The role of personality in the relationship between behavioural intention of online group-buying and its determinants in Hong Kong

There is an increasing emphasis on understanding the behavioural intention of online group-buying decisions and consumer motives for purchasing products from online group-buying services. Researchers have recognised that dimensions of one’s personality are likely to influence one’s online behaviour, and individuals’ personality traits are suspected of playing a moderating role in influencing behavioural intention towards online group-buying. This dissertation aims to understand and investigate the role of personality in the relationship between behavioural intention to engage in online group-buying services and its determinants. By using the partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM) approach (PLS-SEM), the results vindicate the use of Ajzen’s TPB in explaining the behavioural intention in the online group-buying context. The findings suggest that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control has positive effects on the behavioural intention of online group-buying in Hong Kong. Further, in the relationship between perceived behavioural controls towards online group-buying, the research findings indicated that the personality traits of ‘extraversion’ and ‘openness to experience’ exert positive moderating effects on this relationship, while the personality traits of ‘conscientiousness’ and ‘neuroticism’ exert negative moderating effects on this relationship. However, the personality trait of ‘openness to experience’ was the only personality trait that amplified the statistically negative relationship between subjective norms and behavioural intention in the TPB model.