Consumers’ involvement of online luxury

purchases

Onursal, Rubar
Reda, Nor

School of Business, Society & Engineering

Course: Master Thesis in International marketing Supervisor: Stylianos Papaioannou

Course code: FOA 403, 15 cr Date: 2022.06.01
ABSTRACT

Date: 2022-06-01

Level: Master thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr

Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University

Authors: Nor Reda Rubar Onursal

(00/02/16) (93/04/18)

Title: Consumers’ involvement of online luxury purchases

Supervisor: Stylianos Papaioannou

Keywords: Online luxury, Consumer behavior, Theory of planned behavior,

Different generational cohorts.

Research questions: What factors influence consumers’ involvement of

luxury purchases online?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the identified gap in regards
to online purchases of luxury goods in the context of cars and how it
in turn may influence consumers’ involvement. Contrasting factors
are linked to the Theory of planned behavior.

Method: This study is of a quantitative nature by conducting a web based

questionnaire. A deductive approach was undertaken to test the
relationship between the three independent variables together in
relation to the dependent variable purchase intention of the TPB. The
main analysis for this study is a multiple linear regression supported
by an exploratory factor analysis as well as a correlation analysis.

Conclusion: The results of this study reveal that the main influence of consumers’
involvement of luxury purchases online is attitude. Other factors such
as subjective norm and perceived behavioral control did have a
significant influence, henceforth not to the same extent as attitude.
 Acknowledgments
We want to express our deepest gratitude to our supervisor Stylianos Papaioannou for the
valuable guidance throughout the entire process of finalizing our master thesis.

Additionally, we would like to thank all the participants of the questionnaire as well as the
one’s sharing it with friends and family. Without these efforts, this thesis would not have been
possible.

Lastly, we want to express our appreciation to our families and friends who continuously
supported us throughout the journey.

Thank you,
Nor Reda and Rubar Onursal
Table of Contents

1. Introduction 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Problem Statement 3
1.3 Research question 4
1.4 Purpose 4
2. Literature review and conceptual framework 5
2.1 Literature review 5
2.1.1 Luxury goods 5
2.1.2 Branding 6
2.1.3 Consumer behavior of different generations of luxury goods 7
2.1.4 Framework for analyzing consumer behavior of luxury goods 8
2.2 Conceptual Framework 9
2.2.1 Theory of planned behavior (TPB) 9
2.2.1.1 Attitude 10
2.2.1.2 Subjective norm 11
2.2.1.3 Perceived behavioral control 11
2.2.1.4 Intention 12
2.2.1.5 Behavior 12
2.2.2 Framework for this study 13
3. Methodology 15
3.1 Methodological approach 15
3.2 Methods of data collection 16
3.2.1 Primary data 16
3.2.2 Construction of questionnaire - Measurement 16
3.2.3 Sampling 19
3.2.4 Operationalization - data gathering 20
3.2.5 Secondary data 22
3.3 Method of analysis 22
3.4 Reliability 24
3.5 Validity 25
4. Findings 27
4.1 Selection and multiple choice questions 27
4.2 Demographics of the respondents 27
4.3 Items 28
4.4 Correlation 29
4.5 Multiple linear regression 31

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 4.6 Exploratory factor analysis 31
5. Analysis and Discussion 33
6. Conclusion 37
7. Limitations 38
8. Recommendations and future research 38
References 39
Appendices 51
Appendix A - Items with response rate 51

List of Figures
Figure 1: Theory of planned behavior 10
Figure 2: Own theoretical framework inspired by the Theory of planned behavior 13
Figure 3: Theoretical framework with adjusted hypotheses results 33

List of Tables:
Table 1: Summary of the study’s hypotheses 14
Table 2: Inspired Items for each variable of the TPB 20
Table 3: Operationalization table 21
Table 4: Descriptives table 24
Table 5: Demographic table 27
Table 6: Correlation table 30
Table 7: Factor loadings for each item 32

List of Model:
Model 1: Multiple linear regression model 31

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1. Introduction

In this chapter, a brief background concerning the topic will be discussed, followed by the
problem statement, the research question that this study will investigate and lastly the
purpose of this study.

1.1 Background
The concept of online shopping has existed since 1967, offering customers an alternative
option to traditional brick and mortar retail shopping (Doody & Davidson, 1967; Grewal et
al., 2009). In the recent decade, the online shopping market has been growing at a rapid pace,
partly due to the convenience of time efficiency as well as increased options when comparing
prices (Oloveze et al., 2022). A distinctive trait of consumers’ online shopping experience
involves several web page visits, duration time, opening and closing tabs before processing
information and thereafter completing the purchase (Kushwaha & Venkatesh 2013; Raghu et
al., 2001). The benefits of consumers shopping online are the digital footprints they leave
behind, this in turn offers retailers extensive insight in regards to e.g., browsing history which
then can be used for improving consumers' shopping experience and increasing the level of
involvement (Grewal et al., 2009). A consumer’s involvement reflects the level of interest
and how important the product is, this in turn defines how much information is needed for the
consumer in order to make a purchase decision (Howard & Sheth, 1969). Luxury goods are
typically associated with high involvement decisions since it requires the customer to gather
more information for an expensive product, this is also due to the purchase possessing a
higher risk (Rothschild, 1979).

Lately, it has been shown that online sales have increased and represent a larger portion of the
present market and is considered to be the second most important sales channel for luxury
brands (Bain & Company, 2013; Roland Berger, 2013). The term luxury is defined as the
consumption for items of high value derived from a diversified social and income class which
in turn fulfills their desire to increase one’s personal confidence (Husic & Cicic, 2009). In
previous years, luxury goods manufacturers have been reluctant to offer and distribute their
goods through online channels and even in the present time, a large proportion of luxury

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goods manufacturers do not offer online purchases as an alternative (Chevalier & Gutsatz,
2012; Riley & Lacroix, 2003; Roland Berger, 2013). In addition, the motivational traits differ
for online shoppers compared to offline shoppers, indicating the importance of price
consciousness, willingness to pay a price premium, availability as well as trust towards online
reviews (Kowalczyk & Mitchell 2022; Liu et al., 2013). This leads to the outcome of
manufacturers having to adapt and offer their customers the opportunity to buy luxury goods
online in order to retain market shares (Roland Berger, 2013).

Park et al. (2018) state that ‘...if no one wants to buy the brand, the name does not have much
market relevance.’. Branding may be defined as a symbol or name that is designed to be
recognized and differentiated from competitors which in turn offers consumers a complete
experience that they receive with the product (Aaker, 1991; Keller & Donald, 2006).
According to Timbrel et al. (2019), the term branding is a tool or method a company makes
use of to communicate the company’s offerings to a customer. Moreover, branding is a unique
tool that assists companies to distinguish themselves from competitors by conveying the core
value of the business (Timbrel et al., 2019). For a brand to successfully survive, it will most
often require a strong foundation in the form of an identity (Barnett et al., 2006). According
to Keller (1993) brand identity offers consumers a sense of positiveness as well as
uniqueness. It communicates the firm's internal image and assures the customer of using a set
of distinct associations (Ghodeswar, 2008). The positive aspects of having a brand identity as
a primary tool is to differentiate themselves from their competitors based on the business’
core value (Kapferer, 1992).

As for the online luxury shopping experience, different motivational factors influence
consumers by segmenting them into various generational cohorts (Liu et al., 2013; Schewe &
Meredith, 2004). The factors depend on the generation in question; e.g. for the year of 2011,
the baby boomer generation has grown rapidly from being responsible for 10% of the luxury
market spending to 40%, whereas generation X and Y were responsible for 60% combined
(Giovannini et al., 2015). By segmenting the generational cohorts, researchers may further
analyze the difference in consumer behavior in terms of shopping, consumer decision making
and online shopping and branding (Brosdal & Carpenter, 2011; Burnsed & Bickle, 2016;
Gentina et al., 2016; Lissitsa & Kol, 2016; Rahulan et al., 2015; Parment, 2013; Schade et al.,
2016; Schewe & Meredith, 2004; Solka et al., 2011). Schewe and Meredith, (2004) highlights

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that ‘Consumers are savvier than ever before, demanding personal attention and goods that
suit their lifestyle.’. By segmenting the generational cohorts, it may ‘...provide a sense of
familiarity and personal appeal to these savvy consumers, bringing them one step closer to
making a purchase…’ (Schewe & Meredith, 2004, p. 17).

