Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing

ISSN: 1054-8408 (Print) 1540-7306 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/wttm20

The Antecedents of Consumer Online Buying

Impulsiveness on a Travel Website: Individual
Internal Factor Perspectives

Wen-Hai Chih, Cedric Hsi-Jui Wu & Hung-Jen Li

To cite this article: Wen-Hai Chih, Cedric Hsi-Jui Wu & Hung-Jen Li (2012) The Antecedents
of Consumer Online Buying Impulsiveness on a Travel Website: Individual Internal
Factor Perspectives, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 29:5, 430-443, DOI:
10.1080/10548408.2012.691393

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Published online: 10 Jul 2012.

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Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 29:430–443, 2012
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1054-8408 print / 1540-7306 online
DOI: 10.1080/10548408.2012.691393

THE ANTECEDENTS OF CONSUMER ONLINE

BUYING IMPULSIVENESS ON A TRAVEL WEBSITE:
INDIVIDUAL INTERNAL FACTOR PERSPECTIVES
Wen-Hai Chih
Cedric Hsi-Jui Wu
Hung-Jen Li

ABSTRACT. As many consumers have possessed a high-quality Internet access, the market scale of
e-travel service business showed rapid growth. The convenience and anonymity of Internet shopping
increase opportunities for e-impulse buying. However, most previous studies focused on the effect of
website design characteristics on online impulsive buying behavior, and few explored such behavior
from consumer individual internal factor perspectives. Therefore, this study attempts to integrate indi-
vidual internal factors influencing consumer online buying impulsiveness, and further to clarify the
potential relationships among constructs. The results show that hedonic consumption needs, impul-
sive buying tendency, positive affect, and normative evaluations significantly and positively influence
buying impulsiveness. Consumer impulsive buying tendency has a positive impact on their normative
evaluations. Positive affect during online shopping is positively associated with hedonic consumption
needs and normative evaluations. Overall, the above findings provide some important implications.

KEYWORDS. Hedonic consumption needs, impulsive buying tendency, positive affect, normative
evaluations, buying impulsiveness

INTRODUCTION million in 2009, which were expected to sur-

Even though the financial tsunami occurring
in the second half of 2008 caused an eco-
nomic recession, global online shopping sales
still exhibited a rising trend (Department of
Commerce, 2009). For example, the estima-
tion of U.S. overall online market in 2011 will
be $194.4 billion, and even it is expected to
reach $229.1 billion in 2013 (Department of
Commerce, 2010a). Similarly, The B2C online
shopping sales in Taiwan were $64.87 hundred
pass $125 hundred million in 2012 (Department
of Commerce, 2010a). Overall, with the pro-
gressive recovery of European and American
markets and the rapid growth of Chinese mar-
ket, the market scale of worldwide e-commerce
will continually expand in the future.
As information technology increasingly pro-
gresses, Asian Internet applications are rapidly
developing. The Forrest predicted that global
Internet users will reach 2,200 million by
2013, and reported that developing countries

Wen-Hai Chih (E-mail: whchih@mail.ndhu.edu.tw), Cedric Hsi-Jui Wu (E-mail: cedric@mail.

ndhu.edu.tw), and Hung-Jen Li (E-mail: m9332001@ems.ndhu.edu.tw) are in the Department of Business
Administration at National Dong-Hwa University, No. 1, Sec. 2, Da Hsueh Rd., ShouFeng, Hualien, 97401,
Taiwan, R.O.C.
Address correspondence to: Hung-Jen Li at the above address.

