Sociological Overview of the Determinants of Internet Purchase among Students in Croatia

Abstract

Valorising Internet purchase as a current phenomenon that has recently been rapidly growing worldwide, this paper points to the lack of social, especially sociological, analysis of the topic in the context of Croatian society. By reviewing the literature about Internet buyers’ profiles, a research framework has been developed for conducting a survey among students, who are recognised as the anticipators of contemporary consumer and technological trends. Using operationalised multiple forms of capital with demographic variables and variables of technological resources and practices, the analysis of the determinants of Internet purchase among students in Croatia (N = 1094) has been conducted. Original empirical survey findings showed that students’ Internet purchase is predicted most reliably by their technological resources, technological skills and interest in such a way that students better equipped with new technologies, with pronounced technological skills and an interest in following technological trends are more likely to be Internet consumers. The aspects of technological resources and practices combined with economic capital have been affirmed as significant factors in distinguishing students who are (not) buying via the Internet, which underlined multilevel inequalities within the perspective of students’ Internet purchase. A prominent concern about online risks and traditional attachment to physical consumption turned out to be the respondents’ main reasons not to buy via the Internet, which encompassed its developmental dynamics within the topics of social inequality and distrust.