Furthermore, previous studies that have investigated consumer behavior in the field of luxury
have often relied on the theory of planned behavior (hereafter referred to as TPB) in order to
analyze human behavior (Ajzen, 1991, 2020; Zhang & Kim, 2013). As Ko et al. (2019)
mentions, a large number of previous research have chosen to investigate three distinct topics
within consumption behavior, including luxury status / value, luxury consumer behavior and
luxury product / brand management. In terms of luxury behavior, the buying motives for
luxury consumption have raised a great deal of interest (Ko et al., 2019). Different variables
can determine the influencing factor for acting a certain way (Hennigs et al., 2015). Behavior
variables such as attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have been used
thoroughly by previous researchers in order to detect a certain behavior of a specific setting
(Hennigs et al., 2015; Huang et al., 2011; Ko et al., 2019; Soh et al., 2017).

1.2 Problem Statement

Former studies in the field of consumer behavior have investigated a broad spectrum of
online purchases such as motivational factors regarding consumers’ involvement (Liu et al.,
2013; Kowalczyk & Mitchell 2022). As mentioned in the background, behavioral dimensions
that have been thoroughly researched include luxury purchase behavior with the TPB as a
method of analysis (Hennigs et al., 2015; Huang et al., 2011; Ko et al., 2019; Soh et al.,
2017). The TPB has proven to be a reliable and a solid theory in terms of analyzing the
relationship between beliefs and behaviors (Kalafatis et al., 1999). The TPB is used to
investigate how consumers’ attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have
an effect on consumers’ decision making, as well as how these variables are influenced by the
three related beliefs, namely, behavioral, normative and perceived control beliefs (Ajzen,
1985, 1991).

The purpose of this study is to fill in the gap in regard to consumers’ behavior of online
luxury goods. Due to consumers of different age groups acting differently, researchers could

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try to identify which motivational traits hold for each generational cohort (Schewe &
Meredith, 2004). What was also mentioned in the background was that generation X and Y
will be responsible for 60% of the luxury market combined which raises the importance of
understanding distinct behaviors of different generations and in turn optimize their purchase
experience (Brosdal & Carpenter, 2011; Burnsed & Bickle, 2016; Gentina et al., 2016;
Giovannini et al., 2015; Lissitsa & Kol, 2016; Parment, 2013; Rahulan et al., 2015; Schade et
al., 2016; Schewe & Meredith, 2004; Solka et al., 2011). Moreover, Shin et al. (2022) states
that baby boomers are slowly exiting the workforce, leaving more room for generation Z’s
with a strong purchasing power and loyalty in terms of attitude toward a brand. Shin et al.
(2022) also states that previous generations have been researched upon a lot, hence
generation Z has not received enough attention yet. By analyzing previous research in the
same field, the authors of this study are curious as to why the adoption of online distribution
channels has been slow for luxury brands (Chevalier & Gutsatz, 2012). In addition, previous
studies in this field have seldom chosen Sweden as their target sample. This leads to the
research question this study aims to investigate, namely;

1.3 Research question

● What factors influence consumers’ involvement in luxury purchases online?

1.4 Purpose
The purpose of this study is to fill in the gap that has been identified in previous research
regarding factors that influence consumers’ involvement in online luxury purchases online.
This will be done by examining what factors that have a significant influence on online
luxury purchases. This study will make use of the theory of planned behavior. Variables such
as attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control will be further investigated by
conducting an online survey in Sweden in order to determine which variable has the strongest
positive or negative influence on consumers’ purchase behavior.

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2. Literature review and conceptual framework

This chapter will elaborate upon the term luxury goods and research in the field of luxury
goods, followed by branding and thereafter consumer behavior of different generational
cohorts in regard to luxury purchases. Furthermore, previous research that has used the
Theory of planned behavior which has been a foundation for previous research will be
thoroughly examined. Lastly, the theoretical framework this study will utilize will be
presented including the four hypotheses this study aims to answer.

2.1 Literature review

2.1.1 Luxury goods

The terminology for luxury may be interpreted in many ways, hence Husic and Cicic (2009)
describes luxury as the consumption of high value items from consumers of different social
and income classes in order to fulfill their desire to increase one’s personal confidence.
Moreover, Tynan et al. (2010) describes luxury goods as nonessential products and services
viewed as special and prestigious due to the high quality and price range. From the year of
2000 until now, luxury consumers’ have been a determinant factor towards the market growth
since the amount has more than tripled for the last 20 years with a staggering 330 million
global customers (de Klerk, 2019). Luxury goods may be considered a high value product
and value may be considered a consumer’s preference for a certain product or service due to
its distinct attributes, performance and perceived consequences (Husic & Cicic, 2009; Tynan
et al., 2014; Woodruff, 1997). In addition, luxury goods may as well be considered a
commodity due to its scarcity and transferability to other individuals (Lynn, 1991).

Nonetheless, consumers choose to purchase luxury goods either by satisfying their internal or
external motives. Internal motives refer to hedonic consumption as well as rewarding oneself
(Eastman & Eastman, 2015). Research has also found that luxury purchases may in turn
increase an individuals’ self esteem by expressing their identity (Belk, 1988; Han et al., 2010;
Richins, 1987; Wang & Griskevicius, 2014). External motives on the other hand refers to an
individual's desire to convey status due to the accessibility of the product (Kapferer &

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Laurent, 2016; Silverstein & Fiske, 2005). As Benoit-Smullyan (1944) mentions, status may
be described as an individual's relative position in society.

Prior studies in the field have researched different aspects of luxury goods in an online
setting. For instance, a study conducted by Kluge and Fassnacht (2015) had an aim to
investigate the effects of online accessibility as well as the price display of luxury goods.
Nonetheless, the results indicated that online accessibility did not affect consumers’
perceived scarcity and did not dilute brand desirability (Kluge & Fassnacht, 2015). Another
study within the research field is the one conducted by Liu et al. (2013) which had an aim to
compare the behavior between in store and online shopping and found that consumers that
shop in store or online had different motivating reasons and factors that impacted their
decision. More specifically, online luxury consumers are more price conscious, favor online
product availability as well as having a stronger level of trust in reviews (Liu et al., 2013). On
the contrary, in store consumers are more risk averse and prefer to see the product before
conducting the purchase as well as valuing the overall experience and interactions (Liu et al.,
2013).

2.1.2 Branding
Branding is often used by organizations as a strategic tool to attract and retain customers by
promoting a certain lifestyle, image, value or prestige (Ginden, 1993; Wentz & Suchard,
1993). Cleary (1981) disagreed with the formal definition and argued that the purpose of
branding is essentially to build the product’s image in the consumer’s mind. This in turn may
influence the perceived worth of the product through the image and thereby raise the brand’s
value to the customer as well as brand loyalty (The economist, 1988). Nonetheless,
establishing a strong brand identity is important in order to manage a luxury brand
(Okonkwo, 2007). To establish a strong brand identity, firms of an industry often focus on
flawless product craftsmanship, innovation, recognizability, exclusivity or premium pricing
(Chevalier & Mazzalovo, 2008). The traditional method of conveying brands was to target
rich and wealthy customers, hence with the new millennial customer segment rising,
companies are now choosing to attract them due to their high spending ability, impact of their
peers as well as tendency to become loyal to the brand (Han et al., 2010; Tully & Caplin.,
2008). Henceforth, some argue that luxury purchases are not driven by rational decision

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making but instead more of an emotional approach (Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006; Choo et al.,
2012; Wiedmann et al., 2007).

Earlier studies in the field of branding e.g., Theng so et al. (2013) have researched the impact
of corporate branding on customers’ emotional attachment as well as brand loyalty. The
studies found that there was a limited effect of corporate branding on customers’ emotional
attachment, hence corporate branding was evident through functional benefits and
associations (Theng so et al., 2013). Moreover, a study conducted by Shetty and Fitzsimmons
(2022) had an aim to investigate the impacts of brand personality congruence, brand
attachment as well as brand love in relation to brand loyalty in the luxury industry. The
study’s findings indicated that brand personality congruence was a determinant factor of
brand love and brand loyalty (Shetty & Fitzsimmons, 2022). Shetty and Fitzsimmons (2022)
also found a significant relationship between brand attachment and brand loyalty.