430
 Chih, Wu, and Li
have the greatest growth, in which the Asian
population accounts for 43% (Department of
Commerce, 2010b). For example, according
to the latest survey on broadband usage in
Taiwan, by the end of January 2011, Taiwan’s
Internet users were about 16.95 million which
accounted for 74% of the total population
(Taiwan Network Information Center, 2011).
Similarly, the statistics showed that China’s
Internet users in 2010 have reached 457 mil-
lion, raising 19.1% compared to the previous
year; furthermore, China’s broadband penetra-
tion rate also increased to 98.3% (China Internet
Watch, 2011). As mentioned above, the conclu-
sions reveal that the future Internet applications
in Asia will have huge potential and business
opportunities.
Recently, the market scale of the e-travel ser-
vice business presented the high-speed growth
(Dickinger & Bauernfeind, 2009; Mistilis &
D’Ambra, 2008; Tsang, Lai, & Law, 2010).
The total sales of U.S. online tours in
2006 accounted for 49% of overall travel mar-
ket revenues, and increased to nearly 60% in
2010 (von Abrams, 2010). Furthermore, eMar-
keter indicated that U.S. online travel sales are
estimated to rise 46% to $145 billion from
2009 to 2015 (ITB Berlin, 2011). Even if the
Internet shopping market was affected by the
financial tsunami (Department of Commerce,
2010b), the investigation showed that the expen-
diture of U.S. online travel reached $111 bil-
lion in 2008 and was expected to increase to
$153 billion by 2013 (Harteveldt, 2009; Tsang
et al., 2010). Similarly, online travel sales in
the Asia Pacific region gradually raised from
9% of total travel revenues in 2006 to 21% in
2010, growing about 133% (von Abrams, 2010).
For example, as more consumers possessed a
high-quality Internet access, Taiwan’s online
booking increased gradually and travel products
occupied the largest proportion of the online
customer market (Ku & Fan, 2009; Market
Intelligence & Consulting Institute, 2005).
Overall, the market scale of Taiwan’s online
travel products still constantly expanded from
$21.90 hundred million in 2008 to $29.45 hun-
dred million in 2010 (Department of Commerce,
2010a). Based on the above, it can be expected
that the future development of the online travel
431
market remains a compelling focal point after
the economic recovery.
Due to the complexities and prevalence
across product categories of impulse buying,
it has been a main issue in consumer behav-
ior research (Sharma, Sivakumaran, & Marshall,
2010). However, most previous studies have
focused on the consumer impulsive buying
behavior in physical shops, while neglecting
such behavior in the context of online shop-
ping. Nowadays, with the economic and social
changes, the convenience and anonymity of
Internet shopping have increased e-impulse
buying opportunities (Kervenoael, Aykac, &
Palmer, 2009; Sun & Wu, 2011). Generally,
webpages are filled with various advertisements
and promotional messages. Since theses diverse
marketing stimuli can induce impulsive buy-
ing behavior at any time, recent investigations
have begun to concentrate on e-impulse buy-
ing (e.g., Adelaar, Chang, Lancendorfer, Lee, &
Morimoto, 2003; Gefen, Karahanna, & Straub,
2003; Kervenoael et al., 2009; Koufaris, 2002;
Madhavaram & Laverie, 2004; Parboteeah,
Valacich, & Wells, 2009).
Previous studies have focused on the effects
of website design factors on online impul-
sive buying behavior (e.g., Koufaris, 2002;
Madhavaram & Laverie, 2004; Parboteeah et al.,
2009). However, few studies have explored
e-impulse buying behavior from consumer indi-
vidual internal factor perspectives. As sug-
gested by Tsang et al. (2010), online travel
operators should facilitate their further under-
standing of customers’ expectations, needs, and
wants for responding to technology changes and
intense competition within the tourism industry.
Namely, successful travel website practitioners
have to understand customer perceptions and
provide web content satisfying customer needs
(Law, Leung, & Buhalis, 2009). In other words,
we consider that consumers’ individual inter-
nal factors have a crucial impact on their online
impulse buying behavior for e-travel products,
which is also our core research theme.
Since online shopping is conducted via a
human-computer interface, many external envi-
ronmental factors (e.g., store atmosphere and
personal selling) can not directly influence
consumers who access the Internet in the private
432 JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING
space (e.g., home, office, or workshop). Unlike
the consumption activities in the physical stores,
which are susceptible to numerous uncontrol-
lable external factors, consumers can fully con-
trol their browsing behavior in online shopping.
Under such circumstances, individual internal
factors (e.g., personal needs, traits, values, and
affect) have more significant and strong effects
on consumer buying behavior. Early studies
have found some direct and indirect factors
influencing impulsive buying behavior—such
as personal emotion and mood, affect, nor-
mative evaluations, impulsive buying tendency,
and individual needs (e.g, Beatty & Ferrell,
1998; Hausman, 2000; Rook & Fisher, 1995;
Weun, Jones, & Beatty, 1998; Zhang, Prybutok,
& Strutton, 2007). However, regrettably, the
potential relationships among theses individ-
ual internal factors have not been clarified.
Thus, based on the previous works, this study
attempts to integrate individual internal factors
(including hedonic consumption needs, posi-
tive affect, impulsive buying tendency, norma-
tive evaluations) influencing consumer online
buying impulsiveness, and further to identify
the potential relationships among constructs.
In sum, the research purposes are: (a) to
examine how individual hedonic consumption
needs influence both positive affect and buying
impulsiveness; (b) to investigate how consumer
impulsive buying tendency influences both nor-
mative evaluations and buying impulsiveness;
and (c) to explore the relationships among nor-
mative evaluations, positive affect, and buy-
ing impulsiveness. Figure 1 shows the research
framework in this study. Overall, by clarifying
how individual internal factors in online shop-
ping affect consumer buying impulsiveness,
we expect to provide some useful insights for
academia and practitioners.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Impulsive Buying Behavior and Buying
Impulsiveness
Impulsive buying behavior is a sudden,
immediate, and unplanned purchase (Beatty
& Ferrell, 1998; Rook & Fisher, 1995; Rook
FIGURE 1. Research Framework
& Hoch, 1985; Stern, 1962; Weun et al.,
1998). Stern (1962) suggested that impulsive
buying refers to consumers engaging in irra-
tional and unreflective unplanned buying when
they are influenced by external stimuli; further-
more, impulsive buying are divided into four
