Click, Trust, Purchase: The Roles of Attitude, Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavioural Control and Trust in Shaping Online Consumer Buying Behaviour

This paper aims to develop a theoretical framework consists of factors that influence towards online consumer buying behaviour among young adults in Malaysia. Specifically, it investigates how key determinants attitude towards online consumer buying behaviour, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and perceived trust affect purchasing decisions, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as the guiding framework. The study employs a conceptual and theoretical approach, synthesising existing literature to build a framework links attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control with behavioural intention in online shopping. The target group is young adults aged 18 – 35 who are actively engaged on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. Previous studies suggest that perceived behavioural control plays a significant role in influencing online purchase behaviour, particularly when trust and peer influence are involved. The TPB constructs have demonstrated strong predictive power in consumer behaviour. A conceptual framework is proposed, integrating attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and perceived trust as predictors of online consumer buying behaviour. This model is intended for future empirical validation. The novelty of this paper lies in its integration of perceived trust into the TPB model within the specific context of online consumer buying behaviour on social media platforms a relatively underexplored area in Malaysian e-commerce research. By focusing on young adult consumers, this paper also addresses a demographic that is highly relevant yet often generalized in broader marketing studies.