2.1.3 Consumer behavior of different generations of luxury goods

Different generations signify diverse consumption patterns and need to be divided in order to
further analyze the contrasts (Schewe et al., 2000). The early generation of baby boomers
represents individuals born from 1946 to 1964 (Norum, 2003; Wuest et al., 2008). This
generation tends to be independent with strong intentions toward self fulfillment as well as
personal growth (Littrell et al., 2005; Parker & Chusmir, 1990). This specific generation
possesses money and are willing to ease their personal expenditure (Reisenwitz & Iyer,
2007). Generation X represents individuals born from 1965 to 1976 (Norum, 2003; Wuest et
al., 2008). This generation is one of the generations that are highly educated while also being
technologically savvy, however, this generation is also known for being skeptical, pragmatic
and disillusioned (Jackson et al., 2011: Littrell et al., 2005).

The market indicates that by the year 2025 Generation Y consumers, also known as
Millennials, will be responsible and represent a large market share of the future (Morton,
2002). This generation represents individuals born from 1977 to 1994 (Norum, 2003; Wuest
et al., 2008). Since Generation Y represents a large population, it is strategically important to
acknowledge the increasing level of purchasing power (Giovannini et al., 2015). Besides
Generation Y representing a large portion of the luxury market, this generation also prefers

7
online purchases of luxury goods, this in turn results in consumers of this age group
preliminary undertaking an online research and thereafter being more inclined to complete
the online purchase (Morton, 2002; Jain & Schultz, 2019). The following generation is
generation Z which refers to individuals born between 1995 to 2010 (Tseng et al., 2021).
Individuals of this generation grew up in the mist of 9/11 and the recession of 2008
(Williams, 2015). This generation is known to be hardworking, hence an anxious generation
growing up in the era of smartphones (Williams, 2015). Some argue for generation Z having
strong influence on the luxury market due to their high disposable income (Bakir et al., 2020;
Sanyal et al., 2021).

Previous studies in the field of consumer behavior such as the study conducted by Soh et al.
(2017) had an aim to investigate consumers’ behavior with luxury fashion goods. The study
found that perceived quality and social influences had a significant effect on purchase
behavior (Soh et al., 2017). Moreover, the authors raise the importance of the identified
relationship between generation Y consumers and purchase behavior (Soh et al., 2017).
Nevertheless, other studies have found that other factors such as perceived behavioral control
have been a significant determination for analyzing consumer behavior (Huang et al., 2011).
Another study conducted by Shin et al. (2022) had an aim to investigate whether generation Z
had a love or like relationship towards luxury brands. The findings indicated that generation
Z’s had more of a like relationship than love (Shin et al., 2022). The authors argued that
generation Z’s may have a high level of loyalty towards luxury brands in terms of attitudes
and behavior, hence they do not feel passionate feelings towards the luxury brands (Shin et
al., 2022).

2.1.4 Framework for analyzing consumer behavior of luxury goods

In order to analyze consumer behavior of luxury products, previous researchers have often
used the TPB (Ajzen, 1991; Ko et al., 2019; Hennigs et al., 2015). A study that has included
the TPB as a theoretical framework is the one conducted by Ajitha and Sivakumar (2019)
which had an aim to investigate how consumers of various age groups had different attitudes
for buying luxury fashion goods. The authors of the study found that there was a direct link to
social adjustive attitude as well as value expressed attitude with different results for the
various age groups as well as genders of the respondents (Ajitha & Sivakumar, 2019). On the

8
contrary, a study conducted by Huang et al. (2011) had an aim to investigate which factors
had an influence on consumers' decision making process in an online setting. The results of
the study in this case indicated that there was a significant relationship regarding the variable
perceived behavioral control. Nonetheless, Jain et al. (2017) contradicted the aforementioned
study and found that the most important determinant for the consumers purchasing intentions
regarding luxury fashion goods was the subjective norm, followed by attitude as the
secondary determinant when investigating consumer behavior of luxury goods (Jain et al.,
2017). On the other hand, Hennigs et al. (2015) aimed to investigate related behavioral and
value aspects of individual luxury consumers. Hennigs et al. (2015) notes that the desire of
luxury brands includes several significant dimensions such as financial, functional, individual
and social perceptions. Furthermore, factors such as purchase intention, recommendation
behavior and the willingness to pay a price premium were found to have a significant effect
(Hennigs et al., 2015).

2.2 Conceptual Framework

2.2.1 Theory of planned behavior (TPB)

The TPB was developed by the psychologist and professor, Icek Ajzen in the year of 1985
(Ajzen, 2011). The TPB derives from the theory of reasoned action, which was developed in
1967 by Martin Fishbein (Conner & Armitage, 1998). Both theories take factors such as
subjective norm and attitude into consideration when predicting intention, nonetheless the
TPB extends the framework by including an extended factor, namely perceived behavioral
control (See Figure 1) (Conner & Armitage, 1998; Lin et al., 2015). The reason for
disregarding the theory of reasoned action is due to the weak correlation with the actual
behavior (Sheppard et al., 1988). Furthermore, the TPB has been used in several studies to
investigate the beliefs that influences consumers’ behavior (Papies & Clement, 2008; Hsieh,
2005; Plowman & Goodie, 2009; Hennigs et al., 2015; Huang et al., 2011; Ko et al., 2019;
Soh et al., 2017). The TPB is a widely applied theory and has been cited over 100,000 times
(Ajzen, 2011).

The different variables of the TPB will be further elaborated upon below.

9
Figure 1. Theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991)

2.2.1.1 Attitude

Attitude, toward the behavior, is the first determinant variable of intention (Ajzen, 1991).
This refers to the extent of which an individual rates or considers a certain behavior
positively or negatively. It is further noted that depending on how positive the attitude of the
individual is, the more the individual’s intention will increase when performing the behavior
in question. Regarding the individual’s attitude in accordance with the TPB, there are
fundamental salient beliefs that are determinants. However, it may be harder to discover the
salient ones since each individual has several beliefs regarding a certain behavior. (Ajzen,
1991; Conner & Armitage, 1998; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975)

As Ajzen (1991) mentions, ‘behavioral beliefs are assumed to influence attitudes toward the
behavior’. Previous research such as Ajitha and Sivakumar (2019) have found different forms
of attitudes to have a significant relationship with various age groups as well as genders. For
this study, the variable attitude will be analyzed as an independent variable to determine if it
has any influence on consumers’ purchase intention to purchase a luxury good such as a car
online. This leads to the first hypothesis this study aims to investigate, namely;

H1: It is likely that attitude has a positive influence on consumers’

intention of luxury purchases online

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2.2.1.2 Subjective norm

Ajzen (1991) describes subject norm as an element within the TPB that relates to a product’s
function in terms of one’s normative belief. Subject norms are based on the social pressures
of an individual to act or behave in a certain way, which may also be referred to as others.
The others may possibly include pressures from ‘referents’ which have the objective to judge
an individual into behaving a certain way (Conner & Armitage, 1998). Ajzen (1991)
highlights that if a subjective norm is more preferable, it will in turn strengthen the
individual’s intention to carry out the specified action. (Ajzen, 1991; Conner & Armitage,
1998)

The underlying determinants for subjective norms are the normative beliefs (Ajzen, 1991). In
order to successfully detect any trait of subject norm, the researchers had to let the
participants rate how the referents would accept or reject to carry out a specific action by
themselves (Ajzen, 1991). Previous studies have found subjective norms to be a determinant
predictor of consumers’ purchase intention of luxury goods (Jain et al., 2017). For this study,
the subjective norm will be analyzed as an independent variable to determine if this factor has
a significant influence on consumers' intention to purchase a luxury good such as a car online
and if it in turn could signify a certain behavior. This leads to the second hypothesis this study
aims to investigate, namely;

H2: It is likely that subjective norm has a positive influence on

consumers’ intention of luxury purchases online

2.2.1.3 Perceived behavioral control

According to Ajzen (1991) perceived behavioral control consists of two components, namely
self efficacy and controllability. Self efficacy refers to an individual's self perception of its
own capabilities to perform a given behavior. An example is how effortless or laborious it is
to perform a certain behavior of interest. Moreover, the term controllability is described as; if
the individual has the necessary resources in the form of money, time, opportunities and skills
to perform a certain behavior. (Ajzen, 1991)