categories (i.e., impulse mix)—including pure
impulse buying, reminder impulse buying, sug-
gestion impulse buying, and planned impulse
buying. Rook (1987) defined impulsive buy-
ing as “a consumer experiences a sudden, often
powerful and persistent urge to buy something
immediately” (p. 191). Furthermore, impulse
buying is hedonically complex and can stim-
ulate emotional conflicts (Rook, 1987). That
is, consumers have no intention to purchase a
specific product before entering stores; how-
ever, consumers experience a sudden and imme-
diate purchase desire on seeing the product.
Therefore, impulsive buying behavior is typi-
cally spontaneous and unreflective (Beatty &
Ferrell, 1998). The studies indicated that the
concept of impulsive buying behavior is unin-
tended, immediate, unreflective, and accompa-
nied with intense feeling states (Rook, 1987;
Weun et al., 1998; Wood, 1998). Based on
the above, this study concludes that impulsive
buying behavior is a sudden, unreflective, and
unintended purchase after experiencing internal
and external stimuli.
Previous studies argued that consumer impul-
sive behavior observed in controlled con-
texts is problematic (Luo, 2005; Parboteeah
et al., 2009). Some scholars thought that
impulsive buying does not meet rational
and economic consumer behavior, whereas
 Chih, Wu, and Li
it relates to hedonic psychosocial motiva-
tions and low-effort, feeling-based decision-
making (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982; Hoyer
& Macinnis, 2007; Sharma et al., 2010). Even
impulsive buying was viewed as a negative
event by early marketing scholars, in which con-
sumers should feel guilty about engaging in
such behavior (Kervenoael et al., 2009). Thus,
when consumers are asked to recall the last
impulsive purchase, or when their actual behav-
iors are monitored, their responses or behav-
iors can be biased owing to their felt pres-
sure to respond in a socially desirable man-
ner (Smith & Bolton, 1998; Parboteeah et al.,
2009). Both impulsiveness and impulsivity are
used interchangeably in studies on impulse
purchases (Rook & Fisher, 1995). Compared
with the difficulty and bias involved in mea-
suring actual impulse purchases, Beatty and
Ferrell (1998) suggested that the psychologi-
cal notion of impulsivity (i.e., impulsiveness)
is more suitable for operationalizing the mea-
sure of impulse buying behavior. In a study on
online impulse purchase, Zhang et al. (2007)
replaced impulsive buying behavior with con-
sumer impulsivity and adopted the scale used
by Rook and Fisher (1995) for measuring buy-
ing impulsiveness. Furthermore, Sharma et al.
(2010) indicated that consumer impulsiveness
has a strong and positive association with
impulse buying. Consequently, the present study
treats buying impulsiveness as a reasonable
proxy of impulsive buying behavior. Overall,
we define buying impulsiveness as a sponta-
neous, immediate and unreflective, and kinetic
consumer purchase intention.
Hedonic Consumption Needs
Stern (1962) proposed nine factors affecting
impulse buying, one of which is the degree of
consumer need for an item. Hedonic consump-
tion needs means that consumers seek to satisfy
their needs for fun, novelty, and surprise during
shopping experience (Hausman, 2000). Hedonic
shopping reflects entertainment and emotional
worth in consumer shopping (Babin, Darden, &
Griffin, 1994; Bellenger, Steinberg, & Stanton,
1976), and is related to the multisensory and
433
emotional arousal (Hirschman & Holbrook,
1982). Beatty and Ferrell (1998) suggested that
shopping enjoyment is associated with the plea-
sure individuals obtain in the shopping process,
and shoppers may enjoy some shopping con-
texts. Overall, this study defines hedonic con-
sumption needs as the potential needs of con-
sumers to satisfy individual subjective fun and
pleasure during shopping.
Rook (1987) indicated that impulse buy-
ing includes hedonic elements, and makes
consumers feel good, happy, satisfied, light,
wonderful, or high. Some researchers have
agreed that impulsive buying involves hedonic
or affective components (Cobb & Hoyer,
1986; Hausman, 2000; Piron, 1991; Rook &
Fisher, 1995; Weinberg & Gottwald, 1982;
Yu & Bastin, 2010). Numerous researchers
also claimed that impulse buying satisfies con-
sumers’ hedonic desires (Hausman, 2000; Piron,
1991; Rook, 1987; Thompson, Locander, &
Pollio, 1990; Yu & Bastin, 2010). Previous
studies reported that consumers satisfy various
hedonic needs by shopping, and the acquisition
of specific products is secondary to the action
of shopping (Hausman, 2000). Namely, since
the goal of the shopping experience is to sat-
isfy hedonic needs, the products selected during
these excursions appear to be the unplanned
and represent an impulse buying behavior
(Hausman, 2000). In short, impulsive buying
results more from a need to purchase (e.g., sat-
isfying a need for fun) than a need for a product
(Rook, 1987). Previous study demonstrated that
consumer impulsive buying relates positively to
their desires to fulfill hedonic needs; that is, con-
sumers make impulse purchases for hedonic rea-
sons (i.e., hedonic consumption needs; Beatty
& Ferrell, 1998; Hausman, 2000; Koufaris,
2002; Parboteeah et al., 2009; Yu & Bastin,
2010). Verplanken and Sato (2011) considered
that people’s impulsive buying may fulfill their
hedonic motives. Overall, this study infers that
consumers’ buying impulsiveness is aroused by
their hedonic needs. Therefore, the hypothesis is
proposed as follows:
H1 : Hedonic consumption needs have a
positive impact on buying impulsiveness.
434 JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING
Impulsive Buying Tendency
Gerbing, Ahadi, and Patton (1987) defined
impulsive buying tendency as “a tendency to
respond quickly to a given stimulus, without
deliberation and evaluation of consequences”
(p. 357). In the study on the antecedents
of impulse buying, Beatty and Ferrell (1998)
define impulsive buying tendency as the ten-
dencies to experience spontaneous and sudden
urges to make on-the-spot purchases with lit-
tle deliberation and evaluation of consequence.
Rook and Hoch (1985) proposed a psycholog-
ical model of consumer impulse buying, and
pointed out that impulse buying is character-
ized by the following five elements: (a) a sudden
and spontaneous desire to act; (b) a state of
psychological disequilibrium; (c) the onset of
psychological conflict and struggle; (d) a reduc-
tion in cognitive evaluation; and (e) lack of
regard for the consequences of impulse buying.
Weun et al. (1998) defined impulse buying ten-
dency as the degree to which an individual could
make unintended, immediate, and unreflective
purchases. Overall, this study defines impulsive
buying tendency as a consumer internal trait of
responding quickly to a given stimulus without
deliberating regarding action outcomes.
