An empirical investigation of web site use using a commitment-based model

Companies throughout industry are interested in retaining existing customers, because customers' continuous consumption of products and services is critical to the long-term value propositions of most organizations. Thus, decision-making strategies that promote continuous use and customer retention are of research interest, both theoretically and practically. In the present research, we investigate one important area of continuous usage, that of Web site use. In particular, we use several theories of commitment to understand how an individual's decision to continue to use a Web site is influenced by his or her commitment toward that Web site and the vendor that supports it. Results derived from data collected from 335 users of a variety of Web sites indicated that affective commitment, calculative commitment, quality of alternatives, and trust were significantly associated with an individual's behavioral intention to continue to use a Web site. Implications for customer retention and decision-making strategies are discussed.