Behavioural analysis of subjects interacting with information technology: categorising the behaviour of e-consumers

摘要

In traditional marketing research, market segmentation has often been used to categorise consumer behaviour. However, this approach has seldom been used to study consumer behaviour when using information and communication technologies (ICTs) in general and the internet in particular. Based on a sample of 700 subjects, this research proposes segmenting internet users by applying factor and cluster analysis to divide users into three groups, based on the main reported intended uses of the various internet applications and tools in the near future. Together with demographic information and envisaged internet usage, a differential profile is devised for each segment. Analysis also enables extracting the main factors encompassing the different attitudes towards internet usage. Reflections on the segments obtained their implications for business management, study limitations and proposals for future research avenues are presented in the conclusions section.