Customer-Initiated and Firm-Initiated Online Shopping Visits under Competition for Attention: A Conceptual Model and Empirical Analysis

Abstract

In the recent past, several studies have empirically compared the effectiveness of two or more online marketing channels in influencing consumer behavior. While some of these studies have found that the effectiveness tends to vary across channels, at a conceptual level, there is no clear understanding of why such consumer differences exist. There is, therefore, an urgent need to develop a conceptual understanding of how different online marketing channels work so that they can be deployed effectively. To address this need, we present a conceptual model based on prior research in online visit types and competition for attention. Specifically, we examine whether the influence of the type of visit (customer-initiated or firm-initiated) engendered by the marketing channel is moderated by the competition for the consumer’s attention inherent in the channel. The model helps us understand why and how different online channels influence consumers’ search and purchase behaviors in different ways. We test our research hypotheses based on this model by conducting an empirical study on data obtained from a major financial services firm and also on data from an online computer retailer. The results from the empirical analysis provide support for our central thesis that competition for attention moderates the influence of the type of visit on online shopping behavior, and help us identify important managerial implications.

Keywords: conceptual model, online shopping, customer-initiated channel, firm-initiated channel, competition for attention

JEL Classification: M3, M15