Effects of web experience on consumer choice: a multicultural approach

This paper seeks to analyze the buying behavior of Internet users in two European countries with different cultural backgrounds Spain and The Netherlands assessing the influence of online experience factors on the choice of an Internet vendor It also aims to identify and compare the influence of personal and behavioral characteristics on the e-vendor choice The study simulated a realistic virtual shopping activity in the computer laboratory participants had to complete an online shopping assignment and an online questionnaire The findings indicate that the basic traits of the online consumer behavior of Internet users in the two countries are quite similar Most of the disparities observed are attributed to different levels of experience with the Internet as a commercial channel The outcome could suggest the emergence of a global virtual village an issue worthy of further research but also of particular importance for global web vendors and website designers The basic limitation of the study is that it