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Control beliefs offer a foundation for perceived behavioral control, as Ajzen (1991) points
out. Previous studies have found perceived behavioral control to be a strong predictor of
influential factors on consumers’ decision making process (Huang et al., 2011). For this
study, perceived behavior control will be used as an independent variable to determine if this
factor has an influence on consumers’ purchase intention to purchase a car online and how
this in turn may signify a certain behavior. This leads to the third hypothesis this study aims
to investigate, namely

H3: It is likely that perceived behavioral control has a positive influence

on consumers’ intention of luxury purchases online

2.2.1.4 Intention

Regarding the variable intention of the TPB, it relates to an individual’s intention to

undertake a certain activity at a specific time and location. Intention is as well known to be a
central factor in the original work of the TPB. Within the TPB framework, intentions are
influenced by the aforementioned motivational factors; Attitude, subjective norm and
perceived behavioral control are independent predictors. It may be assumed that the stronger
the intention to engage a certain behavior, may in turn increase the performance (Ajzen,
1991). In regard to this study, the variable intention is based on the aforementioned
independent variables; attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. As Ajzen
(1991) mentions, the more favorable the three variables are, will in turn result in a stronger
intention to perform a certain behavior, which in this case is if an individual will choose to
purchase a luxury good such as a car online. This leads to the last hypothesis this study aims
to investigate, namely;

H4: It is likely that purchase intention has a positive influence on

consumers’ behavior of luxury purchases online

2.2.1.5 Behavior

By combining the aforementioned variables of intention and perceived behavioral control

will in turn lead to behavioral performance. Nonetheless, to fulfill the criterias’ of behavior

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performance, three conditions must be met. Firstly, it is crucial for the measures of intention
and perceived behavioral control to match with the expected behavior by separating the
variables to the specific context of the intended behavior. The second condition that is to be
met when observing a certain behavior is to stabilize the variables of intention and perceived
behavioral control. The last condition concerns the variable of perceived behavioral control.
Perceived behavioral control may improve the accuracy when predicting behavior due to the
allocation of participants’ own perceptions which in turn may rationally mirror the actual
behavior. (Ajzen, 1991; Fishbein et al., 1980)

As for this study, the variable behavior is used to identify the results from the aforementioned
variables; attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. This will be further
explained in the next section.

2.2.2 Framework for this study

The proposed model for this study is based on the TPB which was developed by Ajzen
(1991). The choice for this framework is mainly based on the accuracy of the framework as
well as it being widely applied in business research (Lim et al., 2022). Moreover, this
framework allows for further analysis in regard to examining influencing factors in regards to
consumer behavior of luxury goods. This in turn has allowed the study to develop an
integrative framework based on the original work by Ajzen (1991) with 4 different
hypotheses connected to each variable of the framework as seen in Figure 2 below. Attitude,
subjective norm and perceived behavioral control for this study are considered independent
variables and are tested towards the dependent variable luxury purchase intention. The results
from this test will in turn allow for further interpretation for the variable luxury purchase
behavior.

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Figure 2. Own theoretical framework inspired by the Theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991)

All the hypotheses that were developed in this chapter are summarized in Table 1 for
convenience reasons.

Table 1: Summary of the study’s hypotheses

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3. Methodology

In this chapter the main methodological approach will be elaborated upon. Firstly, the
approach will be discussed, followed by the method of data collection, method of analysis,
reliability as well as validity measures.

3.1 Methodological approach

The chosen methodological approach for this study was of a quantitative research design
where the authors examined what factors influenced consumers’ involvement in online
luxury purchases in Sweden. This study has undertaken a deductive approach since it has
been theory driven by the TPB and further examined by an online questionnaire (Saunders et
al., 2016). The framework of the TPB has been a common theory used by researchers in the
similar field. Other studies have used the TPB for successfully examining their chosen topic
of consumer behavior of luxury goods and has been a main reason for having this particular
framework for this study as mentioned in the previous chapter.

Furthermore, a mono method quantitative approach has been undertaken by gathering

primary data and using a single data collection technique, namely a questionnaire (Saunders
et al., 2016). The authors have used inferential statistics in order to gather the data from the
questionnaires and be able to make a generalization of the examined population (Saunders et
al., 2016).

The research design for this study has been a merge between descriptive and explanatory,
which in turn has formed a descripto explanatory research design for this study. The
descriptive statistics that have been used in this study has consisted of variables that have
derived from the multiple linear regression, confirmatory factor analysis as well as a
correlation analysis, in the form of tables, models and figures. By doing so, the authors have
been able to use the descriptive statistics as a precursor for forming an explanation in regard
to the relationship between the dependent and independent variables from the TPB (Saunders
et al., 2016).

15
3.2 Methods of data collection
According to Bryman and Bell (2015), the methods of data collection are separated and
gathered into two phases, which are primary- and secondary data. In order to be able to
answer the study’s research question, the authors gathered primary data for this study by
conducting a questionnaire regarding what factors influenced consumers’ involvement in
luxury purchases online in Sweden. Secondary data was also utilized in the study’s
introduction chapter as well as in the literature review.

3.2.1 Primary data

Bryman and Bell (2015) mention that a study’s primary data is information that is gathered
and analyzed by the authors themselves through several methods, including questionnaires,
unstructured or semi structured interviews and observations. As Bryman and Bell (2015)
mentions, a survey is the most appropriate way to collect primary data when the purpose of
the study is to examine attitudes and behavior. Therefore, in order to obtain primary data for
this research, the authors constructed a questionnaire. Since the purpose of this study was to
investigate what factors influenced consumers’ involvement in online luxury purchases in
Sweden, the questionnaire was distributed in Sweden. The respondents were directed to the
survey through a link that was published and shared on several social media platforms such
as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. Bryman and Bell (2015) also mention that in
order for a study to be deeper, the respondents need to be given the opportunity to express
their views and opinions on the subject which can therefore be considered a disadvantage in
one survey as the respondents have no opportunity to express themselves or develop their
answer.

3.2.2 Construction of questionnaire - Measurement

The questionnaire for this study was constructed using Google forms. In order to form the
items for the instrument, the authors have made use of items formed by Jain et al. (2017) (See
Table 2). Nonetheless, the authors of this study have adjusted a few items in order to specify
the items towards this specific research area of purchasing cars online. The choice of cars as a

16
luxury product has to do with the recent adaptation of the online market (Srivatsa, 2020). Car
marketers are using digitalization to interact and engage with customers but also to
communicate and promote the brand (Nagar, 2020). Digitalization has furthermore created
the opportunity for cars to develop technology by applying mobile apps and chat bots which
gives car marketers the possibility to make a customer's car buying process more interactive
and pleasant, while also building a more meaningful customer relationship (Newman, 2017).

The participants of the questionnaire were first offered a brief description of the questionnaire
followed by the confidentiality that the participants would hold by conducting the
questionnaire. Moreover, the questionnaire was restricted to only collecting data from
Swedish respondents. In order to reduce any external missing response rate for this measure,
the authors chose to provide a selection question at the beginning of the survey where the
respondent was asked to fill in if they resided in Sweden or not in the form of a dichotomous
design, namely yes- and no question (Saunders et al., 2016). By doing so, the authors could
eliminate any responses that were not within the targeted population of Sweden. Beside this
selection question as well as the demographic questions the respondents were requested to
answer if they ever had bought a car before in the form of a dichotomous design. This in turn
could offer the authors a further understanding of how respondents behave depending on
whether they had purchased a car before or not. The items that were used in order to conduct
the main analysis (See Table 3) were derived from the study conducted by Jain et al. (2017).

The statements of the questionnaire are connected to the different variables of the TPB using
a linear scale. The linear scale differs depending on the items. More specifically, items 1, 2
and 3 which were connected to attitude had a 7-point semantic differential scale where 1 was
connected to one statement and 7 was connected to the opposite statement. Besides these
items, the rest had a 5-point Likert scale where 1 was ‘strongly disagree’ and 5 was ‘strongly
agree’. The choice of combining the two different scales was since two studies had done this
and received a reasonable Cronbach alpha result, namely the study conducted by Jain et al.
(2017) as well as Jain (2021). Overall, this design offered the authors an understanding of to
what extent the respondents agreed or disagreed with each statement (Saunders et al., 2016).

