Understanding factors affecting social commerce purchase behavior: A longitudinal perspective

With the rapid increase in social media users and netizens globally, the proclivity for online shopping using social commerce (SC) platforms cannot be ignored. Trust has been recognised as a constant challenge in the context of social commerce due to the lack of face-to-face interaction. Therefore, there is a dire need to enhance the trust of consumers in social commerce platforms. However, the research in the formation of trust in social commerce and antecedents remains limited. In addition, the existing SC research failed to include its multidimensional view to investigate user behaviour. This study fills this gap and extends existing knowledge by developing a model exploring the antecedents of trust in social commerce. Drawing upon the social-technical theory and trust lens, this study attempts to identify the role of (i) structural assurance (SA) and SC platforms as an institution-based trust, (ii) trust in sellers and trust in SC community as trusting beliefs, and (iii) trust in online payment as a cognitive trust on trust and intention of the social commerce. This research employs a dataset (n = 406) collected using an online survey; the research subjects were recruited from Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. This study uses the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach to analyse the data and to confirm the hypothesis proposed in the research model. The empirical findings show that trust in social commerce influences behavioural intention. In addition, trust in the SC platform, the SC community, and online payment influence the trust in SC. Likewise, SA and trust in the SC platform have a significant relationship with trust in sellers, the SC community, and online payment. Finally, this study discusses the theoretical contributions and practical insights to several limitations and suggests directions for future research.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how firm-generated content (FGC) impacts consumer brand awareness, brand loyalty and electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and how this, in turn, influences consumer purchase intention.Design/methodology/approachIn order to test this conceptual framework, statistical analysis was carried out employing structural equation modelling.FindingsThe findings indicate that FGC has a positive impact on brand awareness, brand loyalty, eWOM and purchase intention. Furthermore, the results reveal that a link exists between consumer eWOM behaviour and brand awareness and loyalty. This study also demonstrates that company communication through Facebook and Instagram has a positive effect on consumer purchase intention. Finally, it has been shown that, regarding eWOM and purchase intention, FGC posted on Instagram has a greater impact on its users than that posted on Facebook.Originality/valueConsumer purchase intention is increasingly impacted by the growing use of social media by companies and marketers. This changing environment has opened up new challenges. However, there is still much work to be done in understanding the full effects of FGC communication, and how this influences consumer brand perception and purchase intention.

The trend of commerce through mobile apps has encouraged many social commerce companies to capitalize on this lucrative market opportunity. As a social commerce platform, TikTok Shop significantly influences consumer behavior, especially regarding purchase intention. Purchase intention has been a topic of interest in marketing and consumer behavior for many years. However, most of the previous studies used more quantitative approaches. This research aims to fill the gap in the literature by exploring the factors that influence consumer purchase intention in TikTok Shop social commerce. The method used is a literature study, which summarizes findings from 36 relevant articles. The results show that twenty factors influence consumer purchase intention. These factors include various aspects, ranging from trust to technical features of the TikTok Shop platform. As such, this research makes an essential contribution to understanding the dynamics of consumer purchase intentions in the growing era of digital commerce.

Navigating Social Media in #Ophthalmology

Social commerce has become a recent phenomenon and is poised to grow rapidly in the next few years. To better address customer behavior on social commerce platforms, it is imperative to acquire a comprehensive understanding of social commerce from the perspective of service quality. The objective of this research is to examine the dimensions of social commerce service quality and to reveal the factors influencing purchase intentions among the expanding user population. This study identified seven critical dimensions of social commerce service quality (website design, fulfilment, customer service, communication, contact, credibility, and security) that influence purchase intention. This research adopts a questionnaire survey method to collect data from social commerce users. Using PLS-SEM, the findings from an empirical analysis, conducted with a sample of 411 social commerce users, demonstrate that all measured dimensions significantly impact the intention to purchase. The findings also demonstrate that e-commerce has considerable influence on customer purchase intention as a partial mediator in social commerce. The findings hold significant implications for social commerce enterprises to increase customer attraction by identifying the motivations behind their purchasing decisions.

