Impulse buying is rapidly becoming the predominant engine for revenue generation in digital environments due to the emerging technological capabilities in tailoring persuasive messages to match the specific context in which a consumer is situated at any given moment. Yet, despite a long history of research into impulsive buying, there is neither a strong theoretical framework to explain how impulse buying behavior manifests nor is there ample consideration being accorded to the role of technology in driving such behavior. To this end, we build on the Self-Regulation Theory (SRT) to advance a Theory of Technology-Driven Impulse Buying that posits how technological stimuli in the form of contextualized triggers and transaction support can inspire impulse buying behavior. The model was subsequently validated in the context of in-app purchase by surveying existing users of mobile applications. Based on our data analysis, a majority of hypothesized relationships were corroborated by the empirical evidence, thereby lending credibility to the applicability of our proposed theory in eliciting salient technological drivers of impulse buying within digital environments.
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