The items concerning the demographics of the respondents were of a multiple choice design.
Furthermore, the authors had chosen to design the questionnaire in a manner that the survey

17
could not be completed unless all questions were answered. This in turn reduced the
possibility for complete refusal, break off or partial response from the respondents’ side
(Saunders et al., 2016). As for the language of the questionnaire, the authors chose to
transcribe the questionnaire in order to reach a larger target population.

The questionnaire consisted of 18 standardized questions including 12 items connected to the

TPB. Besides the 12 items linked to the TPB, the authors had included 4 demographic items
such as gender, age, educational background and occupation as well as the selection question
and one dichotomous question. The two selection questions were as follows; Do you live in
Sweden and Have you ever purchased a car before. Due to the nature of having a descripto
explanatory design, the authors could develop a questionnaire with standardized questions
(Saunders et al., 2016).

The demographic questions such as gender, age, educational background and occupation are
considered to be descriptive or nominal data that this study investigates. This may also be
interpreted as categorical data and cannot be ranked in order (Brown & Saunders, 2008). The
questions are instead categorized based on their characteristics. As for this study, the authors
have chosen to analyze the nominal data using a grouping method (Saunders et al., 2016).
The nominal data were sectioned together in different categories according to relevance
before calculating the percentage and frequency of the gathered data (Saunders et al., 2016).

As for the design of the questionnaire, the authors chose to let the respondents choose from
either a 5-point Likert scale as well as one 7-point semantic scale. The 5-point Likert scale
ranged from strongly agree with the statement or strongly disagree. The 7-point semantic
scale was designed to offer the respondents with two choices on both sides and 4 in the
middle being do not know. When the authors coded the results, all values had to be labeled
differently. The coding consisted of the following for the items of the 5-point Likert scale
items; Strongly disagree: 1, Disagree: 2, Do not know: 3, Agree: 4 and Strongly agree: 5. The
7-point semantic scale items were coded in a similar manner as following; Negative: 1, Quite
negative: 2, A bit negative: 3, Do not know: 4, A bit positive: 5, Quite positive: 6, Positive: 7.
The word negative was switched out depending on the item e.g. Item 7: Worthless: 1 and
Worthwhile: 7.

18
The dummy variables of the questionnaire consisted of items concerning gender, age,
educational background and occupation. As for the item concerning gender, the authors chose
to include 4 different choices including other as well as prefer not to say. This was done in
order to reduce the potential risk of discrimination. The labeling for analyzing the data was
done as follows; Male: 0, Female: 1, Other: 2 and Prefer not to say: 3. The choice of age that
the respondents could choose from had a range of 10 year intervals with five different
categories. This was done in order to facilitate the process of coding. The categories were
labeled as follows when coding; 18 - 27: 1, 28 - 37: 2, 38 - 47: 3, 48 - 57: 4 and 58 - 99 : 5.
The educational background was divided into three separate categories, namely; Highschool:
0, University: 1 and No education: 2. The occupation of the respondents was divided into
three separate categories with the following label; Student: 0, Working: 1 and Other: 2. As for
the dichotomous question of the questionnaire the authors chose to recode them as following;
No: 0 and Yes: 1. The dichotomous questions were questions 1 and 6, namely; Do you live in
Sweden and Have you ever purchased a car.

3.2.3 Sampling
According to Saunders et al. (2016) a sample size has to be at least 30 in order to be
considered representative. Nonetheless, a sample size with at least a few hundred responses,
would be considered more accurate for drawing a conclusion based on the population in
general (Saunders et al., 2016). For this study, the authors have chosen to target a sample size
of at least 150. An additional reason for the authors to choose a sample size of at least 150
was due to the available resources in form of money and time (Saunders et al., 2016).
According to Saunders et al. (2016) a simple random sampling technique is when the
researchers gather data at a random sample with the assistance of a computer or random
number tables. For this study a simple random sampling technique was applied in order to
gather data from various demographic backgrounds. Even though the authors targeted a
sample size of at least 150, the authors managed to collect data from 176 respondents. The
authors had at the beginning of the survey set out a selection question in regard to whether
the respondents lived in Sweden due to the demographic limitation of only gathering data
from Swedish respondents. The results indicated that all participants did live in Sweden,
which in turn led to no missing data.

19
3.2.4 Operationalization - data gathering
This study focuses on the questionnaire developed by Jain et al. (2017). The 12 items of the
TPB derived from the study of Jain et al. (2017) can be found in Table 2 below. In addition,
each variable of the TPB has three items in the questionnaire. The reason for having three
items per variable was due to previous studies having a good internal consistency with an
average of three items per variable. Nonetheless, the authors disregarded the items
concerning the behavior variable. This was done to draw a conclusion based on the results
from the multiple regression analysis.

Table 2. Items for each variable of the TPB derived from the study of Jain et al. (2017)

20
Table 3. Operationalization table

Questions Answer options Rationalization Items Cronbach Alpha

Q1 Do you live in Sweden? Yes / No Selection Question

Q2 Gender Female / Male / Demographics

Other / Prefer not to
say

Q3 Age 18-27 / 28-37 / Demographics

38-47 / 48-57 / 58+

Q4 Educational Background High school / Demographics

University / No
education

Q5 Occupation Student / Working / Demographics

Other

Q6 Have you ever purchased a car? Yes / No Dichotomous

Q7 Your attitude toward purchasing 7 Point semantic Theory of planned Item 1 0,98
luxury goods is negative or scale behavior - Attitude
positive

Q8 Luxury goods are worthless or 7 Point semantic Theory of planned Item 2 0,98
worthwhile scale behavior - Attitude

Q9 Luxury goods are useless or 7 Point semantic Theory of planned Item 3 0,98
beneficial scale behavior - Attitude

Q10 Many people around me have a 5 Point Likert scale Theory of planned Item 4 0,87
car behavior - Subjective
norm

Q11 I feel social pressure to buy a car 5 Point Likert scale Theory of planned Item 5 0,87
behavior - Subjective
norm

Q12 The people who I listen to could 5 Point likert scale Theory of planned Item 6 0,87
influence me to buy a car online behavior - Subjective
norm

21
 Q13 I have money to buy a car online 5 Point Likert scale Theory of planned Item 7 0,89
behavior - Perceived
behavioral control

Q14 Purchase of a car online is 5 Point Likert scale Theory of planned Item 8 0,89
effortless for me behavior - Perceived
behavioral control

Q15 For me purchase of a car online 5 Point Likert scale Theory of planned Item 9 0,89
is possible behavior - Perceived
behavioral control

Q16 I will try to buy a car online in 5 Point Likert scale Theory of planned Item 10 0,86
the future behavior - Luxury
purchase intention

Q17 The probability that I would buy 5 Point Likert scale Theory of planned Item 11 0,86
a car online within the next 12 behavior - Luxury
months is high purchase intention

Q18 I intend to purchase a car online 5 Point Likert scale Theory of planned Item 12 0,86
within the next 3 years behavior - Luxury
purchase intention

3.2.5 Secondary data

Secondary data is information that is evaluated by other researchers and then gathered
through secondary sources (Bryman & Bell, 2015). The secondary sources used for this
research study were derived from the following databases: ABI/ INFORM Global, Emerald
Insights and Sage Research gate. For the study’s first two chapters, the authors chose to make
use of previous studies. Keywords that were used when gathering relevant data for the study
were the following; Online, luxury, high involvement, consumer behavior, generation x,
generation y, Generation z, baby boomer and theory of planned behavior.

3.3 Method of analysis

The main method of analysis for this study was conducted using multiple linear regression. In
turn, the authors were able to highlight the significant factors that were behind consumers'
involvement of online luxury purchases of the product category; cars and in turn determine

22
the behavior of the respondents. Firstly, the authors chose to apply a Cronbach Alpha
reliability test for the questionnaire to analyze the internal consistency of each item and how
closely related the various items were for each variable. Moreover, the authors chose to form
a descriptive table in order to analyze if any items of the questionnaire had a low or high
kurtosis, skewness as well as the mean for each item of the questionnaire.

