A cross cultural comparison of American and Swiss female perceptions of trust on Internet purchase behaviors

The present research study was designed to fill the gap in understanding the differences in attitudes between women in the United States and in Switzerland regarding online purchasing. The purpose of the quantitative study was to determine whether there was a difference between the attitudes of women in the United States and Switzerland toward online shopping in terms of trust and purchase behaviors. The goals of this study were to determine if there were differences between the attitudes of women in the United States and Switzerland which influenced fewer purchases on line and the reasons behind these differences. The two survey populations included 211 American and 168 Swiss participants.;Six independent variables included socioeconomic level (SES), age, perceptions of trust, risk, culture, and store size/reputation. The dependent variable for both U.S. and Swiss participants was purchase behavior. Three factors were identified in the first analysis using principle component factor analysis with Varimax rotation. Statistical analyses led to the following conclusions: (a) No distinction was found between the attitudes of women in the two groups toward Online shopping and purchasing behaviors because of perceptions of trust. (b) As the perception of risk of Online shopping increased, Internet purchase behavior decreased. (c) Findings were mixed regarding the question of whether socioeconomic status (SES) and age of participants in the two groups had any relationship to attitudes toward online shopping and purchasing behaviors because of perceptions of trust. (d) The ability to generalize conclusions about the relationship of age, trust, and purchasing behavior was limited because most participants were under age 35. (e) The relationship between perception of risk and Online shopping behavior was not due to cultural distinctions, which was unexpected. (f) As the perceived influence of size and reputation increased, the Internet purchasing behavior increased. (f) Both American and Swiss cultures may be experiencing changes impacting the differences between the two groups on the above variables, especially among young women.