The influence of culture, emotions, intangibility, and atmospheric cues on online behavior

Abstract

This paper examines how emotions and website atmospheric cues influence service tangibility and consumer attitudes. The proposed model was compared across three cultures: North America (Canada and U.S.), China, and the Middle East. The findings support the overall model and demonstrate several non-invariant paths across the groups. Particularly, the results suggest how the influences of two emotional dimensions (pleasure and dominance) on consumer perceptions of site atmospherics vary across cultures. Moreover, the effects of service tangibility dimensions (physical tangibility, specificity, and mental tangibility) on consumers' attitudes toward the website and service vary significantly across the three cultures. Mental tangibility has the greatest influence on North American customers' attitudes, while physical tangibility and specificity have the greatest impact on Chinese and Middle Eastern customers' attitudes, respectively.