethrowingthemaway.Idonotwantotherpeopleknowmyname

andmyaddress.

Comparedtotheconsumersinthematureshoppingenvironment,thisgroupof

peopleisstillintheprocessoflearningandacceptingnewconceptsandtechnologies.

Accordingtotheireducationalandincomelevel,theyhavecriticalthinkingstyleand

moneyintheirbankaccount.Also,inChina,manypeopleowntheire-commercestores

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personally.Itishardtotruststrangersandpaylargeamountsofmoneybeforereceiving

anypackages.Consumersstillneedmoretimetobuildtrustine-commercewebsites

andtheentireonlineshoppingsystem.

5.3 Suggestions

Inthediagramofmentalmodels,thebottompartrepresentsthefunctionsrequiredto

supportthetasksaboveit.Inthissection,suggestionsareprovidedbyphases,basedon

thementalmodels.

Toattractmoreconsumers,accordingtotheirdifferentmotivations,thee-

commercewebsitesshouldhavevariousproducts,bothlocalandnon-local,fromwhich

consumersmaychoose.Atthesametime,regularpromotionsorsalesarenecessaryto

stimulateshoppingbehavior.Itisalsoimportantforsellerstoemphasizethattheonline

pricesarecheaper,orthatsomeproductsareonlyavailableonline.

Tobetterservebusyconsumerswithfull-timejobs,e-commercecompanies

shoulddeveloptheirownsmartphoneapps,withlargefontsizesandcomplete

information.Otherfunctionsandsecuritymeasuresshouldalsobeincludedintheapp.

Thewebsitesshouldhavefunctionsthatallowconsumerstosearchbykeywords

aswellaswithintheirshoppinghistories.Targetadvertisementscanalsobeusedto

drawconsumers’attention.Besidesbasicsortingfunctionsanddetailedproduct

information,reviewswithpictures,sortingbysalesnumbers,andliveconsumerservice

arenecessaryfunctions.Reviewswithpicturescouldhelpconsumersgaina

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comprehensiveunderstandingofthedetailsofproducts.Sortingbysalesnumbersisa

techniquethatcorrespondstoChineseconsumers’culturaldimensions.Liveconsumer

servicecouldsupportandanswerconsumers’questionsimmediately.

Whilefacilitatingcustomerswhoarecheckingout,itisbetterforsellersto

supportdifferentpaymentmethods,suchasthird-partyplatforms,creditcards,debit

cards,andcash.Returninsuranceandfreereturnscouldprovideconsumersmore

optionsandhelpthemfeelmorecomfortablewhentheyplaceorders.

Insummary,alistofsuggestionsincludes:

• Variousproducts

• Promotionorsales

• Abilitytosavefavoritestoresorproducts

• Largefontsizeonsmartphoneapp

• Full,organizedproductinformationonsmartphoneapp

• Advertisementsorsuggestedproductsbasedonpersonalinterests

• Abilitytosearchinhistory

• Sortingcapabilitybysalesnumbers

• Informationaboutthecredibilityofpayment

• Abilitytowritereviewswithpictures

• Liveconsumerservice

• Synchronizationofproductsincartifloggedinfromdifferentdevices

• Competitionwithdifferentpaymentmethods

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• Abilitytopurchasereturninsurance

• Clearflowchartofreturnprocess

5.4 Limitations

Therearestillsomelimitationsbeforeapplyingthesesuggestions.Thisstudy

investigatedthementalmodelsofuppermiddleclassfemaleconsumersinBeijing.It

shouldbenotedthattheresultsandmentalmodelswerebasedontheparticipants’

backgroundandexperiences.Theresultswerenotabletogeneralizetoallkindsof

Chineseconsumerswithoutanychanges.

Firstly,besidesmentalmodels,someotherfactorsalsoaffecttheconsumers’

perceptionwhileonlineshopping,suchastheircomputerexperience,socialrelations,or

otherindividualcharacteristics.Thesituationsmaybevariousaccordingtotheir

personalexperience.Amongparticipants,eventhoughtheywereinasameagegroup,

someofthemstartedtolearnandusecomputersearlierthanothers.Itiseasierfor

themtoacceptnewconceptsandlearnnewtechnologies.Theresultsinthispaperonly

summarizethesimilaritiesoftheirperceptionstogeneratethementalmodels.

