DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.175115.2 ISSN: 2046-1402

The impact of online store specifications on enhancing the attractiveness of customer perception of the product: An analytical study of the opinions of a sample of Iraqi virtual store customers

Sadia Awid Awni, Ahmed Abbas Hammadi, Imad Ali Mahmood Al-halboosi, Hisham Jadallah Mansour Shakaterh, Doaa Salman, Ayat Muhammad Nabil Wahib Ababneh, Andriy Stavytskyy, Farouq Ahmad Faleh Alazzam, Rafat Hisham Shakaterh
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Background Despite rapid e-commerce growth in emerging markets, approximately 30% of online users in Iraq avoid online shopping due to low trust. Prior research has conflated distinct dimensions of store quality, and no study has specifically investigated how information quality, system quality, and service quality differentially influence customer perceptual attractiveness—a distinct construct comprising emotional attraction, wisdom in purchasing, and confidence when purchasing. Objectives This study aims to (1) determine the bivariate and multivariate effects of information quality, system quality, and service quality on customer perceptual attractiveness; (2) test whether purchase frequency varies by gender; (3) assess customer awareness of online store specifications; and (4) identify which specifications contribute most significantly to enhancing product attractiveness. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 350 customers of ten Iraqi online stores in Baghdad Governorate (February 3–20, 2025). Convenience sampling with stratified targeting was employed. Data were analyzed using a two-stage approach: PLS-SEM (SmartPLS 4.0) for measurement model validation (reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity via HTMT), followed by multiple regression (SPSS V.28) for structural path testing with Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) assessment for multicollinearity. Results The measurement model demonstrated acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α: 0.804–0.920; CR: 0.812–0.916) and convergent validity (AVE: 0.528–0.743). Discriminant validity was established (all HTMT values <0.85). Bivariate analyses showed significant positive effects for all three dimensions (IQ: β = 0.815, p < 0.001; SQ: β = 0.616, p < 0.001; SEQ: β = 0.787, p < 0.001). However, in multivariate analysis, information quality (β = 0.436, p < 0.001, VIF = 2.14) and service quality (β = 0.493, p < 0.001, VIF = 2.08) remained significant, while system quality became non-significant (β = −0.037, p = 0.493, VIF = 1.96). The combined model explained 67% of variance (R 2  = 0.674, F = 188.878, p < 0.001). No significant gender difference was found in purchase frequency (Mann-Whitney U = 6430.1, p = 0.442). Customer awareness of store specifications was moderate (M = 3.592, SD = 0.725 on a 5-point scale). Conclusions Information quality and service quality function as “motivator factors” that directly enhance customer perceptual attractiveness, while system quality operates as a “hygiene factor”—necessary but not sufficient for differentiation. The suppression of system quality’s effect in multivariate analysis is attributable to multicollinearity among the highly correlated dimensions (r = 0.62–0.71), not to theoretical irrelevance. This represents the first empirical demonstration of Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory in e-commerce perception research with appropriate multicollinearity controls. Scientific Contribution (1) Theoretically, introduces Herzberg’s framework to distinguish hygiene vs. motivator factors in e-commerce; (2) Empirically, provides the first PLS-SEM analysis of e-commerce perception in Iraq with full discriminant validity and multicollinearity reporting; (3) Methodologically, demonstrates the necessity of VIF assessment when interpreting dimension-specific effects in multidimensional quality constructs.

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