Gestion de la virtualite dans les relations commerciales: La preference du consommateur pour un canal

This thesis addresses the following research question: "What is the relationship between the variables that explain the consumer's behavior regarding his preference for a channel in his consumption process?" Several objectives have been set in relation with this research question. Firstly, we wished to develop and improve the knowledge related to the consumer's behavior in an electronic commerce context in order to help the firms make a better use of the electronic commerce technologies and implement better business practices. Secondly, we wanted to propose and test empirically a model of the consumer's behavior which establishes the relationship between the variables explaining the consumer's preference for a channel in his consumption process. Lastly, we wanted to develop and broaden the knowledge that allows a better understanding of the impact of the virtuality in commercial relationships so as to help the firms manage in a more efficient manner this organizational dimension of growing importance.Secondly, we have reviewed the literature available in order to determine the factors that explain the consumer's preference for a channel. This review of the scientific literature has allowed us to identify three categories of factors: the factors related to the individual characteristics of the consumer, the factors related to the characteristics of the product and the factors related to the characteristics of the channel (chapter 3).These literature reviews enabled the construction of a conceptual frame that allows us to explain the consumer's preference for a channel and to generate our research hypotheses (chapter 4).To test these hypotheses, an empirical study based on electronic questionnaires has been carried out. A total of 1010 respondents have participated in our study. The data collected from the respondents has allowed us to validate a measurement instrument, to perform statistical analysis based on structural equations models, and to test our hypotheses (chapter 5).In this perspective, we have first defined the concept of virtuality and its impact on commercial relationships. This discussion lead to a literature review which allowed us to present a solid theoretical frame offering an explanation of the impact of the virtuality on commercial relationships. This literature review shed light on the importance of the consumer's informational needs in his channel selection process (chapter 2).These analyses led to several research results. We concluded that the consumer's preference for a channel is a complex phenomenon that can be explained by numerous factors and by the interrelations that exist between these factors. The analyses performed through structural equations models allowed us to find empirical support for the proposition that the consumer's level of preference for a channel can be explained by the following variables: the level of trust towards the channel, the perception of the risk related to the channel, the attitude towards the channel, the level of experience with the channel, the nature of the motivation, the level of involvement, the nature of the product, the characteristics of the channels, and the variables related to the demographic profile (age, revenue, education level, sex, experience purchasing the product, and general use of the Internet). Moreover, the results of our analyses show that the relationship between the level of trust towards the channel, the perception of the risk related to the channel, the attitude towards the channel, the level of experience with the channel, the nature of the motivation, the level of involvement, the level of intangibility and the consumer's preference for a channel is partially mediated by the perception of the level of fit between the informational needs and the perceived nature of the information presented by the channel. The results also show that, under certain circumstances, the relationship between the perception of the risk related to the channel, the level of experience with the channel, the level of intangibility and the consumer's preference for a channel is totally mediated by the perception of the level of fit between the informational needs and the perceived nature of the information presented by the channel. These results pave the way for a new research approach in the explanation of the consumer's preference for a channel and validate the media selection theories in a commercial context. To our knowledge, this is the first validation of these theories in a context of commercial relationships (chapter 6). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...