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Preface
The main aim of this study, completed in May 2004, was to advance understanding of consumer adoption of the Internet as a shopping medium through an integrated perspective of innovation adoption and consumer decision-making processes. Since the late 1990s, Internet retailers have been striving to increase sales and profitability. Until now, the profitability of e-tailers has not been substantial enough to improve their stock prices despite Internet shopping becoming a mainstream consumer activity. There is thus a growing need for a better understanding of consumers’ behavior in the commercial online environment.
Research centered on understanding consumer adoption of e-commerce and understanding online consumer behavior has developed into a mainstream activity in marketing and retail management and consumer behavior areas. Widespread acceptance of information technology, along with the fast-changing pace of technology and consumer dynamics, has created the need to generate knowledge in this area. Since May 2004, there have been academic contributions and developments in industry that are especially relevant to this research. From a scholarly perspective, several significant papers have been presented.