Using DEMATEL to explore the relationship of factors affecting consumer behaviors in buying online products

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze factors influencing consumers behaviors in buying online products by applying Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. Seven criteria i.e. Delivery Time (A), Reputation of the company (B), Guarantees and Warrantees (C), Privacy of information (D), Good description of goods (E), Security (F), Prices of the product (G) were employed from the previous study by Research methods at Illinois State university under the direction of Dr.Micheal P Dumler. In this study, five experts were involved in order to determine the degree of direct influence between two factors through a pair wise comparison. The results revealed that the top three important criteria affecting consumers in buying online products are Reputation of the company (B), Price of the product (G) and Delivery Time (A), respectively. Furthermore, a cause and effect relation diagram was also constructed to gain a better understanding of the interactive relationship between those factors. It was found that Reputation of the company (B) has the most influence on other factors, whereas Security(F) gets the most impact from other factors. Finally, this paper provides some practical suggestions for relevant agencies and policy makers based on the analysis.