Factors affecting consumers' intention to buy products on e-commerce sites: A comparison between Azerbaijan and Türkiye

While online shopping offers consumers advantages such as convenience and access to a wide variety of products, it also carries risks, particularly those associated with sharing personal information. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that serve as antecedents of the intention to shop online via e-commerce channels and to determine whether these antecedents differ between markets where e-commerce is well-established and those where it is still emerging. Based on a review of the literature, factors influencing purchase intention are drawn from theories such as the Theory of Reasoned Action, the Theory of Planned Behavior, and the Diffusion of Innovations. These factors include self-efficacy, subjective norms, and four dimensions of perceived risk: financial risk, performance risk, social risk, and psychological risk. Additionally, the mediating role of trust between the independent variables and the dependent variable, online purchase intention, is examined. For this study, Turkey, a country where e-commerce is well-established, and Azerbaijan, a developing country, were selected as the two primary markets of interest. To assess how consumers' purchase intentions differ between these two countries, the research was designed using "Trendyol," the most widely used online shopping platform in both markets. The universe for the study consists of consumers with purchasing power residing in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Due to financial and time constraints, non-probability sampling, specifically convenience sampling, was employed. The data collection method was a survey and the data collection process, which began in May 2024, was completed in July 2024. The data obtained from the surveys were analyzed using quantitative techniques, with structural equation modeling (SEM) applied through two different software packages. SEM was chosen due to the study's focus on measuring relationships in two stages. The mediation role of trust can only be measured through SEM. After developing the model and loading the data into the system, the measurement and structural models were analyzed sequentially, followed by a comparison of how each variable differed between the countries using independent samples t-tests. According to the study, subjective norms and self-efficacy positively and significantly influence purchase intention in both countries. However, differences in the factors affecting purchase intention between the two countries were observed in the perceived risk and trust variables. In the Azerbaijani sample, perceived risk dimensions were found to influence trust, while in the Turkish sample, they did not. Regarding the mediating role of trust, trust plays a partial mediating role in the Turkish sample, whereas in the Azerbaijani sample, trust does not mediate purchase intention, as its effect on purchase intention is not significant.