The main analysis of this study was based on a multiple linear regression. This has been done
by analyzing the three independent variables of the theoretical framework together in relation
to the dependent variable luxury purchase intention. The results from the significance level R
squared (R²) in combination with the Pearson correlation results may in turn facilitate the
process of identifying which factors have an influence on consumers’ involvement in online
luxury purchases of cars. In addition, the Coefficient Beta (β), P value as well as the mean for
each item were analyzed independently in order to reject or confirm each hypothesis. This
was further supported by the correlation analysis as well as the factor loadings for each item.

Prior to the main analysis, the authors chose to test the normality of the distributions. This
was done by extracting the kurtosis and skewness of the data set. Kurtosis was analyzed in
order to spot if the item's tails were within reasonable symmetry. As Brown (1997) mentions,
a reasonable kurtosis level shall be within ± 10. On the contrary, skewness was analyzed in
order to spot if the items were within reasonable symmetry. According to Brown (1997) a
reasonable level of skewness shall be within ± 3. For the results of the entire questionnaire,
there was no indication of values exceeding the tolerant levels (See Table 4 below). For this
study, none of the items including the demographic questions had any values above the
reasonable thresholds. Only one question did not reveal any results and that was the first one
concerning if the respondents lived in Sweden or not. This was due to the dichotomous
design of the question. Besides the first question, the rest were according to reasonable limits.

23
Table 4. Descriptives Table
N Mean Std. Skewness Skewness Kurtosis Kurtosis Std.
Deviation Statistic Std. Error Statistic Error
Statistics

Do you live 176 1,00 0,000 - - - -

in Sweden?

Gender 176 0,68 0,516 0,008 0,183 0,797 0,364

Age 176 0,68 0,883 1,389 0,183 1,783 0,364

Educational 176 0,88 0,389 -1,101 0,183 2,456 0,364

background

Occupation 176 0,66 0,521 -0,180 0,183 -0,932 0,364

Have you 176 0,60 0,491 -0,422 0,183 -1,843 0,364

ever
purchased a
car?

Item 1 176 4,85 2,357 -0,629 0,183 -1,278 0,364

Item 2 176 4,81 2,321 -0,668 0,183 -1,194 0,364

Item 3 176 5,05 2,407 -0,775 0,183 -1,157 0,364

Item 4 176 3,55 1,484 -0,541 0,183 -1,197 0,364

Item 5 176 2,92 1,558 0,042 0,183 -1,597 0,364

Item 6 176 3,03 1,549 -0,076 0,183 -1,556 0,364

Item 7 176 3,56 1,645 -0,560 0,183 -1,417 0,364

Item 8 176 3,23 1,665 -0,231 0,183 -1,660 0,364

Item 9 176 3,42 1,640 -0,399 0,183 -1,538 0,364

Item 10 176 3,81 1,541 -0,875 0,183 -0,877 0,364

Item 11 176 3,22 1,539 -0,283 0,183 -1,429 0,364

Item 12 176 2,16 1,454 0,972 0,183 -0,518 0,364

3.4 Reliability
According to Saunders et al. (2016), reliability refers to whether the collected data gathering
methodologies and analysis procedures could provide consistent results if duplicated by
another researcher. The reliability of this study was strengthened by various measures. Firstly,
the authors of this study chose to publish the questionnaire in the middle of the week, namely
on a Wednesday to avoid participant error. Furthermore, the survey was available for a period
of one week to offer the participants enough time to plan and in turn reduce the potential of
low engagement. The survey was also anonymized in order to reduce the potential risk of

24
participant bias. This was noted at the start of the survey so the participants could be well
informed. The questions in the survey were not of a sensitive nature and there was a low
chance for the authors to make personal interpretations. By having a quantitative approach
with questions formed in frequencies, the authors could not make subjective interpretations
which in turn reduced researcher bias.

The internal consistency of this study was further increased by conducting a pilot test before
sending out the official survey. According to Saunders et al. (2016) a pilot test is done before
publishing a survey for reasons such as reducing the possibility of complications as well as an
additional opportunity for final refinement. Furthermore, Saunders et al. (2016) highlights
that a pilot test will in turn increase reliability as well as validity. Moreover, the entire
procedure of this study has been described in full detail in order for future researchers to
replicate this study. Nonetheless, reliability is not a sole measure for ensuring a good quality,
the authors have also chosen to implement several validity precautions which will be
mentioned in the section below.

Furthermore, the authors chose to measure the internal consistency for each variable of the
instrument. According to Saunders et al. (2016) a Cronbach alpha result above 0,7 indicates
that the questions combined are measuring the same thing. The Cronbach alpha for the
variable attitude amounted to 0,98 (See Table 3), which indicated that the items for the
variable were reliable and closely related. As for the variable Subjective norm, the Cronbach
alpha testing resulted in an internal consistency of 0,87, which indicated that the items for the
variable were reliable and closely related. Moreover, the Cronbach alpha for the variable
Perceived behavioral control amounted to 0,89, which also indicated that the items for the
variable were reliable and closely related. The same was considered for the variable Luxury
purchase intention, which amounted to 0,86.

3.5 Validity
The accuracy with which a method measures what it is intended to measure is referred to as
validity (Saunders et al., 2016). According to Saunders et al. (2016), when the research shows
a casual relationship among two variables, the internal validity is established. Furthermore,
Saunders et al. (2016) mentions external validity which refers to which a study’s findings

25
may be extended and generalized to other contexts, groups or events. The authors linked
items from the questionnaire to the study’s chosen variables to determine the study’s internal
validity.

In regard to internal validity, the authors had to account for a number of challenges. The
authors had no influence and made no changes regarding the respondents’ response options,
behavior and attitude. The respondents had the opportunity to freely express their opinions
and attitudes when answering the questionnaire. Since this study was neither a genuine
experiment nor carried out in a controlled atmosphere, it was impossible to draw any causal
correlations. Furthermore, the authors improved the study’s validity by conducting a pilot test
for the questionnaire. As a measurement for external validity, it was vital to note how
generalizable the results of this study could be to other populations. Regarding external
validity, the sample section is a major factor. Since the sample size of the acquired data could
be insufficient, the sample might not represent the general population. Furthermore, an
additional measure for ensuring an increased internal validity for the variables was to conduct
a multicollinearity test for the independent variables. As Bryman and Bell (2015) mentions, a
multicollinearity test is done in order to ensure that the variables do not measure the same
thing. This has been done by analyzing the variance inflation factor (VIF) as well as the
tolerance level. According to Saunders et al. (2016) an acceptable tolerance level should be
between 0 and 1. In addition, the tolerance level of the multicollinearity should be as high as
possible with 1 as a maximum. Beside the aforementioned measures, the authors chose to
analyze the factor loading results of the items. This was done to determine whether groups of
indicators in the form of items had a tendency to bunch together in order to form unique
clusters also known as factors (Bryman & Bell, 2015). As for the factor loading results, the
average variance extracted should be above the threshold of 0,5 (Hair et al., 2010). These
aforementioned measures were implemented in order to strengthen the internal validity of this
study (Bryman & Bell, 2015; Saunders et al., 2016).

26
4. Findings

In this chapter the findings will be presented as following; frequency of the demographic
questions, mean for each item, correlation of the questionnaire, multiple linear regression
and lastly the confirmatory factor analysis. These findings will be the foundation for the
analysis in the following section.

4.1 Selection and multiple choice questions

The first question of the survey was a selection question regarding if the respondents were
living in Sweden. According to the findings it was shown that there was no missing data
since all 176 respondents (100%) answered that they do live in Sweden. The demographic
questions were concluded with a multiple choice question laid out with a dichotomous option
which was “Have you ever purchased a car” where (59,9%) answered “Yes” and the
remaining respondents (39,5%) answered “No”.

