Consumer Search in Cross-Border E-Commerce: A Pre-Purchase Uncertainty-Management Mechanism Among Generation Z Consumers in Vietnam

Cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) has increased the importance of pre-purchase information search, especially for Generation Z consumers navigating cross-border uncertainty in digital environments. This study examines how search-related cognitions are translated into search motivation, search behavior, and purchase intention, and positions consumer search as the immediate pre-purchase mechanism through which uncertainty is managed before purchase intention forms. Drawing on external information search theory and cognitive–motivational reasoning, the study distinguishes between action-enabling cognition and evaluation-based cognition in a staged framework. Survey data from 699 Generation Z consumers in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta were analyzed using consistent partial least squares structural equation modeling (cPLS/PLSc) with consistent bootstrapping. The results show that perceived search ability positively influences search behavior, perceived search benefits positively influence search motivation, search motivation positively influences search behavior, and search behavior positively influences purchase intention. Contrary to the hypothesized negative direction, perceived search costs positively influence search motivation. The findings clarify how different search-related cognitions shape behavioral engagement in CBEC and extend international consumer research to an underexamined emerging-market context.