Consumers' behaviour in the use of online services and the cultures effect on it-a study of Swedes and Danes use of online job databases
Job databasesOnline consumer behaviourOnline servicesTechnology-based self servicesCultureManagement of enterprisesFöretagsledningManagementBusiness and Economics
The thesis deals with consumers behaviour in the use of online services and the cultures effect on it. It is a study of Swedes and Danes use of online job data bases. The thesis is based on a quantitative study. A questionnaire were used sent out to 80 Swedes and 80 Danes. The theory concerns areas of online consumer behaviour, decision making and services theory as well as theories within culture in relation to services and behaviour. The conclusion was that for the decision making process in the first part the problem recognition, some use the online job data base because they want to find a better opportunity and some because they want to change their state. This is due to either functional or hedonic motives. Both nationalities have heard of this type of service from external sources, although different ones. The frequency is a bit more often than once a month and the amount spent on each visit is between 10-15 minutes. In the evaluation of alternatives, the known set is 5, and the evoked set is 3. For the product choice the consumers are loyal to 2 alternatives and the reason for that, the determinant attribute, was the good information the job data base delivered. We can see that the most important criteria for consumers in the use of online job databases is information. There are supplements being used for this type of service which is foremost the newspaper but also company web pages. The use varies depending on the purpose. It can be seen that culture to some extent affects the consumers? behaviour in the use of online job databases. Sometimes the differences between the two nationalities can also be explained by various motives (hedonic or functional motives) for using the job database. The many similarities found can also be due to the cultural closeness on Hofstede dimensions of culture but also that it was students that were being researched, which tend to behave similarly. Other explanations are that culture plays a less important role in web sites than in ?traditional? services.