This study aims to examine the effect of on-time availability of service and product quality on consumers' purchase intention, with consumer trust as an intervening variable, at the Tahu Kota Manis MSME in Gunung Putri District. Purchase intention is influenced by many factors, including the timely availability of products, consistent product quality, and the level of consumer trust in the product. The sample of this study consisted of 97 MSME consumers, determined using the Lemeshow formula. Data collection was carried out through questionnaires distributed both offline and online. The data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method with the Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) approach. The results show that both on-time availability of service and product quality have a positive and significant effect on consumer trust. On-time availability of service also has a direct and significant effect on purchase intention. However, product quality does not have a direct significant effect on purchase intention. Consumer trust has a significant effect on purchase intention and significantly mediates the effect of both service availability and product quality on purchase intention. Therefore, consumer trust becomes a key variable that strengthens the relationship between service and quality in influencing consumer purchase intention. This study recommends that MSME actors focus more on maintaining service reliability and product quality consistency to enhance consumer trust and purchase intention.

This study examines the influence of social media influencers on attitudes and purchase intentions of consumers in Indonesia. In the era of the industrial revolution 4.0, digital marketing strategies and the use of social media are important for business people. One form of strategy that is currently trending among industry players is the use of social media influencers. This study aims to examine the extent to which social media influencers influence consumer attitudes and purchase intentions in Indonesia. This study used a quantitative approach and data was collected from 180 respondents who are active users of social media and have followed social media influencer accounts. The results of the study show that social media influencers have a positive and significant influence on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. These findings contribute to business people in determining marketing strategies and using social media influencers as social relations assets that can help improve product branding, build community, and develop loyalty. This research also provides insights for researchers and marketing practitioners regarding the importance of understanding the role of social media influencers in influencing consumer behavior in the digital era.

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of perceived values (hedonic and utilitarian), trust and subjective norms on consumers' purchasing intentions of organic food in Saudi Arabia; it also explores the moderating influence of availability on the relationship between the intentions of consumers and their actual purchasing behaviour.Design/methodology/approachA survey with 236 consumers of organic food in Saudi Arabia was carried out. The convergent and discriminant validity of latent variables was confirmed. The relationships among them were tested using Partial Least Square Modelling (PLS).FindingsThe results indicate that utilitarian and hedonic values, trust and subjective norms positively affect consumer purchase intention. They also reveal the moderating effect of availability on the relationship between consumers' purchasing intention and their actual behaviour in the Saudi Arabian context.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes to knowledge about the relationships among perceived values, trust, subjective norms, availability and consumer purchasing intentions of organic food, and their actual behaviour in an emerging market. The results enlarge the understanding of consumers' purchasing behaviour in the Saudi Arabian organic food market and point out some opportunities for future research.Originality/valueThe study is original in investigating the factors that influence customers' intention and their actual purchasing behaviour toward organic food in Saudi Arabia. It is a first attempt to test the moderating influence of availability on the relationship between purchase intention and actual purchasing behaviour toward organic food products in an emerging market.

Social commerce has become a mainstream online shopping phenomenon. The effects of single social-commerce modes, such as live streaming and online consumer reviews (OCRs), on consumers’ purchase intention have attracted much attention. However, the existing literature overlooks the combined impact and complementary mechanisms of multiple social business modes on purchase intention. Drawing on the previous research, we identified the characteristics of live streaming and the characteristics of OCRs. Drawing inspiration from channel complementarity theory, a dual-channel influence model is presented. We collected 448 online questionnaires from several social-commerce platforms. The data were processed via structural equation modeling. The results show that the social-commerce modes of live streaming and OCRs can jointly influence consumers’ purchase intention, sense of community, interactivity, perceived usefulness, and perceived trust as antecedents of purchase intention, with customer engagement playing a mediating role. However, emotional support had no impact on purchase intention. This study provides useful insight into the mechanisms behind how multiple social-commerce channels influence purchase intention.

