Chapter XV: How InnovativenessInfluences Internet Shopping

Ronald E. Goldsmith
Florida State University, USA

Barbara A. Lafferty
University of South Florida, USA

Abstract

Innovativeness is a willingness to try new things. Combined with other factors, innovativeness leads consumers to be among the first to adopt new ideas, products, and practices, such as buying online. As an individual difference trait, innovativeness can be conceptualized at three levels of generality: a global personality trait, general marketplace innovativeness, and domain-specific innovativeness. The present study assessed the impact of the first and third of these types of innovativeness on cybershopping. Data were collected through a survey of 303 consumers. Four hypotheses were proposed and supported. Global innovativeness and domain-specific innovativeness (online innovativeness) were positively correlated with each other and with amount of online buying. Domain-specific innovativeness also mediated the influence of global innovativeness on online buying behavior. Moreover, the relationships were weakly moderated by gender of respondent. These findings are consistent with previous studies and help to explain how personality influences online buying.