關於線上購物銷售的成長以及擴散之預測有時總是令人驚訝的。然而，相較於這些預測，目前線上購物銷售的金額相較於傳統零售業仍然相對偏低。如何提升消費者到線上購物的意圖仍然是一個關鍵的問題。從資訊搜尋成本的觀點來看，零售商以及不同的零售通路型態是在它們「傳遞給消費者資訊的效率性」上競爭。與任何其他的創新相同，線上購物必須相符或是超越傳統零售通路所能提供給消費者的利益才有可能成功。

本研究討論了「資訊超載」的現象是否存在於在虛擬的網路環境之中，同時討論其對消費者線上購物意圖的影響。此外，本研究同時也討論了以下三個變數：產品知識、自我效能以及產品涉入是否會對消費者的認知資訊超載造成干擾。同時，本研究亦將探討目前被廣泛使用的資訊過濾機制—分類目錄，是否可以有效率且有效果地幫助消費者篩選產品資訊？

本研究使用實驗設計的方法來操作化研究架構。研究結果顯示在網路購物情境中，消費者在高資訊量以及沒有資訊過濾機制的情況下，所認知到的資訊超載的確比在低資訊量以及有過濾機制的情況下來得高。同時，產品知識以及產品涉入程度較高的消費者，所認知到的資訊超載比產品知識以及產品涉入程度較低的消費者來得低。此外，認知到較高的資訊超載的消費者，對於他們的購物決策結果傾向於有較差的感受。

Projections about the growth and diffusion of on-lone shopping are sometimes breathtaking. However, in contrast to the projections, current sales remain relatively low compared to traditional retailing. How to enhance consumers’ intention to shop on-line is still a critical problem. From the information searching cost point of view, retailers and retail formats compete in the type of information they convey effectively to consumers. Similar to any innovation, on-line shopping will need to match or exceed the utility provided by traditional retailers to succeed.

This article discussed whether information overload phenomena exist in the virtual environment and its effect on consumer’s intention to shop on line. Besides, this study also discussed if the three variables: product knowledge, self-efficacy, and product involvement will influence consumer’s perceived information overload, and whether the wildly used information filtering mechanisms would facilitate consumers to screen product information effectively and efficiently.

This study used the experimental method to operationalize the theoretical framework. The results revealed that in the Internet purchasing environment, consumers in the high information load situation and situation without information filtering mechanisms perceived higher information overload. And consumers with higher product knowledge and product involvement perceived lower information overload than consumers with lower product knowledge and product involvement. Additionally, Consumers who perceived higher information overload tended to feel worse about their purchase decisions.

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………1
1.1 Research Background…………………………………………1
1.2 Research Motives and Questions………………………………3
1.3 Research Purposes ……………………………………………7
2. Literature Review………………………………………………….…8
2.1 Consumer Purchase Behaviors…………………………………8
2.2 Theories of Decision making…………………………………15
2.3 Theory of Consumer Purchasing Information Needs…………19
2.4 Information Overload…………………………………………22
3. Research Model………………………………………………………32
3.1 Research Framework…………………………………………32
3.2 Research Hypotheses…………………………………………35
4. Methodology…………………………………………………………41
4.1 Definition and Operationalization of the Variables…………41
4.2 Experiment Design……………………………………………45
4.3 Pretest…………………………………………………………48
4.4 Main Study……………………………………………………51
5. Data Analysis and Results……………………………………………52
5.1 Descriptive Data Analysis……………………………………52
5.2 Validity and Reliability………………………………………53
5.3 Two-way ANOVA……………………………………………61
5.4 Correlation Analysis…………………………………………63
5.5 Hypotheses Testing ……………………………………69
5.6 Research Hypotheses and Results……………………………85
6. Discussions and Implications………………………………………86
6.1 Research Findings and Conclusions…………………………86
6.2 Implications…………………………………………………90
6.3 Research Limitations and Future Research Suggestions………91
Reference………………………………………………93
Appendix………………………………………………………………98

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