Perceived Factors of Online Shopping, Purchase Intention, And Online Purchasing Behavior of International Students Studying in China: The Moderating Effect of Cultural Differences

Abstract

With the rapid advancement of the internet and mobile technology, the global e-commerce industry is experiencing unprecedented growth. As the largest e-commerce market in the world, China has made significant progress in e-commerce infrastructure, payment methods, and logistics systems in recent years. However, international students in China may face challenges and opportunities in the online shopping environment that differ from those in their home countries. As a unique consumer group, the online shopping behavior of international students is influenced not only by personal characteristics, technology acceptance, and other factors but also by their cultural backgrounds. This study aims to explore the behavior patterns of international students in China’s online shopping environment, particularly how online shopping perceptions, cultural differences, and purchase intentions jointly influence their online shopping behavior. Through a questionnaire survey, this research selects foreign students from Chongqing and Chengdu as subjects, establishing an empirical model covering e-commerce perception factors, cross-cultural adaptation characteristics, consumption decision tendencies, and cross-border online shopping behavior. The study systematically analyzes the interactive effects of multiple factors on international students' online consumption behavior. The introduction chapter outlines the research's value and practical significance, clarifies the academic objectives and research approach, and summarizes the innovative dimensions and academic breakthroughs of this study. The theoretical foundation chapter integrates consumer decision-making mechanisms, rational behavior frameworks, technology adoption models, risk perception theories, and cross-cultural adaptation theories, constructing a multi-dimensional academic analysis framework. The model construction chapter clearly defines the observed and latent variables in the empirical study, establishes a quantifiable indicator system, and deduces a series of testable hypotheses based on theoretical reasoning. In the research implementation section, the focus is on data collection standards and quality control processes, detailing the dimensional division and scale selection criteria for the questionnaire design, as well as sampling strategies and the effective response rate of the questionnaires. The data analysis module uses statistical software to systematically process the sample data, conducting internal consistency tests, structural validity verification, multicollinearity diagnostics, and hierarchical regression analysis, ultimately completing the empirical validation of the research hypotheses. The core objective of this study is to explore the consumption characteristics of foreign students on Chinese e-commerce platforms, with a focus on how online consumption perception dimensions (including perceptions of shopping convenience, ease of use, transaction risks, and platform trust) influence actual purchasing behavior through the mediation of purchase intentions. The study also examines the moderating effects of cross-cultural dimensions (involving individual value orientations, class cognition differences, and risk aversion tendencies) in the consumption decision-making chain, providing empirical evidence for optimizing international user service experiences on cross-border e-commerce platforms. Through in-depth data analysis and hypothesis testing, this research aims to provide targeted marketing strategy recommendations for e-commerce platforms, helping them better understand and serve this important international consumer group, thus promoting the development of cross-border e-commerce.