Secondly,theculturaldifferencesexistbutarenotasobviousasbefore.

Nowadays,peoplewhohaveabilitytoaccesstheWorldWideWebareexposedto

similarinformation.Eventhoughtheirperceptionsaresomewhatinfluencedbytheir

culturebackgrounds,thedifferencesaregettingsmaller.Thisstudyfocusesonmental

modelsofusinge-commercewebsites.Eachagegroupmayhaveadifferent

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understandingoftheInternetandthisnewbusinessmodelbasedontheirexposureto

worldwideinformation.

Thirdly,thediversityinChinaissignificant,butthisstudyonlyrecruitedone

demographicgroup.ThisstudymaynothaverepresentedalltypesofChinese

consumers.DuetothequickdevelopmentofChina,consumersareatdifferentlevelsof

shoppingandpayment.Forexample,someareaccustomedtopayingwiththeircredit

card;othersstillchoosetopaywithcash.Theirneedsarealsodifferentaccordingto

theirdifferentdailylives.Itisbetterfore-commercewebsitestoprovidethemall

possiblesolutionsinordertoattractconsumersfromdifferentareasofChinaat

differentlevels.FurtherresearchisneededtounderstandmoretypesofChinese

consumersindifferentareas.

Fourthly,theresearcheristheinterviewer,observer,andanalystofthedata.In

ordertocircumventthepersonalpreference,somestrategiesareappliedinthisstudy

toincreasethevalidityandcredibility.Eventhoughparticipantshadsimilar

demographics,theywererecruitedfromtwoandmoresources.Theinterviewprotocol

wasgeneratedaccordingtoHofstede'sculturaldimensionstheoryandYoung’smental

modelstheory.Triangulationofdatasourcesandtheoriesovercomestheinadequacyof

single-investigatorandsingle-methodstudy.Theentireprocedureofrecruitmentand

interviewprotocolwereapprovedbyanexpertwhowasfamiliarwiththeChinese

culture.Therepresentativenessofparticipantswasalwayscheckedduringtheprocess

ofcodingcategoriesandusingthemasexamplestopresentthedata.

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5.5 Summary

Thischapterdiscussedthementalmodelsinthepreviouschapter.Theinvestigationof

thisgroupofconsumersprovidedesignersandresearchersadeepunderstanding,which

couldhelpthemprovidedesignsolutionstoattractmoreconsumersinthisgroup.

Designsuggestionswereprovidedbasedontheunderstandinginordertoprovide

betterserviceforChineseconsumers.

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CHAPTER6. CONCLUSION

Thepurposeofthisstudywastounderstandandexplorethementalmodelsof

Chineseconsumerstowardsthee-commercewebsites.Toachievethispurpose,a

qualitativeresearchwasconductedinChina.NineteenChineseconsumerswere

interviewedabouttheirperceptionsandonlineshoppingexperiences.Datacollected

fromtheinterviewwasanalyzedusingthethematicanalysismethod,inordertogroup

thesimilartogetherandfindpatterns.Aftergrouping,thementalmodelswere

presentedinadiagram,withtasksincategoriesindifferentmentalspaces.Thebottom

ofthediagramshowsthesupportfunctionsforthosetasks,whichbecomesthe

suggestionfordesignerstoexplorethefunctionsonthee-commercewebsites.

Amentalmodelisarepresentationformedbyconsumersbasedontheirexperienceand

observation,whichfinallyinfluencetheirtaskperformances.Duetothedifferent

culturebackgroundandshoppingenvironment,thementalmodelswithinChinaare

various.Thisstudyinvestigatedthecaseoffemaleconsumers,age35-50,

inBeijing,China.Theywouldliketoconsideronlineshoppingaspartoftheirsocial

networkingandlistentoothers’opinionsandrecommendations.Moreover,

theyalwaysdoubttheinformationandpicturesonthee-commercewebsites.Theydo

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nottrustthepaymentanddeliveryserviceeither.Theyarestillintheprocessof

learningandacceptingthisnewmodelofshopping.