Rook and Fisher (1995) suggested that actual
consumer impulse buying depends on their
impulsive buying trait tendencies and nor-
mative judgments. That is, online consumers
with impulsive traits tend to have buying
impulsiveness. Therefore, the hypothesis is pro-
posed as follows:
H2 : Impulsive buying tendency has a positive
impact on buying impulsiveness.
Positive Affect
Affect or mood has been recognized as a
critical variable that significantly influences cer-
tain actions (including impulse buying; Beatty
& Ferrell, 1998; Gardner & Rook, 1988; Rook,
1987; Rook & Gardner, 1993). Beatty and
Ferrell (1998) indicated that the importance
of affect in shopping is consistent with the
literature on the effect of mood on impulse
buying. For consumers, unintentional browsing
or shopping may sometimes be more impor-
tant than actual product acquisition since it can
provide a highly pleasurable buying experience
(Beatty & Ferrell, 1998; MacInnis & Price,
1987; Sherry, 1990). Browsing tends to stim-
ulate positive feelings (i.e., positive affect) for
many shoppers. Positive affect is defined as the
extent to which an individual feels enthusias-
tic, active, and alert; that is, high positive affect
involves a state of high energy, full concentra-
tion, and pleasant engagement (Watson, Clark,
& Tellegen, 1988). Verhagen and Van Dolen
(2011) defined positive affect as “the extent to
which a person feels enthusiastic, excited, and
inspired” (p. 321). Overall, this study defines
positive affect as consumers’ positive emotional
feelings during shopping.
Impulsive shoppers are more emotionalized
than other consumers (Weinberg & Gottwald,
1982). Previous studies found that shopping
enjoyment influences consumer positive affect
(Beatty & Ferrell, 1998). Verplanken and Sato
(2011) indicated that people’s positive emotions
could result in impulsive purchasing. Overall,
this study infers that consumer hedonic con-
sumption needs would facilitate their positive
affect in online shopping. Therefore, the hypoth-
esis is proposed as follows:
H3 : Hedonic consumption needs have a pos-
itive impact on positive affect.
Impulsive shoppers typically show greater
feelings of amusement, delight, enthusiasm,
and joy (Beatty & Ferrell, 1998; Weinberg &
Gottwald, 1982). Previous study suggested that
impulsive buying behavior is affected by con-
sumer emotions; in other words, impulse buyers
are generally highly emotionalized (Weinberg
& Gottwald, 1982). Thus, it is reasonable to
take emotional variable as the predictor of
impulse purchase. Rook and Gardner (1993)
found that a positive mood could more easily
contribute to impulsive buying than a nega-
tive mood. Based on a literature review, the
main effect of affect on buying impulsiveness
derives from its positive affect rather than its
negative affect (Beatty & Ferrell, 1998). The
 Chih, Wu, and Li
research indicated that consumers with positive
mood state exhibit higher risk-seeking propen-
sity (e.g., Dholakia, 2000), and thus tend to
engage in impulse behavior. Based on the above,
this study infers that consumer positive affect
in online shopping would induce their buy-
ing impulsiveness. Therefore, the hypothesis is
proposed as follows:
H4 : Positive affect has a positive impact on
buying impulsiveness.
Normative Evaluations
The theory of reasoned action (TRA) noted
the concept of normative evaluations, and sug-
gested that individual subjective norms are
reflected in their behaviors (Ajzen & Fishbein,
1977). Rook and Fisher (1995) indicated that
the likelihood of consumers actually engaging
in impulse buying depends on both impulsive
buying trait tendencies and normative judg-
ments. Normative evaluations are defined as
consumer judgments regarding the appropri-
ateness of making an impulsive buying in a
specific shopping situation (Rook & Fisher,
1995). Previous studies see impulsive behavior
as irrational, immature, wasteful, and risky (e.g.,
Ainslie, 1975; Rook & Fisher, 1995). However,
for many consumers, the motives for and con-
sequences of impulsive purchases only slightly
violate social behavior norms. In certain situa-
tions, normative evaluations even contribute to
impulsive behavior since consumers may view
such behavior as the right thing (Rook & Fisher,
1995). Overall, this study defines normative
evaluations as consumer judgments regarding
the positive appropriateness of impulsive buying
behavior.
Social influence (including informational and
normative social influence) has been the rec-
ognized as an important force affecting indi-
vidual consumption behavior (e.g., Mangleburg,
Doney, & Bristol, 2004). Rook and Fisher
(1995) noted that consumers’ normative judg-
ments may proscribe or permit their impulse
purchase. Zhang et al. (2007) studied online
impulse purchasing behaviors and found that
consumer subjective norms positively influ-
ence their purchase intention and impulsivity.
435
As mentioned above, first, the present study
infers that the stronger the consumer impulsive
buying tendency, the higher the positive eval-
uations (i.e., rationalization and legitimization
of the purchase behavior) on impulsive buying
behavior. Second, this study infers that con-
sumer positive judgments regarding impulsive
buying behavior enhance their positive affect in
online shopping. Finally, we suggest that con-
sumer buying impulsiveness increases with their
positive judgments regarding online impulse
purchase. Overall, hypotheses are proposed as
follows:
H5 : Impulsive buying tendency has a positive
impact on normative evaluations.
H6 : Normative evaluations have a positive
impact on positive affect.
H7 : Normative evaluations have a positive
impact on buying impulsiveness.
METHODOLOGY
Instrument and Data Collection
The measurement of variables in this study
employed existing academic scales and prop-
erly modified the content of questionnaire
items. This study measured hedonic consump-
tion needs using the scale proposed by Hausman
(2000). Consumer positive affect in shopping
was measured using the scale of Beatty and
Ferrell (1998). The measurement of impulsive
buying tendency used the scale proposed by
Weun et al. (1998). The measurements of nor-
mative evaluations and buying impulsiveness
were based on the scale of Rook and Fisher
(1995). Except for demographic variables, this
study measured all items using 7-point Likert
scales anchored by strongly disagree (1) and
strongly agree (7).
InsightXplorer (i.e., a famous market
research company in Taiwan) investigated the
travel behavior of Taiwanese consumers in
2008, and found that the top five most favorable
online travel agencies were Liontravel, Eztravel,
Settour, Startravel, and Ezfly. To obtain the
representative samples, this study sampled con-
sumers who had purchased ex-ante unplanned
436 JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING

