Antecedents of Purchase Intention on E-Commerce Platforms: Evidence from Vietnam

Research purpose: The main objective of the paper is to identify the key variables that influence Vietnamese consumers’ purchasing intention within e-commerce platforms. Research motivation: Despite a substantial body of research focusing on online consumer behaviour in Vietnam, there remains a noticeable gap in literature concerning the heterogeneity in consumer purchase intentions within e-commerce landscape. A theoretical aspiration of this paper is to validate the applicability of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in the contexts of e-commerce platform. In this paper, an adoption of TAM was proposed with an additional construct incorporated – Transaction Security. In the domain of e-commerce, Transaction Security has been identified as a paramount determinant influencing consumer intentions towards online shopping. Research design, approach, and method: Grounded in the framework of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the present study advances a conjectural model aimed at understanding purchase intention in the realm of e-commerce. A novel construct, Transaction Security, was incorporated into the TAM framework to reflect its pivotal role in e-commerce. Utilizing SPSS for data analysis, the study engaged a sample of 256 respondents through a questionnaire employing the snowball sampling method. Utilizing the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for data analysis, the proposed model was evaluated through data garnered from a sample of 256 respondents, employing a survey questionnaire and utilizing the snowball sampling technique. Main findings: The findings revealed that the adapted TAM model accounted for 55.2% of the variance in purchase intentions, with perceived long-term usefulness emerging as the most significant predictor, followed by perceived ease of use and transaction security. The study also identified a strong consumer preference for specific e-commerce platforms—namely Shopee, Lazada, and Tiki—and for particular categories of products. Practical/managerial implications: Practically, the results advocate for e-commerce platforms in Vietnam to focus on enhancing the perceived value of online shopping through user-centric design, interactive features, and robust security protocols. These strategic imperatives not only fulfill diverse consumer needs but also elevate the precision of product-specific information, thereby fostering greater consumer trust and engagement. This study contributes both to the theoretical discourse on e-commerce consumer behavior and offers actionable insights for industry stakeholders.