Somesuggestionsfordesignersareformulated.Inordertoprovideconsumers

enoughproductoptions,appropriatefunctions,andconveytrustworthiness,thee-

commercewebsitesshouldbewell-organized.Thefirstrecommendationistolet

consumersuploadpictureswhilewritingreviews.Thesecondrecommendationisto

developanintuitivesmartphoneappforbusyconsumerstoshopintheirfreetime.The

thirdrecommendationistobecompetitivewithdifferentpaymentplatformsBasedon

theiruniquecharacteristics,designersandresearcherscanexploredesignsolutionsofe-

commerceforthem,toattractmoreconsumersinthefutureandtoentertheChinese

market.

v

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APPENDICES

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AppendixA InterviewProtocol

English:

TopicDomain:Chineseonlineconsumersmentalmodels

RecruitAgency:IamYunfanSong,agraduatestudentatPurdueUniversity.Mygoalistolearnyouropinionandexperienceofonlinefashionretailerstores.Thisisaconfidentialconversation.Theinterviewwilllastabout30minutes.Iwillgiveyouasmallgiftaftertheinterview.

Areyouinacomfortableplacetospeakfor30minutes?DoIhaveyourpermissiontorecordthisconversationfortranscriptionpurposes?(ifso,turnonrecordingandaskfortherecord.)Lead-offQuestion:Didyoubuyclothes,shoesoranyotherfashionitemsthismonth?

Tellmesomethingaboutyourexperience.Follow-upquestions:Doyoushoponline?

AppendixTableA.1continued

Concepts OnlineShoppers Notonlineshoppers

Experience • Howdoyouusuallyshop?• Whatproductsdo

youusuallybuyonline?o Howaboutfashion

products?

• Howdoyouusuallyshopphysically?

• Whatproductsdoyouusuallybuy?

• Howmuchwouldyouliketospendforshoppingeverymonth?

• Howdoyouusuallypaywhileshoppingonline?

• Howmuchwouldyouliketospendforonlineshoppingeverymonth?

o Howmuchwouldyouliketospendonfashionproducts?

• Couldyoutellmesomeofyourexperienceaboutreceivingpackages?

• Whatareadvantagesanddisadvantagesofhomedelivery?

AppendixTableA.1InterviewQuestions

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• Haveyoueverusedmobilephonestoshoponline?Howwastheexperiencelike?

• Whatareadvantagesanddisadvantagesofusingmobilephones?

Motivation • Whatmakeyoushoponline?

• Whenandwhydoyouchooseonlineshoppinginsteadofregularphysicalshopping?

• Whattheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofonlineshopping?

/

Expectation • Whatareyourexpectationsofonlineshopping?

• Whatareyourexpectationsofonlineshopping?

• Whatarefunctionsorfeaturesthatwillmakeyouwanttotryonlineshopping?

Barriers • Whatareyourdifficultieswhileshoppingonline?

o Couldyoupleaseshowmesomeexamples?

• Howwouldyouovercomethedifficultiesfinally?

• Whatstopsyoufromonlineshopping?

• Whatareyouworriedaboutonlineshopping?

• Areyouafraidoffraud?o Ifso,couldyoutell

meyourexperienceorstoryyouheardbefore?

• Whattheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofonlineshoppingdoyouthink?

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Chinese:�¬p�}�Ð]¬ð[ÊfnÕÚàÑ�

�ÚàÕ×Õ¬�Ā�v�îîĔ±ĶÕèGV�È�Ě¬�¿ßuÕđč�ģĉ

ą�ífæ30;Ĥ�ģĉé·«�x�=�%yÝW��Ð]ÕkC¬S¨,ìíđč30;Ĥ�

�¬S0Ć��Ã¿včÕ5t",©QÕĘ6V;¹�

�iº¬��ıĈc� ďÆ�ı��

ËėĨĴ��Ě�¯¬S��û±�İl�ñ4 $'±ĶXW��ô;��

Ĕ�Ě��W«ÕèGR�

ĖěĨĴ��¬S¬]î�Ĕ�ÕĚ�XW�


¾� îĔñ įîĔñèG • ��«¬i'ĔÎÕ�

• �îĔ�÷Ĕ��XW�

o �]î�Ĕ�±ĶR�

• ��«¬i'rĪÉĕÕ�• ��÷ġ&Ĕ��XW�• �Å�¯]ĔÎ�ÕÉĕf¾¬ezĥ�

• �îĔ¬ġ¬i'!ÀÕ�

• ��_Å�¯]îĔ�ÕÉĕf¾¬ezĥ�

o 4�±ĶXWf¾øĕ�ez�

• �ôUċ��£DýÕèGR�

• �Ă�Ĝē�ħÕhbV`b¬��

AppendixTableA.2InterviewQuestions(Chinese)

