Maximizing Tendency, Purchase Involvement, and Perceptions of Online Bookstores

This paper investigates the effects of the maximizing tendency (i.e., individual differences in pursuing the best option) on purchase involvement and the perceptions of Web sites. By using survey data collected from South Korea and the United States, we analyze the differences in purchase involvement, perceptions of Web sites, and intention to use between satisficers (those with low maximizing tendency) and maximizers (those with high maximizing tendency). In both samples, maximizers show higher purchase involvement than their counterparts. While the perceptions of usefulness and ease of use are significantly different between the two groups in the United States sample, we do not confirm the same pattern in the South Korean sample. We conclude with a discussion of the results and implications.