trips through the preceding five online travel factor (34.24%) was less than 50% of the total
websites during the past half year. Respondents variance, the obtained data exhibited no serious
were asked to complete the online questionnaire problems in CMV. Furthermore, as suggested by
based on their latest transaction experiences on Mossholder, Bennett, Kemery, and Wesolowski
these websites. A 1-month online survey was (1998), this study tested single-factor confirma-
administered on the travel forum of Yahoo! tory factor analysis. All items were incorporated
Kimo (i.e., the most popular shopping platform into a single-factor model and confirmatory
for Taiwan’s online users) in Taiwan, and factor analysis was performed. The analytical
yielded 364 valid samples. results found that not all items significantly
loaded on a single factor. Additionally, the
goodness-of-fit of the single-factor model was
RESULTS worse (χ 2 = 4749.710, df = 560, GFI = .396,
AGFI = .320, RMR = .090, RMSEA = .144,
Sample Characteristics NFI = .496, TLI = .496, CFI = .526, IFI =
.528) than that of the theoretical model proposed
According to the analytical results, there were
by this study (χ 2 = 878.106, df = 552, GFI =
more female (57.4%) than male (42.6%). Most
.883, AGFI = .867, RMR = .035, RMSEA =
respondents were 26–35 years old (57.1%), fol-
.040, NFI = .907, TLI = .960, CFI = .963,
lowed by below 25 years old (33.0%). The
IFI = .963); thus, the current study excluded
majority of respondents had a college degree
problems in CMV.
(66.8%), followed by those lower than a senior
high school degree (25.8%). Table 1 shows
detailed sample characteristics. Measurement Model
The Testing of Common Method Variance For reliability testing, this study used
Cronbach’s α coefficient to analyze the
To test for common method variance (CMV), scale reliability. The results showed that the
this study used Harman’s single-factor test Cronbach’s α coefficient of each variable was
(Podsakoff & Organ, 1986). All items were between .81 and .95, exceeding the .7 suggested
selected and exploratory factor analysis was per- by Nunnally (1978). Overall, the items in
formed; the result extracted five factors. Since each scale had good internal consistency (see
the explained variance of the extracted first Table 2).
In terms of validity testing, this study con-
TABLE 1. Demographics of the Sample ducted confirmatory factor analysis using the
estimation methods of the measurement model
Demographic variables Frequency %
proposed by Anderson and Gerbing (1988)
and employed goodness-of-fit testing to verify
Gender whether all variables possess good convergent
Male 155 42.6
and discriminant validity. First, the analytical
Female 209 57.4
results for convergent validity showed that all
Age
25 or below 120 33.0 goodness-of-fit indices were acceptable (χ 2 =
26–35 208 57.1 870.482, df = 550, GFI = .884, AGFI = .867,
36 or above 36 9.9 RMR = .028, RMSEA = .040, NFI = .908,
Marital status TLI = .961, CFI = .964, IFI = .964). The factor
Single 291 79.9 loadings of all items reached statistical signif-
Married 73 20.1
icance. The composite reliability (CR) for all
Education level
Senior high school 94 25.8
variables exceeded .6 (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988), and
or below the average variance extracted (AVE) for each
College 243 66.8 variable approximated or exceeded the criterion
Graduate school 27 7.4 of .5 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Thus, each con-
or above
struct exhibited good convergent validity (see
 Chih, Wu, and Li 437