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• �Ò�µ]î��ę�þR�

o Ò�µîĔÕèG¬�½Õ�

• �Ă�Ò�µîĔÕhbV`b¬��

Aµ

• �îĔÕHZ¬��• ]��8�&Ğ�îĔò¬�úĔÎ��

��• �Ă�îĔÕhbV`b¬��

/

ĳ² • �vîĔÕĳ²�ÿÆ�¬��

• �vîĔÕĳ²�ÿÆ�¬��

• °��?ô�ñÏ�&ă��{Č�îĔ�

ĭÜ • �]îĔÕ«/ğ=ę��ĨĴR�

o �ôê�Ø��*lR�

• Q¸�¬i'Ā7Õ�

• �îĔÕHZ¬��• �®��ÕĨĴ¬��• ��ĊķR�

o iº¬��HZą��ÕèG�ñT=

Õ¥�R�• �Ă�îĔ®fÕ�â¬��

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AppendixB DemographicSurvey

English:

Demographic

Gender�_____________ Age�_____________Location�_____________EducationalLevel�☐Elementaryschool☐MiddleSchool☐HighSchool☐College,nodegree☐Bachelor’sdegree☐Master’sdegreeOccupation�_____________IncomeLevel�(RMB��/monthly)☐1000-3000☐3000-5000☐5000-8000☐8000-10000☐10000-15000☐15000-20000☐above20000Households�_______________

Chinese:

��#��_____________ ��_____________�+��_____________�(��☐"$�'!☐�-☐�-�-.☐�.☐�$☐%��'�,&�_____________�� (��)/*)☐1000-3000☐3000-5000☐5000-8000☐8000-10000☐10000-15000☐15000-20000☐20000'� ��_______________

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AppendixC RecruitmentMaterials

English:“Hello,mynameisYunfanSong.IamagraduatestudentatPurdueUniversityintheComputerGraphicsTechnology,andIaminChinaundertakingresearchthatwillbeusedinmymasterthesis.IamstudyingtheperceptionandexpectationofChineseconsumerstowardsonlineshoppingenvironmentoffashionproducts.Iwouldliketoaskyouseriousofquestionsaboutyourexperienceofonlineshoppingornormalphysicalshoppingandcurrentbarriers.Theinformationyousharewithmewillbegoodforresearchersanddesignerstomakeculturalappropriatewebsites.Theinterviewwilltakeabout30minutes.Thereisasmallriskofabreachofconfidentiality,butalleffortswillbemadetoeverythingyoutellmeinthestrictestconfidentiality.Iwillnotcollectyournameanduseyourpersonalinformationinthetextofmythesisoranyotherpublications.Therearenootherexpectedrisksofparticipation.Participationisvoluntary.Ifyoudecidenottoparticipate,therewillbenopenaltyorlossofbenefitstowhichyouareotherwiseentitled.Youcan,ofcourse,declinetoanyquestions,aswellastostopparticipatingatanytime,withoutanypenaltyorlossofbenefitstowhichyouareotherwiseentitled.Iwouldliketomakeanaudiorecordingoftheinterview,sothatIcanhaveanaccuraterecordoftheinformationthatyouprovidetome.Itisonlyformemorypurpose.Iwilltranscribethatrecordingbyhand,andwillkeepthetranscriptsconfidentialandsecurelyinmypossession.IwilldestroythedemographicquestionnaireandaudiorecodingafterItranscribeit.Ifyouhaveanyadditionalquestionsconcerningthisresearchoryourparticipationinit,pleasefeelfreetocontactme,myprincipleinvestigator,Dr.Vorvoreanu,([email protected],1-765-496-7709)orouruniversityresearchoffice(1-765-494-5942)atanytime.”Doyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthisresearch?Doyouagreetoparticipate?Ifso,wecanstartarrangethetime.Thankyou.”

