Coping with IT! Antecedents and Consequences of Technostress in E-Commerce

Abstract

Technostress represents a high risk for e-commerce operators as consumers perceiving technostress are likely to leave online stores without making a purchase. However, research on technostress mechanisms in e-commerce is scarce. Conducting an online between-subjects experiment, we aim to address these research gaps by providing insights on when technostress arises in an e-commerce context, which coping strategies consumers apply when perceiving technostress and how this affects their behavior: We empirically investigate which technology-induced stressors create technostress in an online store and how they affect purchase intention. Our moderated mediation analysis based on 160 respondents reveals a negative indirect effect of technostress on consumers’ purchasing intention, mediated by consumers’ perception of website quality, website trust, and choice of coping strategy. Thereby, we contribute to technostress, coping and e-commerce literature and extend research by presenting empirically validated technology-induced stressors together with insights into the mechanism of a transactional technostress-model in the context of e-commerce.