Purpose: This study aims to contribute to the improvement of business performance of small businesses by re-analyzing business performance and related variables from a consumer's perspective and investigating the role of regulatory variables such as the degree of correlation between cause and result variables.
Research design, data, and methodology: A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed for this research, and 283 of the collected questionnaires were finally utilized for research analysis. The analysis process used the SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21.0 program and conducted frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis to verify the validity and consistency of measuring instruments to examine demographics. The conformity was confirmed using the structural equation model, and after the hypothesis was verified through path coefficient analysis, multiple population analysis was performed to verify the adjustment effect.
Results: Of the five variables presented in this study, interaction quality, process quality, and distribution management were identified as having an impact on purchasing intentions, while the remaining physical environmental quality and product management were identified as having no impact. In the case of low-engagement products, it was confirmed that the quality of interaction had a statistically significant impact on purchasing intent. In the case of co-related products, it has been confirmed that process quality has a statistically significant impact on purchasing intent.
Conclusions: Products handled by small merchants can be classified according to the level of engagement, but according to the results of this study, low-engagement products can improve buying motivation through interaction with consumers. On the other hand, in the case of co-related products, purchasing intent can be enhanced through process quality, and consumers can expect to change their attitudes through physical environment and distribution management. These results indicate that different approaches to improvement should be taken depending on the item of the small merchant.