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Chinese:“)h��¬p�}��¬ð[�fnāäµ\��´��ÕÚàÑ��Ð]]�[��ÕÚàÑć§Úà£Į��¦¡� �Â]Úà�[Éĕñv�]î�Ĕ�±ĶXWÕØÈVÿÆ� �x&Ĩ��°3��3�îĔ�ñ©�ÉĕÕĨĴ�"JÐ]m]ÕĭÜ��¢+

Õ.�x&°B�ÚàñVĈā~�KĝN�[ÉĕñÕîĔîá� ģĉx�í 30;Ĥ� �"�Uċ�Õ.�x&1Ġ-u�iºÇuĵĬ�&�y��&Ą��

ÕjP��Õ��.��&]�Õć§�4 :ÍÎ�:Ð�īÃ�d

&°4 ÕĵĬ� I@Úà¬õ�Õ�iº�7qI@�x&wö$'bï�ñ g� �Ì��M"�ëYã»�ĨĴ��]$'«/çÁI@Ě¿Úà�O½&

wö$'bï�ñ g� �Õģĉ5txüĎı�ı",��M"9ÛĄ��¢+Õ.��ıLÒ�Ą�

5t��x&��ı5tĘ6�� ¤]o1-uÕ^¨��ª�ıVĐ¼ĨFüĘ6�H³x&üĦÄ�iºvõ|(�ÃĲÚàI�ñÕ¶<°ÔĨ��M"��Õw~ VorvoreanuEa�[email protected]�1-765-496-7709��ñ�#fnÕÞnÚàÖÙ>2sóå�Óč¬1-765-494-5942�ďĨ�vĚ¿ģĉ°��ĨĴ��¬SO�I��iº�O�I��#M"æh«ĩěùģĉ�ĒĒ�ÕĢN�”

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AppendixD IRBInternationalResearch

ResearcherNarrative

Iama23-yearoldChinesewoman,whoiscurrentlypursuingmyMaster’s

degreeintheU.S.IwasbornandgrownupinBeijing,China.WhenIwasyoung,my

familyencouragedmetoexploretheworldbyusingcomputerandtheInternet.Iwas

abletoaccesstheInternetsinceIwas8yearsold.Myauntandherhusbandcameto

theU.S.whenIwasinelementaryschoolandworkedintheITindustryuntilnow.They

providedmealotofinspirationandencouragementaboutmydreamoftechnology.

Ispentmy18yearslivinginBeijing,Chinaandreceivededucationfrom

kindergartentohighschoolthere.IlearnedChineseculture,geography,humanity,

politicsandlawsintheclassandstillcanrecallthemnow.MandarinChineseismy

nativelanguagesoIcanspeak,read,andunderstandMandarinChinesethoroughly.I

willconductmyinterviewinBeijingandtheprimarylanguageusinginBeijingis

MandarinChinese.ThewholeinterviewprocesswillbeinMandarinChinese.Itis

comfortableforintervieweetoanswerthequestionsandalsogoodformetointerpret

theiranswers.

WhiledoingresearchaboutuserexperienceanddesigninAmerica,basedonmy

internationalbackground,Irealizedtheculturaldifferenceoftargetusersmaycause

problemswhentheyareusingthewebsites.AsaChinese,Iamalsoawareofthe

developmentofChina,technicallyandeconomically.Itisagoodtimingtothinkabout

theimportanceofcultureindesignandprovidebetterserviceorexperienceforChinese

customers.Accordingtomyownexperienceofworkingindesignteamsofdifferent

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countries,Ibelievethatunderstandingtheroleofcultural-sensitivedesignishelpfulfor

designersandcompanytodecidebetweenstandardizationandadaptionduringtheir

processofinternationalization.

Atthebeginningofthisstudy,participantswillbemypersonalacquaintance.Itis

easierforthemtosharetheirexperienceandpersonalopinionwithme.Attheendof

theirinterview,Iwillaskthemiftheyknowanyotherpeoplethatmeetthecriteria.

SnowballsamplingworkswellinChinabecausepeoplewilltrustmeifIamintroduced

bysomeonetheyknow.Thissamplingstrategywillprovidemeinformation-richcases

andparticipantsarewillingtosharetheiropinionwithmeatthesametime.

Duringtheconductoftheresearch,sinceIwillbeinChina,Iwillemailmy

principleinvestigator,Dr.Vorvoreanuifthereareanychangesorproblems.

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