4.2 Demographics of the respondents

Table 5. Demographic Table

According to the respondents’

demographics, the majority were females
with a percentage of (64,4%) and
(33,9%) were male and preferred not to
say and other amounted to (0,6%). In
regard to the respondents age, the
majority of the respondents were in the
age 18 - 27 with a total amount of
(50,8%), followed by the age of 28 - 37
which amounted to (32,8%). Regarding
the respondents in the age range of 38 -
47, the results indicated an amount of
(10,7%), followed by respondents in the

27
age of 48 - 57 (4%) and lastly the minority which were 58+ (1,1%). Regarding the
respondents' education, the results show that a university background (83,1%) was the
highest completed education for the respondents, followed by high school with a percentage
of (14,1%). In addition, the respondents with no education amounted to (2,3%). As for the
respondent’s occupation, the majority were working (61,6%), followed by (35,6%) of the
respondents who were students. The remaining respondents were the minority that selected
“other” which amounted to (2,3%). For the final demographic question, (59,9%) of the
respondents answered “Yes” about ever purchasing a car, while the remaining respondents
(39,5%) chose to answer “No”.

4.3 Items
The first three items of the questionnaire had a 7-point semantic scale design and were linked
to the independent variable; Attitude (See Table 3 for all items). As for the mean of Item 1 of
the questionnaire, the results of all respondents amounted to (4,85), which is slightly above
the median range of 4. This in turn shows that the majority of the respondents agree with the
statement concerning item 1. The mean results for item 2 of the questionnaire amounted to
(4,81), which is also above the median range of 4 showing that the majority agreed with the
statement. Lastly, item 3 had a mean result of (5,05), which is above the median range of 4
indicating that the majority of the respondents agreed with the statement.

The following three items of the questionnaire were linked to the independent variable;
subjective norm and had a 5-point Likert scale design. As for item 4 of the questionnaire, the
mean result of (3,55) was above the median range of 3 which in turn indicates that the
majority of the respondents agreed with the statement. Item 5 of the questionnaire had a mean
result of (2,92) which indicates that the majority of the respondents had a neutral stance
towards the statement. Lastly, item 6 of the questionnaire had a mean result of (3,03), which
also indicates that the majority of the respondents had a neutral stance towards the statement.

Items’ 7, 8 and 9 had a 5-point Likert scale design and was linked to the independent
variable, Perceived behavioral control. As for item 7, the results of the mean amounted to
(3,56), which is above the median range of 3 and indicating that the majority of the
respondents agreed with the statement. Furthermore, item 8 of the questionnaire had a mean

28
result of (3,23) which indicates that the majority of the respondents had a neutral stance
towards the statement. Lastly, item 9 had a mean result of (3,42), which indicates that the
majority of the respondents were in between a neutral stance and agreeing with the statement.

The last three items of the questionnaire had a 5-point Likert scale design and were linked to
the dependent variable, Luxury purchase intention. Item 10 of the questionnaire had a mean
result of (3,81) and was above the median range of 3 indicating that the majority of the
respondents agreed with the statement. Item 11 of the questionnaire had a mean result of
(3,22) indicating that the majority of the respondents were more towards a neutral stance
toward this specific statement. Lastly, item 12 had a mean result of (2,16), indicating that the
majority of the respondents disagreed with the statement.

4.4 Correlation

For the variable attitude of the TPB, Item 2 and Item 1 had a very strong positive correlation
with a significance at the 0,01 level. Furthermore, regarding this variable, Item 3 had a very
strong positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level in relation to Item 1 and Item
2.

Regarding the variable subjective norm, Item 4 had a moderate positive correlation with a
significance at the 0,01 level with Item 1, 2 and 3. Furthermore, Item 5 had a moderate
positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level in relation to Item 1, 2 and 3.
However, Item 5 had a strong positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level with
Item 4. Item 6 had a moderate positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level with
Items 1, 2 and 3. Nonetheless, Item 6 had a strong positive correlation with a significance at
the 0,01 level with Item 4. Lastly, Item 6 and Item 5 had a very strong positive correlation
with a significance at the 0,01 level.

For the items concerning the variable perceived behavioral control, Item 7 had a moderate
positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level in relation to Item 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6.
Henceforth, Item 7 and Item 4 had a strong positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01
level. In addition, Item 8 had a moderate positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01
level with Item 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. However, Item 8 and Item 7 had a strong positive

29
correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level. Item 9 had a moderate positive correlation
with a significance at the 0,01 level with Item 2 and 3. Nevertheless, Item 9 had a strong
positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level with Item 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

For Luxury purchase intention, Item 10 had a moderate positive correlation with a
significance at the 0,01 level with Item 4, 5, 7 and 8. However, Item 10 had a strong positive
correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level with Item 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. As for Item 11,
there was a moderate positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level with Item 4, 7
and 8. Furthermore, Item 11 had a strong positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01
level with Item 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9. However, Item 11 and Item 10 had a very strong positive
correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level. In regard to Item 12, there was a weak
positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level with Item 4. However, Item 12 had a
moderate positive correlation with a significance at the 0,01 level with Item 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9 and 10. To conclude, Item 12 and Item 11 had a strong positive correlation with a
significance at the 0,01 level.

Table 6. Correlation Table

30
4.5 Multiple linear regression
The results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicate that there is a positive
association with all the three independent variables (Attitude, subjective norm and perceived
behavioral control) of the framework in relation to the dependent variable luxury purchase
intention (See Model 1).

As for the independent variables attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control;
R² amounted to 0,632, meaning that 63,2% of the dependent variable luxury purchase
intention is described by the independent variables attitude, subjective norm and perceived
behavioral control. The significance level for all the three independent variables; attitude,
subjective norm and perceived behavioral control amounted to < 0,001, indicating a strong
significance relationship with the dependent variable luxury purchase intention. Nonetheless,
the β varies for all the three independent variables. The independent variable attitude has the
strongest positive influence on luxury purchase intention with a value of 0,441 followed by
subjective norm with 0,235 and perceived behavioral control with 0,251. In regard to the
multicollinearity of the regression analysis, the results indicate that the VIF measures are
within reasonable limits. The same applies for the tolerance for all the independent variables.

Model 1. Multiple linear regression model

4.6 Exploratory factor analysis

The results from the exploratory factor analysis revealed that the items were mostly above the
threshold of 0,5 for the average variance extracted (See Table 7) except for item 11 which
was related to the dependent variable luxury purchase intention and had to be disregarded
(Hair et al., 2010). Nonetheless, the three items concerning the independent variable attitude
had the strongest factor loading. The lowest factor loading was the item that was disregarded
as well as eight which was related to the independent variable perceived behavioral control.

31
The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and Barlett’s test revealed
several findings, the measure of sampling adequacy was high and amounted to (0,90). The
Barlett’s Test of sphericity indicated several findings including the chi-square (2304,028), df
(66) and sig. At ,000. The eigenvalue consisted of 2 components for the 12 items with an
eigenvalue <1 (component 1= 6,8%) that explains 63% of the variance and (component 2 =
1,4%) that explains 13% of the variance

Table 7. Factor loadings for each item

32
5. Analysis and Discussion

This chapter will analyze and further discuss each variable of the framework based on the
results of the findings. Each variable will determine whether the hypotheses will be confirmed
or rejected.

The results derived from the SPSS analysis in the previous chapter have been used as a basis
for either confirming or rejecting the four different hypotheses of this study. The figure below
shows that all four hypotheses have been confirmed.

Figure 3. Theoretical framework with adjusted hypotheses results

The study’s result indicates that there is a significant relationship between attitude and luxury
purchase intention, based on the multiple regression analysis. This means that the more
positive attitude a consumer has, will in turn increase the likelihood for a consumer to
purchase luxury goods online. One of several justifications for this result may be resembled
from the means of the responses which were above the median range of 4. As for the
correlation results, Item 3 had a very strong positive correlation with the significance at the
0,01 level with Item 1 and Item 2. When analyzing the multiple regression model, attitude
had a positive β value of 0,441. Moreover, R² amounted to 0,632, indicating that 63,2% of the
dependent variable luxury purchase intention is described by the independent variables
combined, including attitude. The p value amounted to < 0,001, which indicates a strong
association with the dependent variable, luxury purchase intention. In addition, the

33
multicollinearity test indicates that the VIF value was within acceptable levels. The same
applies for the tolerance which amounted to 0,626, which also is within acceptable levels
between 0 and 1. As Saunders et al. (2016) mentions, the tolerance level of the
multicollinearity should be as high as possible within the maximum range of 1. As for the
factor loading analysis, all the items concerning the variable attitude were above 0,7. The
results for the three independent variable attitude had the strongest factor loadings, with all of
them being above 0.9. The results from Hypothesis 1 is in line with the previous study
conducted by Ajitha and Sivakumar (2019) which found that the need for uniqueness as well
as self monitoring had a positive significant influence on several aspects of attitude. In
addition, Jain et al. (2017) argued the most significant determinant for consumers’ purchase
intentions in regard to luxury fashion goods was factors such as attitude. The aforementioned
results lead to the outcome that it is likely that attitude has a positive influence on consumers’
intention of luxury purchases online, leading to the outcome that H1 is confirmed.