Purpose This study uses the approach-avoidance motivation theory (AAMT) to investigate how various influence tactics used by broadcasters affect consumers’ promotion focus and purchase intention in the context of live-streaming social commerce. This study also examines the moderating role of broadcasters’ physical appearance in the relationship between consumer promotion focus and purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 810 consumers on the Taobao live-streaming platform in China. Multivariate techniques and structural equation modeling were used to analyze data and test the research hypotheses. Findings Results indicate that both rational and emotional influence tactics positively influence consumers’ promotion focus and purchase intention. However, the influences of coercive tactics are mixed: while promise tactics positively influence consumers’ promotion focus and purchase intention, threat tactics have a negative affect. Furthermore, broadcasters’ physical appearance positively moderates the relationship between consumers’ promotion focus and purchase intention. Originality/value This study extends the AAMT by proposing and empirically testing a novel model that explains the effects of broadcasters’ influence tactics and physical appearance on consumer behavior within live-streaming social commerce. The findings provide new insights into how broadcasters’ strategies and attributes drive consumers’ positive motivation and behaviors. These insights are valuable for academic researchers and business managers in making informed decisions about recruiting and using broadcasters to achieve favorable consumer outcomes in live-streaming social commerce.

The popularity of social media, such as WeChat and Weibo in China, has provided an opportunity to develop social commerce. Although shopping through social commerce platforms is widely favored by consumers, the factors affecting consumers’ decision-making behavior in the social commerce environment remain unclear. Therefore, from the perspective of the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) theory, we construct a consumer repurchase decision model in the social commerce environment and analyze the influencing mechanism of social commerce features (interactivity, recommendations, and feedback) on perceived value (utilitarian value and hedonic value) and consumers’ repurchase intention. The empirical results found that social commerce features are positively related to the generation of perceived value, which in turn drives consumers to form repurchase intentions. We also found some mediating effects of perceived value. The study’s conclusions clarify the intrinsic influence mechanism of social commerce features on consumers’ perceived value and repurchase intentions. In addition, it can provide some theoretical guidance for future research and business.

Spatial Patterns of Purposeful Social Networking and Socioeconomic Influences: Towards a Mature, Inclusive Networked Society in the U.S.

Increased meat consumption is said to have detrimental effects on health, environmental, and non-ethical. One alternative to meat consumption is meat analogues. To our knowledge, Malaysian consumers' perceptions, expectations and their purchase intention of meat analogues is less explored. In our study, significant determinants of consumers’ purchase intentions of meat analogues were studied on 387 consumers by using the extended Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The TPB model accounted for 49% of the variance in purchase intention and 6% of the variance in purchase behaviour. It was revealed that attitude, subjective norms, environmental concerns, healthiness influence, and objective knowledge were all statistically significant predictors of consumers' intention to purchase meat analogues. Purchase intention had a significant but negative correlation on purchase behaviour . We found no evidence that perceived behavioural control, food neophobia, and perceived monetary barriers influenced purchase intention. Knowledge on meat analogues was not significantly correlated with attitude towards meat analogues. Our study also confirmed that meat substitutes should taste, feel, and prepare similarly to meats. In a nutshell, the research findings indicated that meat analogue producers should emphasize on improving the sensorial qualities of their existing meat substitute products and increasing consumers’ awareness about the novel food product.

Effect of social commerce factors on user purchase behavior: An empirical investigation from renren.com

This study investigated the correlation between use of social media and purchase intentions of consumers to coffee shops in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon using quantitative correlational research design anchored on the Theory of Planned Behavior. More narrowly, it focused on the effects of two social media tactics (productpost and customer-post) as these affect consumer decision making. Participants For the data gathering, BSBA students of Bukidnon State University–Cabanglasan Campus who were frequent avails on using social media and potential costumers of a coffee shop. An internally developed 23-item questionnaire was used for assessing internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha=0.84). Findings: According to the results, product-orientated posts were perceived as very appealing with high levels of interest and purchase intention, while customer-oriented posts were moderately appealing and focused on trust and credibility. It was indicated that there is a high positive significant relationship between the use of social networking on predicting purchase intentions using by the buyer people. These results provide support for the impact of visual product content as well as interactive customer engagement on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. This study highlights the significance of social media in adding value to customer engagement, trust and loyalty for these small rural coffee businesses. Practical implications: It is suggested that on the local level, entrepreneurs could complement their digitally enabled and mediated marketing efforts with creative content generation and engagement to achieve visibility, loyalty of cosumership and economy-based community development.