TABLE 2. Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlation Matrix

1 2 3 4 5

1. Hedonic .75
consumption
needs
2. Impulsive .20∗∗ .68
buying
tendency
3. Positive affect .27∗∗ .06 .80
4. Normative .19∗∗ .15∗∗ .22∗∗ .82
evaluations
5. Buying .27∗∗ .17∗∗ .34∗∗ .60∗∗ .83
impulsiveness
M 3.75 3.64 5.16 4.93 5.42
SD .55 .57 .80 .69 .84
Cronbach’s α .90 .81 .88 .95 .95
CR .90 .81 .88 .95 .95
AVE .56 .47 .65 .67 .70

Note. Diagonal elements (bold numbers) represent the square root of average variance extracted; the
lower triangular region represents the correlation coefficients between the variables. M = mean; SD =
standard deviation; Cronbach’s α = reliability coefficient; CR = composite reliability; AVE = average
variance extracted.
∗ p < .05. ∗∗ p < 0.01. ∗∗∗ p < .001.

Table 2). Second, as for the discriminant valid-
ity, the analytical results showed that the square
root of AVE for each construct exceeded the
correlation coefficients among other constructs.
Consequently, each pair of constructs revealed
good discriminant validity (Fornell & Larcker,
1981; see Table 2).
Structural Model
According to Bagozzi and Yi (1988), three
aspects of goodness-of-fit should be examined.
First, regarding preliminary fit criteria, the mea-
surement errors of all indicators in this study
were not negative values, and the factor load-
ings ranged between .50 and .95 and moreover
were all significant. Therefore, the analytical
results were acceptable. Second, regarding over-
all model fit, χ 2 = 878.106, df = 552, GFI =
.883, AGFI = .867, RMR = .035, RMSEA =
.040, NFI = .907, IFI = .963, CFI = .963,
PNFI = .841, PGFI = .774. Thus, the model
fit reached the acceptable level. Third, regarding
the fit of internal structure of model, both the CR
(>.6) and AVE (>.5) for each construct were
acceptable. Consequently, the theoretical model
possessed good fit of internal structure.
Table 3 shows the results of hypothe-
sis testing. First, hedonic consumption needs,
impulsive buying tendency, positive affect, and
normative evaluations all positively influence
buying impulsiveness; thus, H1 , H2 , H4 , and
H7 were supported. Second, both hedonic
consumption needs and normative evaluations
significantly and positively influence positive
affect; thus, H3 and H6 were supported. Finally,
impulsive buying tendency significantly and
positively influence normative evaluations; thus,
H5 was supported. Overall, all hypotheses in
this study were supported. Additionally, nor-
mative evaluations has the largest effect on
buying impulsiveness (total effects = .59), and
the ranking of the effects of different fac-
tors on buying impulsiveness, from strongest
to weakest, followed the order positive affect
(total effects = .28), impulsive buying tendency
(total effects = .20), and hedonic consumption
needs (total effects = .19; see Table 4).
CONCLUSIONS
Discussion
According to the results of hypothesis test-
ing, H1 showed that hedonic consumption
needs significantly and positively influence buy-
ing impulsiveness, consistent with the views
438 JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING

TABLE 3. Results of Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesized relationship Path coefficient Conclusion

(t value)

H1 : Hedonic consumption needs→Buying .11 (2.46)∗ Supported

impulsiveness
H2 : Impulsive buying tendency→Buying .10 (2.08)∗ Supported
impulsiveness
H3 : Hedonic consumption needs→Positive affect .27 (4.44)∗∗∗ Supported
H4 : Positive affect→Buying impulsiveness .28 (5.68)∗∗∗ Supported
H5 : Impulsive buying tendency→Normative .17 (2.85)∗∗ Supported
evaluations
H6 : Normative evaluations→Positive affect .20 (3.44)∗∗∗ Supported
H7 : Normative evaluations→Buying impulsiveness .53 (10.59)∗∗∗ Supported

