| An agent based model (ABM) to investigate the dynamics of human purchasing behavior within an online environment is presented. Based on empirical research, both extrinsic and intrinsic influencing factors such as disposition to trust, impulsive behavior, security perception and others were identified to describe the characteristics of a population comprised mainly of college students. Classification tree analysis was used to generate the decision rules and parameters serving as input data for the model. As a result, this study demonstrates how ABM can be used to analyze consumer behavior to cope with the dynamic changes and complexities in a real-world environment. Experimental findings suggest that the adaptation process to this environment is mainly based on both the increment on the level of trust in online review sites visited, along with an increment in the knowledge about the procedures and security mechanisms available for online transactions. Both factors reduce the rate of non-buyers. |
