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korean management review - Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 829-847
Abbreviation: kmr
ISSN: 1226-1874 (Print)
Print publication date 30 Jun 2016
Received 20 Apr 2015 Revised 19 Oct 2015 Accepted 21 Feb 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17287/kmr.2016.45.3.829
An Empirical Study on the Cognitive Differentiation of Uncertainty Embedded in the Decision-Making Process of e-Commerce: Mind-Set Theory Perspective
Do Young Choi* ; Kun Chang Lee**
*Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, Daejeon University, First Author (dychoi96@gmail.com)
**Professor, SKK Business School/SAIHST(Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences & Technology), Sungkyunkwan University, Corresponding Author (kunchanglee@gmail.com)
의사결정 프로세스를 고려한 불확실성의 인지적 차이에 대한 실증 연구
최도영* ; 이건창**
*(주저자) 대전대학교 경영학과 조교수 (dychoi96@gmail.com)
**(교신저자) 성균관대학교 경영대학/SAIHST 교수 (kunchanglee@gmail.com)
Funding Information ▼ Ministry of Education National Research Foundation of Korea NRF-2014S1A3A2038108

Despite the fact that there exists a great deal of previous studies regarding uncertainty under e-Commerce environment, they seem to simply focus on considering trust as a factor which could reduce uncertainty and its effect. In this respect, previous studies about handling uncertainty issues in the process of e-Commerce seem to be mainly focused on measuring uncertainty about the e-Commerce seller or websites itself. Recently, studies about the uncertainty involved in e-Commerce have started to decompose the uncertainty into two categories such as product uncertainty and seller uncertainty. When the uncertainty is categorized into two types, it became easier for the researchers to identify those factors affecting the uncertainty. However, this study was initiated by the research motivation that it is not sufficient for the uncertainty to be divided into product uncertainty and seller uncertainty. Rather, it seems that we have neglected an important fact how decision makers perceive the uncertainty when they try to make decisions in the process of conducting e-Commerce activities.

In one words, decision makers feel uncertainty throughout the whole phases of making decisions about the e-Commerce transactions, from initial phase to a final phase. Decision makers start to feel uncertainty when they started browsing e-Commerce websites to look for right products and sellers with reasonable price and trustworthy transaction conditions. They also feel uncertainty when they need to pay with credit cards. Even they feel uncertainty, to some degree, after they pay and wait for the arrival of products. However, there are few studies in literature about the uncertainty management in the fields of e-Commerce in which uncertainty is handled throughout the whole phases of decision-making.

Therefore, this study proposes measuring uncertainty both in the pre-decision stage, and post-decision stage in order to reduce uncertainty and enhance QoD(Quality of Decision) with respect to the e-Commerce activities. Decision here implies an e-Commerce decision. Empirical results with valid 43 participants (21 for the pre-decision stage, and 23 for the post-decision stage) revealed that there exist significant differences in the level of perceived uncertainty between the pre-decision stage and post-decision stage. The level of perceived uncertainty for the pre-decision stage was higher than that of the post-decision stage. To be specific, we divided uncertainty into four dimensions- uncertainty about the brand of e-Commerce sellers (or websites), uncertainty about the product performance, uncertainty about the behavior of e-Commerce sellers (or websites), and uncertainty about the environment of e-Commerce sellers (or websites). Results were that the perceived uncertainty about the brand and behavior of e-Commerce sellers in the pre-decision stage was higher than that in the post-decision stage.

Out of the empirical results like this, we could build a new conceptualization mechanism about uncertainty by using a mind-set theory showing that the cognitive structure and behavior in deliberative mind-set which refers to the state of mind before decision is different from cognitive structure and behavior in implemental mind-set which refers to the state of mind after decision. We hope that our results may be helpful for the researchers to develop a new theory to analyze the uncertainty embedded in e-Commerce activities.

본 연구에서는 전자상거래를 통한 의사결정 프로세스 전체 관점에서 단계별로 의사결정자의 불확실성을 감소시켜 의사결정의 질(QoD)을 향상시키기 위한 기제를 마련하기 위해 의사결정 이전과 의사결정 이후로 구분하여 인지된 불확실성에 차이가 있는지를 측정하였다. 이를 위해, 기존의 의사결정이론과 마음상태이론의 입장에서 전자상거래 상에서의 의사결정 단계 전체 관점에서 불확실성을 고찰하고, 의사결정 단계에 따라 인지된 불확실성에 차이가 있는지를 실증분석 하였다. 본 연구에서는 전자상거래를 이용한 해외직구 상황에서의 실험연구를 통해 의사결정 이전 그룹과 의사결정 이후 그룹 간의 인지된 불확실성에 차이가 있는 것을 확인하였으며, 의사결정 이전의 인지된 불확실성이 의사결정 이후의 인지된 불확실성 보다 높은 것으로 확인되었다. 구체적으로, 측정된 네 가지 불확실성 – 브랜드에 대한 불확실성, 성능에 대한 불확실성, 행위에 대한 불확실성, 환경에 대한 불확실성 – 중 브랜드에 대한 불확실성과 행위에 대한 불확실성에서 의사결정 이전 그룹의 인지된 불확실성이 의사결정 이후 그룹의 인지된 불확실성 보다 높은 것으로 확인되었다. 이러한 결과는 의사결정 이전의 마음상태인 숙고하는 마음상태에서의 인지적 구조와 행동이 의사결정 이후의 마음상태인 실행하는 마음상태에서의 인지적 구조와 행동과 다르다는 마음상태 이론의 설명을 지지하는 결과라고 할 수 있다.