Note. χ 2 = 878.106; df = 552; GFI = .883; AGFI = .867; RMR = .035; RMSEA = .040; NFI = .907; IFI = .963; CFI = .963;
PNFI = .841; PGFI = .774.
∗ p < .05. ∗∗ p < .01. ∗∗∗ p < .001.

of previous studies (e.g., Hausman, 2000; impulsiveness, and may even purchase with-
Koufaris, 2002; Piron, 1991; Rook, 1987; out deliberation. H3 demonstrated that hedonic
Thompson et al., 1990). In other words, con- consumption needs significantly and positively
sumers engage in e-impulse shopping primarily influence positive affect. In a shopping process,
to satisfy various hedonic needs (e.g., fun and consumers not only acquire specific products
pleasure), and specific product acquisitions are but also satisfy their needs for pleasure. Namely,
secondary to the purchase action. H2 showed such strong desires for hedonic needs eas-
that impulsive buying tendency significantly ily stimulate consumer positive emotional feel-
and positively influences buying impulsiveness, ings. Previous researches indicated that affect
consistent with Rook and Fisher (1995). is an important variable that strongly influences
That is, consumers with higher impulsive some actions (including impulse purchasing;
buying tendency tend to have higher buying e.g., Beatty & Ferrell, 1998; Gardner & Rook,
1988; Rook, 1987; Rook & Gardner, 1993).
Similarly, H4 also proved that positive affect
TABLE 4. Direct, Indirect and Total Effects has a significant and positive impact on buying
Among Constructs impulsiveness. As mentioned previously, impul-
sive shoppers are typically more emotionalized
Dependent Independent variable (Weinberg & Gottwald, 1982). Thus, when con-
variable
HCN IBT PA NE sumers are in a positive emotional state, their
Direct effects
buying impulsiveness tends to be induced (since
PA .27 .20 they can accept higher shopping risk at that
NE .17 time). Furthermore, H5 revealed that impulsive
BI .11 .10 .28 .53 buying tendency has a significant and positive
Indirect effects
influence on normative evaluations. That is, con-
PA .03 sumers with high impulsive buying tendency
NE tended to perceive their impulse purchase as
BI .08 .10 .06 rational and appropriate (i.e., make positive nor-
Total effects
PA .27 .03 .20
mative evaluations). Finally, both H6 and H7
NE .17 showed that normative evaluations significantly
BI .19 .20 .28 .59 and positively influence positive affect and
Note. All nonzero effects are significant at p < .05. HCN = buying impulsiveness. Namely, consumer pos-
hedonic consumption needs; IBT = impulsive buying ten- itive affect and buying impulsiveness in shop-
dency; PA = positive affect; NE = normative evaluations; ping are easily enhanced if they have positive
BI = buying impulsiveness. evaluations of impulse purchase. Overall, the
 Chih, Wu, and Li
preceding findings revealed that individual inter-
nal factors play a critical role in online impulse
purchase.
Theoretical and Managerial Implications
No matter in offline or online business con-
texts, impulsive buying is a prevalent phe-
nomenon in our lives (Parboteeah et al., 2009;
Sun & Wu, 2011; Verplanken & Sato, 2011;
Yi & Baumgartner, 2011; Yu & Bastin, 2010).
As the Internet emerges, impulsive buyers con-
tact products and services more easily. The
Internet is an efficient and low-cost marketing
channel (Law et al., 2009), and it can stim-
ulate consumer buying impulsiveness (Sun &
Wu, 2011). Owing to the anonymity of Internet
shopping, consumers may feel less shamed
about e-impulse buying behavior. Over the past
few years, travel agencies have gradually used
the Internet to improve their business activities
and marketing efforts (Lee, Sung, DeFranco,
& Arnold, 2004). Furthermore, with the rapid
growth of Internet applications, the population
and purchasing power of online consumers are
increasing (Han & Mills, 2006). Previous stud-
ies indicated that online travel products will out-
sell other online products in the future (Dabas &
Manaktola, 2007; Ku & Fan, 2009). Based on
the preceding statements, we believe that con-
sumers’ online impulsive buying behavior for
travel products are worthy to further be explored
and understood.
Unlike previous studies focused on the influ-
ence of website design factors on online impul-
sive buying behavior, this study explores the
effects of consumer individual internal fac-
tors (e.g., motivation, needs, affect, and traits).
Based on the findings, this study proposes sev-
eral academic contributions. First, in online
shopping environments, consumer hedonic con-
sumption needs not only directly influence buy-
ing impulsiveness, but also influence it indi-
rectly through positive affect; in other words,
hedonic consumption needs are the crucial fac-
tor influencing online impulsive purchase inten-
tion. Second, consumer impulsive buying ten-
dency directly influences buying impulsiveness,
and even influences it indirectly via positive
normative evaluations and positive affect. That
439
is, consumer internal impulsive traits tend to
increase individual impulsive purchase inten-
tion in online environments. Finally, consumer
positive judgments regarding the appropriate-
ness of impulse buying directly and positively
influence their online impulsive purchase inten-
tion, and also indirectly impact that intention
through arousing positive affect (e.g., enthusi-
asm, concentration, and delight). In other words,