Based on the findings, there is a positive significant relationship between subjective norm and
luxury purchase intention. This signifies that subjective norm will have a moderate positive
impact on consumers' intention to purchase luxury goods online. This may be resembled
through various analyses such as the mean responses of the questionnaire. Out of the three
Items for this variable, only one was above the median range of 3 and the rest had a neutral
stance towards the statement. Another justification may be drawn from the correlation
analysis. Besides the moderate positive correlations at the 0,001 level, there were three strong
positive correlations at the 0,001 level such as Item 5 with Item 4, Item 6 with Item 4 as well
as Item 6 with Item 5. The results from the multiple regression model, indicates that the
subjective norm had a positive β value of 0,235. Furthermore, R² amounted to 0,632,
indicating that 63,2% of the dependent variable luxury purchase intention is described by the
independent variables combined, including the subjective norm. The p value amounted to <
0,001, which indicates a strong association with the dependent variable, luxury purchase
intention. In addition, the multicollinearity test indicated that the VIF value was within
acceptable levels. The same applies for the tolerance which amounted to 1,987. The same
applies for the tolerance which amounted to 0,503, which also is within acceptable levels
between 0 and 1. As for the factor loading analysis, all the items concerning the variable
subjective norm were between 0,6 and 0,7. The results from the aforementioned results are in
line with the previous study conducted by Jain et al. (2017) which had an aim to investigate

34
consumers’ purchase intention of luxury fashion goods and found that subjective norm was a
determinant factor. Moreover, this may also be justified by a previous study conducted by Lin
et al. (2015) which had an aim to investigate factors influencing consumers’ intention
towards internet banking services and found that the subjective norm was one of several
significant factors that had a positive influence. The results lead to the outcome that it is
likely that the subjective norm has a positive influence on consumers’ intention of luxury
purchases online, leading to the outcome that H2 is confirmed.

The results for the variable perceived behavioral control indicates that there is a significant
relationship between perceived behavioral control and luxury purchase intention. This
implies that perceived behavioral control will increase the likelihood for a consumer to
purchase luxury goods online. This may be resembled from the results such as the mean
responses of the questionnaire which were above the median range of 3. The correlations
results indicate several strong positive correlations. Besides the moderate positive
correlations, there were strong positive correlations at the 0,01 level with the following items:
Item 7 with Item 4, Item 8 with Item 7 and Item 9 with Item 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The multiple
regression model revealed that perceived behavioral control had a positive β value of 0,251.
R² amounted to 0,632, indicating that 63,2% of the dependent variable luxury purchase
intention is described by the independent variables combined, including perceived behavioral
control. Furthermore, the p value amounted to < 0,001, which indicates a strong association
with the dependent variable, luxury purchase intention. The multicollinearity test indicates
that the VIF values were within acceptable levels. The same applies for the tolerance which
amounted to 0,488, which also is within acceptable levels between 0 and 1. As for the factor
loadings, the results varied between the items concerning perceived behavioral control. One
item was above 0,7 followed by 0,5 and lastly the third amounting to 0,8. The results are as
well in line with the previous study conducted by Huang et al. (2011) which had an aim to
investigate factors that influenced consumers’ decision to purchase online and found that
factors such as perceived behavioral control had a positive significant relationship. This may
also be in line with the study conducted by Lin et al. (2015) which found that perceived
behavioral control had a positive significant effect on motivation regarding online banking
services. This in turn leads to the outcome that it is likely that perceived behavioral control
has a positive effect on consumers’ intention of luxury purchases online, leading to the
outcome that H3 is confirmed.

35
The aforementioned results show that the independent variables; attitude, subjective norm
and perceived behavioral control, have a positive influence on luxury purchase intention. The
outline of the model for this study is that H1, H2 and H3 have a positive influence on H4.
Moreover, there is a positive influence on luxury purchase intention in relation to luxury
purchase behavior. This is due to the positive influence from all three variables: attitude,
subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Nonetheless, attitude has the strongest
influence for luxury purchase intention and in turn leading to a determinant factor for luxury
purchase behavior. Moreover, the results from hypothesis 4 are as well in line with the
previous studies that also found that purchase intention of luxury consumers had a positive
significant relationship with luxury purchase behavior (Hennigs et al., 2015; Soh et al.,
2017). The aforementioned discussion shows that luxury purchase intention has a positive
influence on consumers luxury purchase behavior, leading to the outcome that H4 is
confirmed.

36
6. Conclusion

This chapter will answer the research question for this study, namely: What factors influence
consumers’ involvement in luxury purchases online? Followed by the results for the analysis,
implications for this study as well as a theoretical contribution.

The aim of this study was to examine the research question for this study based on the four
hypotheses. The results of this study indicate that attitude, subjective norm and perceived
behavioral control have a significant influence on luxury purchase intention which in turn
determines the luxury purchase behavior of online consumers’. Specifically, attitude which is
the behavioral belief had the strongest influence on the consumers’ intention of online luxury
purchases followed by subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. This may as well
indicate that the internal motives have the strongest influence on consumers’ luxury purchase
behavior. Furthermore, the results may be connected to the female generation z consumers
due to the large overrepresentation. The correlation results as well as the eigenvalues assist
the β value in order to make the variable attitude stand out from the rest of the independent
variables of the framework. The mean response from the questionnaire also indicates that
most of the respondents had a positive attitude towards luxury purchases overall.
Additionally, the majority of the respondents did think that luxury goods were beneficial as
well as worthwhile. Nonetheless, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control did have
an impact, hence not to the same extent as attitude. The items of the questionnaire were
derived from Jain et al. (2017) and have set a good fine basis for the questionnaire of this
study. The main implication of this study is that the three independent variables may partially
explain the influence of online luxury consumers’ behavior. including other variables may in
turn increase the explanation for other influences. Henceforth, the study has managed to fill
in the research gap in regard to consumer behavior of online luxury purchases. Specifically,
by conducting the study in Sweden and focusing on a different product segment such as cars
which has undergone a slow adoption (Chevalier & Gutsatz, 2012). Moreover, the study
confirms the findings of the previous study conducted by Shin et al. (2022) which argued for
gen Z having a high level of loyalty towards luxury goods in terms of attitude. The findings
of this study indicate that the Swedish market had a similar effect in terms of characteristics
and behavioral influence for the markets tested before.

37
7. Limitations
The limitations of this study are evident from different perspectives. First and foremost, the
overrepresentation of females makes it hard to generalize the results for all genders. In
addition, the questionnaire did not narrow down the geographical dimensions into specific
cities which makes it hard to determine where the respondents are located. The
overrepresentation of gen Z respondents in the age group of 18 - 27 amounted to 50,8%.
However, these limitations may have been contrasting if the questionnaire was restricted to
only students in the age range of 18 - 27. Furthermore, the sample size was too small for
generalizing the entire Swedish population.

8. Recommendations and future research

The authors of this study recommend future research to replicate this study on a much larger
scale as well as including additional variables of consumer behavior. This is done so the
researcher may be able to capture a broader perspective on consumer behavior as well as
being able to make a generalization over a specific population. The authors also urge future
research to investigate the potential influence of foreign brands in the researcher's domestic
environment. Furthermore, examining which factors that influence attitude could be done in
order to further analyze the behavior of online consumers of luxury goods. Moreover, the
authors recommend specifying the age group as well as occupation in order to reach a more
narrow conclusion. Lastly, future research may combine a mixed methodological approach in
order to explore a diverse perspective of online consumer behavior.

38
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Appendices

Appendix A - Items with response rate

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52