consumers’ buying impulsiveness will increase
if they see an e-impulse buying as a ratio-
nal consumption, not a negative event. Overall,
these findings are helpful to facilitate advanced
studies in the future.
Regarding practical implications, this study
makes some suggestions for travel website prac-
titioners. First, from the perspective of motiva-
tions, when travel websites can satisfy consumer
hedonic needs in browsing process, they can
further trigger consumers to make impulse pur-
chases. Therefore, website operators should try
to enhance consumer pleasure during website
navigation-such as by presenting details of the
human geographies of travel spots, promoting
trips associated with festivals at specific spots,
and proposing theme trips (e.g., Valentine’s
Day or Honeymoon trips); all these mea-
sures can enhance consumer impulsive purchase
intention. Second, positive normative evalua-
tions have the strongest influence on buying
impulsiveness, meaning that if website opera-
tors can make consumers perceive online impul-
sive buying behavior as rational and appropriate,
consumer intention to impulsively purchase spe-
cific trips will be increased. Thus, travel website
practitioners should emphasize the rationaliza-
tion and appropriateness of some trip purchases.
For example, operators can stress that trips have
excellent value for money or that certain scenery
viewable on trips only appears during specific
seasons. That is, consumer purchase intention
increases if they see a specific trip purchase as
rational and appropriate.
Limitations and Future Directions
Although this study tries to meet the sci-
entific principles, some limitations still exist.
First, this study made buying impulsiveness a
rational proxy of impulsive buying behavior
440 JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING
and attempts to predict actual consumer buying
behavior. Future studies should try to develop
or improve the operationalization and measure-
ment of online impulsive buying behavior so
as to conduct investigations more precisely.
Second, Stern (1962) classified impulsive buy-
ing behavior into pure, reminder, suggestion,
and planned categories; however, the current
study did not investigate participants’ behav-
ioral characteristics, and hence the obtained
conclusions might be not detailed enough.
Finally, tour expenditure remains relatively
expensive for most consumers, and thus online
promotions can influence consumer behav-
ior. However, we overlooked promotion-related
variables, and thus the integrality of the pro-
posed theoretical model was limited.
Suggested directions for future research are
proposed below. First, various online impul-
sive buying behavior and product promotion
plans should be incorporated into our theoret-
ical model to provide a more complete the-
oretical perspective. Second, previous studies
suggested that impulse buying might not be fully
derived from consumers’ desire for the products,
and it should also contain their hedonic needs
(e.g., fun, novelty, surprise, delight, enthusiasm,
and joy; e.g., Beatty & Ferrell, 1998; Donovan
& Rossiter, 1982; Hausman, 2000; Rook &
Fisher, 1995; Weinberg & Gottwald, 1982).
Recently, some studies have widely applied
flow theory to explore online consumer behav-
ior (e.g., Koufaris, 2002; Koufaris, Kambil,
& LaBarbera, 2001; Korzaan, 2003; Novak,
Hoffman, & Yung, 2000; Sharafi, Hedman,
& Montgomery, 2006; Skadberg & Kimmel,
2004). Since flow experience is related to
consumer perceived fun and enjoyment dur-
ing browsing websites, it meets the viewpoint
that consumers have hedonic needs. Therefore,
future studies can apply flow theory to online
impulsive buying behavior and even integrate
flow theory with TAM to acquire new academic
and practical insights. Third, as for the appro-
priateness of engaging in impulse buying, con-
sumers in different cultural contexts hold dis-
tinct attitudes toward such behavior. As previous
studies stated, cultural factors (e.g., individu-
alism, collectivism, materialism, face) would
have a significant influence on consumers’
impulsive buying behavior (Kacen & Lee, 2002;
Sun & Wu, 2011; Yu & Bastin, 2010). Thus,
future studies should try to execute the cross-
culture research comparison so as to under-
stand the effect of diverse consumers on the-
oretical model proposed by this study. Finally,
researchers have begun to pay attention to cus-
tomer value in the Internet commercial activities
(Ku & Fan, 2009). Online travel agencies must
strive for offering new or higher value to con-
sumers on the Internet when they intend to
sell products (Ku & Fan, 2009; Wolfe, Hsu,
& Kang, 2004; Xue & Harker, 2002). In the
online shopping environment, the creation of
customer value can not only retain customers
but also enhance company’s competitive advan-
tage (Chen & Dubinsky, 2003; Han & Han,
2001; Ku & Fan, 2009; Srinivasan, Anderson,
& Ponnavoulu, 2002). Ku and Fan (2009) indi-
cated that marketing managers have to under-
stand the online shopping value those con-
sumers are seeking. Overall, we suggest that
future studies can explore the influential rela-
tionships between impulsive buying behavior
and customer value in the online transaction
contexts.
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SUBMITTED: August 9, 2011
FINAL REVISION SUBMITTED:
January 15, 2012
ACCEPTED: February 2, 2012
REFEREED ANONYMOUSLY